Greatest Athlete in D.C. History (team sports)

[Burgold]

3 hours ago, Forehead said:

What makes me more sad is how barren the history of DC sports is for these types of players.  I mean, we're essentially arguing Ovechkin vs. Baugh, though I think Walter Johnson is being massively undervalued here.

 

But we only need to go about 3-5 names deep for our argument.

 

Then you think about a place like LA who would be arguing Kobe vs. Magic vs. Kareen vs. Gretzky (during his time with the Kings) vs. probably 20-30 different Dodgers over the years.  I can't even imagine how many people New York would have to argue over.

 

It is sad for us.

I think there are others who could be in the conversation. For example, Darrell Green for a period of time (fifteen years?) shut down every opponent's number one receiver and was a devestating punt returner when used. It's too early obviously, but Juan Soto looks really special. I think the tough part of judging this region's greats is that we conflate greatness with championships so a number of really great players like Chris Samuels never get talked about. Should Gilbert Arenas be mentioned? Certainly  not in Ovi's class, but for a time he was great.

[Warhead36]

21 minutes ago, Burgold said:

I think there are others who could be in the conversation. For example, Darrell Green for a period of time (fifteen years?) shut down every opponent's number one receiver and was a devestating punt returner when used. It's too early obviously, but Juan Soto looks really special. I think the tough part of judging this region's greats is that we conflate greatness with championships so a number of really great players like Chris Samuels never get talked about. Should Gilbert Arenas be mentioned? Certainly  not in Ovi's class, but for a time he was great.

None of the guys you listed except maybe Soto after a few more years are even in the same universe as Ovi. Its not even remotely close.

 

DC just hasn't had superstars.

[Renegade7]

1 hour ago, tshile said:

I can probably come up with 10 basketball players that are better athletes than him. 
 

 

This take is so hot i had to walk away and come back.  16-bit Fireball throwing Mario Hot.

 

Not to derail the thread, but 28-3 comeback is not something im sure any of those 10 basketball players can compare to.  

 

Back on topic, im not ready to drop my case for Baugh, but willing to admit I'm probably losing.  I'm gonna wear his jersey to the Bucs game in honor of this thread now, great conversation.

 

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

7 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

 

 

When I opened this thread, I was expecting a comparison of accomplishments and impact on their respective sports with a list of DC athletes.  Some of yall sound like you put Micheal Vick at FS in madden because he was fast back in the day.

 

I never tried that but I'd always put the #1 receiver in the slot to create a mismatch.  

[PokerPacker]

11 hours ago, tshile said:

it was about dc sports. Which exists within American sports. And hockey is a niche sport. It’s not even debatable. Hockey is at best 5th on the list for majority of people in this country. 

It was about talent pool, and the pool is the world, not just people who grew up in DC.

[Sticksboi05]

 

Casual 36 year old, 17th season in the league

[Sticksboi05]

After last night, Ovechkin ties for the most 50-goal seasons in NHL history and would have two more if not for COVID and the 2012 lockout.

 

Also now the oldest player to ever score 50 goals in a season and is one of just eight players with over 85 points in a season at age 36 or older.

 

Next season should be 800 goals and then every game at the MCI Center is going to be historic as the final chase to Gretzky begins.

[purbeast]

1 hour ago, Sticksboi05 said:

Next season should be 800 goals and then every game at the MCI Center is going to be historic as the final chase to Gretzky begins.

Bruh....

[skinsmarydu]

1 minute ago, purbeast said:

Bruh....

Damn, I didn't even catch that...need more coffee...

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

My dad and I still call it the MCI Center 🤣

 

It's Ovi.

 

Hard to get a player who plays his whole career in one uniform.  Who knows where he'll be playing at 44 years old...but rn he's obviously STILL in his prime.

 

Unbelievable.

[Sticksboi05]

5 hours ago, purbeast said:

Bruh....

 

Lol couldn't help myself. It will always be the PHONE BOOTH.

