Rossi rated as one of the best athletes of the decade

MotoGP.com

Putting allegiances aside (maybe hell will also freeze over), we should all be happy that our sport is right up there with the big boys of the world despite Dorna's efforts to .... it up, this is quite an achievement for someone who's out on the piss until 2am on most race days!!!

I doubt Roger or Phelps would get away with that kind of preparation before they compete........Tiger not really mentioned, but hes up there for me, to play as much top level golf as he does whilst boning so many women!! Athlete of the Century perhaps?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Talpa @ Jan 1 2010, 12:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>MotoGP.com

Putting allegiances aside (maybe hell will also freeze over), we should all be happy that our sport is right up there with the big boys of the world despite Dorna's efforts to .... it up, this is quite an achievement for someone who's out on the piss until 2am on most race days!!!

I doubt Roger or Phelps would get away with that kind of preparation before they compete........Tiger not really mentioned, but hes up there for me, to play as much top level golf as he does whilst boning so many women!! Athlete of the Century perhaps?




Tiger is living the dream. Sporting billionaire and mad rooter to go with it.

Rossi will probably go down as the greatest of all time (GOAT).

Until this it was Ago, and Ago's opposition deserves some credit because he didn't have it all his way, just like Rossi's opposition.

This is all I need to know about this "poll":

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>while Rossi beat Spanish stars such as NBA basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies, Marc Gasol

If we were to list the top 20 most famous NBA players in the US, Marc Gasol wouldn't make the list. Their list of stars Rossi beat read like a who's who of people most have never heard of: Samuel Sánchez, Carlos Sastre and Alejandro Valverde, Toni Bou, Marc Coma, Lionel Messi.

And talk about homerville...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>In Italy, Rossi tops the rankings. Over 40% of Gazzetta dello Sport...

There was a similar trend in Tuttosport, with Rossi taking a sizeable 48.6% of the vote...

Let me guess, Lewis Hamilton is famous in the British Isles.

Not mentioning Tiger Woods in the polls, who is arguably the most successful and famous sport star on the planet bar none (that's both hemispheres) is like taking a poll of the most famous NBA stars and not including Michael Jordan--it simply makes the "poll" void.

All kidding aside, Rossi does deserve to be among the top 10 international sports stars of the decade (sadly, nobody has ever heard of him in the States).

Now that Jumkie has pointed out who's on the list, these are terrible comparisons for the best athletes of the decade. Bolt hadn't won a senior level world championship event until 2008. Marc Gasol was Spanish league MVP in 2008 but has hardly made a dent in the NBA yet. Lionel Messi didn't start making regular appearances for Barca until 2006/07 and wasn't a dominant player until the following season. Schumi dominated F1 in the first half of the decade but wasn't able to fight back against Alonso before retiring. All of these athletes have had outstanding stretches but none have had outstanding stretches that have spanned an entire decade like Rossi and some others.

I think the top challengers to Rossi would be Woods, who, as Jumkie said, was not mentioned. Sebastien Loeb was only mentioned by L'Equipe despite winning six world titles in the decade. Roger Federer has been winning grand slams since 2003. And Michael Phelps has been winning numerous events in world championship competitions since 2003.

Tiger Woods was named "PGA tour Player of the Year"
Can't be more accurate than this.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Austin @ Jan 4 2010, 02:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Now that Jumkie has pointed out who's on the list, these are terrible comparisons for the best athletes of the decade. Bolt hadn't won a senior level world championship event until 2008. Marc Gasol was Spanish league MVP in 2008 but has hardly made a dent in the NBA yet. Lionel Messi didn't start making regular appearances for Barca until 2006/07 and wasn't a dominant player until the following season. Schumi dominated F1 in the first half of the decade but wasn't able to fight back against Alonso before retiring. All of these athletes have had outstanding stretches but none have had outstanding stretches that have spanned an entire decade like Rossi and some others.

I think the top challengers to Rossi would be Woods, who, as Jumkie said, was not mentioned. Sebastien Loeb was only mentioned by L'Equipe despite winning six world titles in the decade. Roger Federer has been winning grand slams since 2003. And Michael Phelps has been winning numerous events in world championship competitions since 2003.

