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

[Spaceman Spiff]

1 hour ago, tshile said:

well the question is greatest athlete 

 

so yeah the sport they plays and what it means matters. I think he’s all time great hockey scorer, I don’t care if Gretzky has more total goals, he didn’t score them the way ovie did (I don’t think.)

 

and he’s got plenty to say he’s a great athlete. 
 

but the greatest in a context that includes all the major sports? Where every other sport has a bigger pull on the athletic talent pool? 
 

it’s not impossible to say he’s the greatest athlete but it’s kind of a hard/big claim when all the other sports draw the greatest athletes as a general statement. 

 

All the other sports draw the greatest athletes but somehow hockey doesn't?  

[Hersh]

2 hours ago, tshile said:

Which athletic tasks would you pick ovi for if he lined up next to Sean Taylor?

 

of those which ones don’t require wearing ice skates?

 

I’m struggling to think which athletic task I’d put money on ovie being better than Sean Taylor at. And that’s just one dude with a super short career. 
 

edit: I guess ones that specifically rely on hand eye coordination.  

do you know how physically big Ovechkin is? 
 

 

[tshile]

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

All the other sports draw the greatest athletes but somehow hockey doesn't?  

they draw considerably more from the talent pool. Is this even a question? Of all the world class athletic talent in the pool you think the nhl is drawing better than baseball basketball or football? It’s a niche sport. From childhood on. It just is. 
 

There’s a whole lot there so I’m not sure where to go if you’re stuck on that?

 

1 hour ago, Hersh said:

do you know how physically big Ovechkin is? 
 

 

Yes 

[Elessar78]

Me. In 2006 my indoor soccer team over at Fairfax Sportsplex went undefeated two sessions in a row. The guy who runs the place said he’s never seen that before. 
 

I was points leader.

[Forehead]

I don't even get where this comparing "athletic capability" crap is coming from.  It is a meaningless argument.  I think the thread is clearly which athlete has excelled the most in DC, put DC the most on the map when you think of them individually, you think of DC's best, you think of xxx.

 

Some of these takes are ridiculous.  I love Darrell Green, but he was a CB.  Let's say his peak was 1990 - 1991 for arguments sake.  I can immediately list several players I'd have rather started a team with than Darrell Green.  Several quarterbacks such as Elway, Marino, etc.  Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith were both in their prime since the RB was emphasized more then than it was today.  You had receivers like Irvin and Jerry Rice.  And we haven't even gotten into the linemen...heck, Green isn't even the first Redskin I'd take from that time if I was building a team, I'd probably take Jim Lachey.

 

Ovechkin has been arguably a top 5 player in the NHL since he stepped on the ice his rookie year.  Basically 15-16 straight years on top.  Minus the championships, we've essentially had a Tom Brady of the NHL on our team for nearly two decades.

 

I love the Hogs, love the Posse, loved Scherzer, Soto, Harper while he was here...enjoyed Arenas' quirkiness for his few seasons.  None of them even compare to what Ovechkin has accomplished.  There's a good chance he may be the career goal scoring leader before it is all over, surpassing a guy who set the records when it was much easier to score goals than it is today.

 

And people are friggin saying "well, he can't play safety like Sean Taylor."  Holy Jesus...who gives a ****?  Sean Taylor probably couldn't ice skate.  Ovechkin has accomplished far more in terms of "DC Sports are this guy" than any of those folks I've mentioned.

 

[Sticksboi05]

9 hours ago, tshile said:

Yeah but the talent pool gravitates towards the nfl.

The sport doesn’t have any diversity outside of white players being from different mostly-white countries. How can you honestly compare that to sports that clearly pull the top of the world class athlete barrel?

I realize hockey is a lot like soccer in the endurance aspect and I have great respect for that. But to just deny potential comparisons … the capitals have had only 11 black players since 1974. That’s almost 40 years. 11. 
 

it’s just a niche talent pool/sport. 

 

The point is the NFL is not the best argument against the hockey talent pool. There is nobody outside of America competing for NFL positions, there are people in other countries trying to get into the NHL. NBA, soccer, MLB, absolutely, much bigger talent pool globally.

 

[Sticksboi05]

5 hours ago, tshile said:

Which athletic tasks would you pick ovi for if he lined up next to Sean Taylor?

 

of those which ones don’t require wearing ice skates?

 

I’m struggling to think which athletic task I’d put money on ovie being better than Sean Taylor at. And that’s just one dude with a super short career. 
 

edit: I guess ones that specifically rely on hand eye coordination.  