[PokerPacker]

For those of us who used to go see them at US Air Arena, it will always be Caps Center.  The current name fits right in line with that.

[EmirOfShmo]

I went to the Cap Center in year 1 & 2 of the Caps. My father would get tix from work that nobody wanted to use - like 6-8 tix per game. My buddy & I knew 0.00 about hockey but would take the tix, go to Cap Center, scalp the tix for face value ($6/8 each?), save 2 to go inside, drink beer & leave after the 1st period. Good times.

A few years later I was working at an S&L in DC & one of the new hires was the son of the new Caps coach Danny Belisle. Interesting times as Belisle was fired like 20 games into the season (his 2nd season). The son left shortly after. Fast forward to 2002. I'm in Richmond with a buddy (Jeff) & his friend (Big Dave). Huge dude comes walking into the bar where the 3 of us are standing drinking beer. Huge dude tells Big Dave hi, goes to the bar & gets his carryout. I ask Big Dave who the Huge Dude is. "I don't know some dude named Ron, Rob who used to play hockey in DC." Huge Dude comes back, I ask when he played for the Caps & realize it's Rod Langway. He was flying out of RVA the next day to get inducted into the NHL HOF. Big Dave & Jeff had no idea who he was. Funny, I asked Langway about Belisle and he didn't remember him.

Now, really, really fast forward to 2018. I'm at a client in Ottawa sitting at the bar at the Marriott. About 530PM this older dude & a guy (obviously his son) come in & sit down. People notice older dude's huge Stanley Cup ring. Older dude is a bit tipsy & trying to use the ring to hit on girls. His son is laughing as this goes on. They leave & I asked the bartender who the dude was - 'Oh, that's Danny Belisle. So-And-So Hockey player just died & I'm sure he's here for the funeral.' Sure enough, about 7PM father & son return, get a drink & continue to entertain the bar crowd (big, square bar in the Ottawa Marriott lobby). When the noise died down I ask the son if his name is Dee Belisle & then remind him how I know him Sure enough, same dude I knew in DC. Small ****ing world...

[PleaseBlitz]

Dense block of text indicates @EmirOfShmohas been drinking. 

[Warhead36]

2024-2025 when Ovi breaks the record will be lit af

[Sticksboi05]

Hat trick and goal number 800 tonight. Standing ovation from the opposing crowd. Don't take this for granted.

[Warhead36]

how was this ever even a debate lmfao

[Sticksboi05]

To non-hockey fans, putting this in perspective, this is like a modern player chasing Wilt's scoring records from when there were like 6 teams in the NBA. The NHL was a wide open 8 goal per game league when Gretzky played - Ovechkin has played at around 5.5-6 and change most of his career. What he's doing at his age, and for how many years is truly insane.

 

Two more goals puts him second all-time in NHL history.

 

 

[Warhead36]

Can't believe people voted for a CB who was NEVER the best CB in the league and a QB who played during like World War II lmfao

[Riggo#44]

1 hour ago, Warhead36 said:

Can't believe people voted for a CB who was NEVER the best CB in the league and a QB who played during like World War II lmfao

 

The number of people not voting for Walter Johnson is telling. The award the best pitcher every year could very well be called the "Walter Johnson Award"

[Spaceman Spiff]

On 12/14/2022 at 2:09 PM, Riggo#44 said:

 

The number of people not voting for Walter Johnson is telling. The award the best pitcher every year could very well be called the "Walter Johnson Award"

Recency bias.  

On 12/14/2022 at 11:24 AM, Sticksboi05 said:

To non-hockey fans, putting this in perspective, this is like a modern player chasing Wilt's scoring records from when there were like 6 teams in the NBA. The NHL was a wide open 8 goal per game league when Gretzky played - Ovechkin has played at around 5.5-6 and change most of his career. What he's doing at his age, and for how many years is truly insane.

 

Two more goals puts him second all-time in NHL history.