The biggest surprise here is Bolt-WTF! Token track star....

Agreed on all points.........its only a reflection of the status of Bike Racing and horizontal extra-curricular activities! Tiger and Rossi would have to be one and two otherwise.

I agree that valentino and tiger are right up there and somewhat comparable but will be very surprised if anyone matches usain bolt's achievements of the last couple of years of the past decade in the current decade, other than bolt himself perhaps. As has often been remarked, he has a wonderful name for his particular athletic endeavour as well.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Talpa @ Jan 4 2010, 12:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>The biggest surprise here is Bolt-WTF! Token track star....

Agreed on all points.........its only a reflection of the status of Bike Racing and horizontal extra-curricular activities! Tiger and Rossi would have to be one and two otherwise.
Yeah, I agree (might be the first time on the forum).

Usain achievement is impressive but its a blip in the scope of a "decade". The poll was for "decade" achievement right? Where the hell is Lance Armstrong who has won half of the decade's Tour de Frances (arguably the most watched single yearly 'international' event). Armstrong not only won from 99-05, his last one was an amazing 7th consecutive title, how did he not make a "decade's" list (in Europe no less)? How the hell does Usain Bolt eclipse this? ........ poll!!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jan 5 2010, 03:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'> Yeah, I agree (might be the first time on the forum).

Faaaaarrrccckkkk........Ice must now be forming in Hell too......

I could accept that Rossi was named sportsman or racer of the decade (or all time) but ATHLETE?? While MotoGP requires a good level of fitness, I don't think Rossi is an example of athlete's pushing their physical limits. I think his superiority lays in his talent mostly.
I think it's an insult to cyclists, runners, swimmers etc that Rossi is called an athlete.
So Michael Schumacher, Sebastien Loeb and any other motorsports "athlete" should be excluded too. Not to mention a lot of their success is based on the brains of some engineers not just their own doing.

I think Usain Bolt is a fair winner, it's true that he's been only present in the last few years but it's not his fault track events are so scarce (he'd have a lot more medals to show off if Olympics were held every year like most sports).

Also don't forget that you're as good as your last result to the media, and I'm pretty sure Armstrong would've been probably the winner if this poll was held when he won his 7th Tour not a few years later when he got his butt kicked by Contador (and a positive doping blood sample).

It's hard to pick just one, but I would go for Yelena Isinbayeva, I know pole vault is not popular, nobody gives a crap about it (neither do I) but this woman has not only dominated the sport, she's set world record after world record year after year, I don't think Phelps or Federer have been that superior in their own sports.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teomolca @ Jan 5 2010, 08:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>but ATHLETE?
You make some good points, but then we have to throw out alot of "sports" like golf, etc. And true about Usain, since he is also very young and many of his first accomplishments were in the junior championships. But even then, its still a short span of time, and perhaps a bit early to e calling him athlete of a "decade". Where as Armstrong was for 5 years in this decade (that's half) the champion (haha, your dig at him did not go unnoticed, real feat to "kick his ..." after 7 consecutive titles, that's a bit shallow). Anyway, perhaps a separate category for motorsports, because as you say, much has to do with the team, and we would not put a team like the national Brazilian team as a singular, right?

As far as your mention about the pole vaulter, I'm not sure were to start on this. But you reminded me of a greco-roman wrestler named Alexander Karelin. Have you heard of him? This guy is easily the most dominant sports figure of all time. The man went UNDEFEATED from 1987 to 2000. He won the gold medal in three Olympics, unfortunately he "lost" his last match to some clown faced fatso name Rulon Gardner (completely ........ match BTW). This fat ... Gardner then became a media sensation. Here is my point, this guy Karelin went undefeated in every possible setting for over a decade, for 13 years no matter the competition, he beat his rivals in world competitions. Yet most people had never heard of him. Why? Well for starters, greco-roman wrestling is not that popular. And, the man was Russian. So when I see these "polls" we must put them in perspective. If we are going to talk pure domination of an athlete/sportman, this guy Karelin should and would be at the top of everybody's list. But these "polls" are nothing more than popularity contest. I mean, Rossi for example, won titles starting in 99 to 09 with only a slight interruption, if there was a posterchild for a "decade" accolade in sports, he would certainly fit the bill. But nobody has heard of the man in America, yet he got over 40% of the votes in Italy and significant votes in Spain. Well no ...., motorcycle racing is very important in these places. So again, all this .... is simply subject popularity. We already mention Tiger Woods, who is by far the most famous athlete on the planet. Yet we are putting his name next to Rossi, hahaha, no way, they are not even close. Tiger would trumps everybody, no matter where the hell you stand on the planet. Little old ladies in remote parts of the world know who Tiger Woods is, not so far any other athlete, certainly not Rossi. And take a look at this "poll", the man didn't make the top three? WTF?