 

I mean aside from vertical leap, if we're going on strength, power, endurance I'm pretty sure Ovechkin would win all of those competitions. He is 6'3 240 pounds.

[Ball Security]

8 minutes ago, Sticksboi05 said:

 

The point is the NFL is not the best argument against the hockey talent pool. There is nobody outside of America competing for NFL positions, there are people in other countries trying to get into the NHL. NBA, soccer, MLB, absolutely, much bigger talent pool globally.

 

Sammis Reyes is the greatest athlete in DC history.

[purbeast]

9 hours ago, Sticksboi05 said:

 

It's not like American football is cared about outside of America. It is more apt to say world's best hockey player than world's best football player. There is no such thing as an all-world quarterback, nobody gives a **** outside of the U.S. whereas you have the KHL and top leagues in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic.

Hockey is in the ****ing Olympics.

 

You (not you, the other guy) have to be obtuse as hell to say it doesn't have a world wide appeal.

[tshile]

7 hours ago, Springfield said:

I think calling hockey a niche sport is a bit degrading to the talent. It’s a major sport. Corn hole or pickle ball are niche sports.

It is a niche sport in terms of talent pool. Every kid I grew up with understood how to play baseball, basketball, football and soccer. Hell they knew how to run around a track. 
 

ice hockey? Real small list. 
 

it’s only degrading if you make it. The same applies to golf. 

[purbeast]

6 hours ago, tshile said:

well the question is greatest athlete 

 

so yeah the sport they plays and what it means matters. I think he’s all time great hockey scorer, I don’t care if Gretzky has more total goals, he didn’t score them the way ovie did (I don’t think.)

 

and he’s got plenty to say he’s a great athlete. 
 

but the greatest in a context that includes all the major sports? Where every other sport has a bigger pull on the athletic talent pool? 
 

it’s not impossible to say he’s the greatest athlete but it’s kind of a hard/big claim when all the other sports draw the greatest athletes as a general statement. 

 

5 hours ago, tshile said:

Which athletic tasks would you pick ovi for if he lined up next to Sean Taylor?

 

of those which ones don’t require wearing ice skates?

 

I’m struggling to think which athletic task I’d put money on ovie being better than Sean Taylor at. And that’s just one dude with a super short career. 
 

edit: I guess ones that specifically rely on hand eye coordination.  

Bruh what the **** are you even talking about?

[tshile]

26 minutes ago, Sticksboi05 said:

 

The point is the NFL is not the best argument against the hockey talent pool. There is nobody outside of America competing for NFL positions, there are people in other countries trying to get into the NHL. NBA, soccer, MLB, absolutely, much bigger talent pool globally.

 

We’re talking about dc history

1 hour ago, Forehead said:

I don't even get where this comparing "athletic capability" crap is coming from.  It is a meaningless argument

The thread is literally about “greatest athlete in dc sports history” with a qualifier about it being for a team sport. 
 

🤷‍♂️ 

3 minutes ago, purbeast said:

 

Bruh what the **** are you even talking about?

Do you have any answers ?

[purbeast]

You're making up stupid terms to try and make a stupid argument.

 

WTF is an "athletic task"? 

[tshile]

What is an athlete?

[Forehead]

Is sticksboi still around to clarify?  I'm pretty sure this was meant in terms of achievement in a DC uniform, and the other stuff I mentioned above.

 

Sorry Tshile, I think you're alone on this one.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Forehead

[tshile]

2 minutes ago, Forehead said:

Is sticksboi still around to clarify?  I'm pretty sure this was meant in terms of achievement in a DC uniform, and the other stuff I mentioned above.

 

Sorry Tshile, I think you're alone on this one.

🤷‍♂️ 

the original post ends with

 

Quote

Look, Alex Ovechkin is great, but suddenly he’s the GOAT? The greatest athlete, all-time in the history of Washington sports?

I’m not even saying he’s not. One guy laughed at the suggestion of Green and said it wasn’t even close anyone else could be it. And I think that’s just laughably wrong. 
 

no one really answered  what it is they’d take ovi in on an athletic task. One guy mentioned his size. But. No one actually answered it. I don’t think. 
 

 

[Hersh]

11 minutes ago, tshile said:

🤷‍♂️ 

the original post ends with

 

I’m not even saying he’s not. One guy laughed at the suggestion of Green and said it wasn’t even close anyone else could be it. And I think that’s just laughably wrong. 
 

no one really answered  what it is they’d take ovi in on an athletic task. One guy mentioned his size. But. No one actually answered it. I don’t think. 
 