 

 

 
The fact you have to explain how significant he is to non-hockey fans is sad.  If you have to explain the importance to people in order to make sure they “get it” then there’s a chance that they don’t care to begin with. And if you have to evoke someone else who’s a legend from another sport to emphasize the importance of what’s going on in the niche sport, you’re admitting it’s a niche. 
 

On 12/14/2022 at 12:26 PM, Warhead36 said:

Can't believe people voted for a CB who was NEVER the best CB in the league and a QB who played during like World War II lmfao

I agree that it’s a bit ridiculous. 
 

But this whole conversation is really an indictment about how bad the Wizards have been for 40+ years and how bad the Commies have been for 30 years. 
 

Someone like Shaq or Kobe playing for the Wizards or Peyton Manning or Drew Brees or Tom Brady playing for the Commies doesn’t make this much of a conversation.  Ovi might be in a conversation with people like that strictly because of the vocal minority that is hockey die hards but he’s not the clear cut winner. 

[tshile]

11 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

The fact you have to explain how significant he is to non-hockey fans is sad.  If you have to explain the importance to people in order to make sure they “get it” then there’s a chance that they don’t care to begin with. And if you have to evoke someone else who’s a legend from another sport to emphasize the importance of what’s going on in the niche sport, you’re admitting it’s a niche. 

there’s so many issues with this conversation, and it’s what makes it one of those obnoxious sports talk subjects because almost every opinion makes you roll your eyes.

 

comparing people from different eras is hard enough. 
comparing different sports from all eras? Lol. 
 

people act like someone from 20+ years ago that was a top tier player, wouldn’t be able to be that today. As if everyone else would have access to modern trainers, equipments and training theories, modern styles of play, modern coaching -  but that one player would be stuck as whatever they were 20+ years ago. 
 

but also people have ability to have nuance discussing differences in play. So like - I’m not saying 99 couldn’t be #1 ever playing right now, but if you’re going to solely base it on goals/points and you don’t somehow capture how much goalies have improved and how much harder it is to score then your being sort of dumb about it. 
 

these conversations are set up for failure from the jump. Especially if you’re working with a sport like hockey - the number of people who actually understand seems to be small. I think I understand more than the average caps fan; but reading the thread here shows me there’s a lot I don’t know. And I don’t feel like many of the people sucked into a “greatest athlete in dc sports history” would be equipped to argue for/against a hockey player. They’d struggle with a football player 😂 

[Spaceman Spiff]

5 hours ago, tshile said:

there’s so many issues with this conversation, and it’s what makes it one of those obnoxious sports talk subjects because almost every opinion makes you roll your eyes.

 

Yeah. 
 

Quote

 

comparing people from different eras is hard enough. 
comparing different sports from all eras? Lol. 
 

people act like someone from 20+ years ago that was a top tier player, wouldn’t be able to be that today. As if everyone else would have access to modern trainers, equipments and training theories, modern styles of play, modern coaching -  but that one player would be stuck as whatever they were 20+ years ago. 

 

So I’m assuming you were rolling your eyes here when you wrote this, amirite? 😉

[Renegade7]

On 12/14/2022 at 12:26 PM, Warhead36 said:

Can't believe people voted for a CB who was NEVER the best CB in the league and a QB who played during like World War II lmfao

 

A QB playing multiple positions at an all pro level will never be seen again, and Baugh won more then one ring.

 

So yea, I can see why there deserved to be a debate, but it's gotta be Ovi now, its only matter of time until he breaks the recors.

[PokerPacker]

2 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

A QB playing multiple positions at an all pro level will never be seen again, and Baugh won more then one ring.

 

So yea, I can see why there deserved to be a debate, but it's gotta be Ovi now, its only matter of time until he breaks the records.

It's funny, because I was trying to think of a football equivalent for Ovechkin, and I think an elite QB that is also a hard-hitting LB might be the closest comparison.  Greatest goal-scorer ever, but also an incredibly physical hitter up there with the top enforcers in the league in a way that you simply don't see from other elite offensive talents.