 

 

No one answered cause no one is agreeing with your premise. This is what an athlete has done within their own sport. Otherwise find a decathlon athlete from Georgetown and that's your answer. https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/554845

[Hersh]

A more interesting conversation at this point is who is second. One contender: Katie Ledecky. 7 Olympic golds, 3 silver. 15 World Championship golds. Winning gold in a 200 and the 1500 is pretty ridiculous considering how different those races are. She will likely win more medals next olympics as well. 

[Ball Security]

20 minutes ago, Hersh said:

 

No one answered cause no one is agreeing with your premise. This is what an athlete has done within their own sport. Otherwise find a decathlon athlete from Georgetown and that's your answer. https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/554845

“I play real sports.  Not trying to be the best at exercising.” —Kenny Powers

[PokerPacker]

3 hours ago, tshile said:

It is a niche sport in terms of talent pool. Every kid I grew up with understood how to play baseball, basketball, football and soccer. Hell they knew how to run around a track. 
 

ice hockey? Real small list. 
 

it’s only degrading if you make it. The same applies to golf. 

Ask a Russian kid what's a niche sport: Ice Hockey or American Football.  I guarantee you their list of friends that know how to play American Football is gonna be smaller than your list of friends that know how to play Ice Hockey.  Bad use of anecdotal evidence.

[skinsmarydu]

7 hours ago, tshile said:

What is an athlete?

I had an issue when Tiger was "Athlete of the Year".  Dude walks a lot and has an amazing swing...but to me, that's not "athletic".  Neither is NASCAR, even though I know those guys have to be in amazing shape to drive for hours in a hot car with integrated hydration and not pee themselves.  

 

Hockey is the most demanding of the 4 major sports, imho.  It's not just "hands on a ball".  There are skates, a stick, and a round piece of vulcanized rubber. 

[Forehead]

6 hours ago, Hersh said:

A more interesting conversation at this point is who is second. One contender: Katie Ledecky. 7 Olympic golds, 3 silver. 15 World Championship golds. Winning gold in a 200 and the 1500 is pretty ridiculous considering how different those races are. She will likely win more medals next olympics as well. 

 

Honestly, I never really considered her since she is from here, but her achievements represented the entire country, not just DC.

[Spaceman Spiff]

11 hours ago, tshile said:

they draw considerably more from the talent pool. Is this even a question? Of all the world class athletic talent in the pool you think the nhl is drawing better than baseball basketball or football? It’s a niche sport. From childhood on. It just is. 
 

There’s a whole lot there so I’m not sure where to go if you’re stuck on that?

 

Yes 

 

Hey, I'm a giant baseball fan.  It's my favorite sport.  

 

But you gotta be kidding me.

 

 

It might be a niche sport for YOU, because you didn't grow up playing it...but there are plenty of kids elsewhere throughout the world that do.  

 

All I'm hearing you say is "talent pool" which is still laughable because still...millions of people play hockey.  And depending on where you grow up, it IS the sport.  

 

And then something about what athletic achievement you'd rather take Ovi in, or something...which is ridiculous too because Ovi is fine tuned to be a hockey player, just like Bradley Beal is fine tuned to be a basketball player, like Soto is fine tuned to whack a baseball.  This weird thing that just because Ovi is a fantastic goal scorer doesn't mean he could do something else if given the opportunity is a weird idea, too.  I'm pretty sure Ovi would be a fantastic baseball player if he grew up playing baseball instead of hockey given his hand-eye coordination and reflexes but that's not really proving a point.

 

 

[DCSaints_fan]

15 hours ago, tshile said:

Which athletic tasks would you pick ovi for if he lined up next to Sean Taylor?

 

of those which ones don’t require wearing ice skates?

 

I’m struggling to think which athletic task I’d put money on ovie being better than Sean Taylor at. And that’s just one dude with a super short career. 
 

edit: I guess ones that specifically rely on hand eye coordination.  

Golf.  And probably baseball.

 

My bet is Sean Taylor would have beat David Beckham on every measure of athletic ability that didn't involve kicking/dribbling a soccer ball.  Does that mean that Taylor was a "greater athlete".  Maybe "greater athleticism"?   

[Hersh]

1 hour ago, Forehead said:

 

Honestly, I never really considered her since she is from here, but her achievements represented the entire country, not just DC.

That’s fair but she did swim for the national’s capital swim club all this time.