As far as Federer, as you say, "not being superior in their sports" hahaha, I don't even know how to respond to that. But I have a suspicion why you would make such a statement. Federer is considered by most tennis analysts to be the GOAT of his sport (really, its useless to discuss this). Nadal is awesome, but Federer came first and has yet to surpass Federer's accomplisments. And as far as Cantador, a climbing specialist, just because some Spanish athlete every now and then wins something big, doesn't make the person who they beat not great.

So basically:

It's pretty hard to compare athletes of different sports to each other.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jan 6 2010, 12:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You make some good points, but then we have to throw out alot of "sports" like golf, etc. ... doesn't make the person who they beat not great.

Happy new year Jumkie (I've emptied my banned list, new year resolution stuff)

Golf players are not athletes either, that's quite clear to me. Though I wont criticise if Tiger Woods wins the poll even if he can't drive (we agreed to exclude drivers ). And by the way he is not THAT famous EVERYWHERE. I don't think any "little old lady" knows him here. Golf is not that popular everywhere.

Never heard about this Karelin guy, but seems a good candidate, 13 years undefeated is a huge achievement. But I'm sure there's a few other unpopular sports that have been dominated by some unknown person, we would have to take into account the quantity and quality of opponents to judged what achievement is more significant, i.e. If Sport X has 1000 players worldwide, it's probably not so hard to dominate compared to Sport Y that is played worldwide by millions (like football).

I don't think that was a dig at Lance, it's just a fact, he kicked the rest of world's ... for 7 years and then he got his kicked. I said "... kick" because it wasn't close, in any case, it's just stating the facts. I'm not saying Contador is better or anything like that (he is still FAR FAR away from Lance's achievements) and beating Lance when he is at his prime and Lance is what 40? is not a fair reflection of their careers.

Federer might be the GOAT in tennis, he has dominated his sport, but if you read carefully what I said is that he didn't dominate his sport as MUCH AS Isinbayeva (or that Karelin guy) DOMINATED THEIRS. Has nothing to do with Nadal. Isinbayeva IIRC has lost one event in a years, Federer has lost a bunch in the meantime, I think last week or so he lost against Soderling (who barely makes the top 10).

And I think there's a few tennis players who you could argue were as good as Federer (Sampras) there's a few cyclists that you could argue were as good as Lance (Merckx) there's no argument in other sports.

Hhahahahahah,
Look at facebook and realize how popular Rossi is: more than 1.6 million fan (1,631,975). And how about Tiger Wood??? hahahahah.

Although the likes of Valentino Rossi, Michael Schumacher and Tiger Wood are all well known outside of their sport, but Rossi is the most popular sportman in the world for sure (among them).


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jan 6 2010, 12:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>We already mention Tiger Woods, who is by far the most famous athlete on the planet. Yet we are putting his name next to Rossi, hahaha, no way, they are not even close. Tiger would trumps everybody, no matter where the hell you stand on the planet. Little old ladies in remote parts of the world know who Tiger Woods is, not so far any other athlete, certainly not Rossi. And take a look at this "poll", the man didn't make the top three? WTF?

I think you dont know much about fitness in motor racing:

For Formula 1:

The duration of the race is about 1h30 mins.
Heart beat of F1 driver is ALWAYS upto 200 bpm in the race.
Driver must brake about 800 times in the race, and the force applied to the pedal usually exceed 2000N (200kg).
The deceleration force in F1 is upto 4.5G, you can see how strong the neck of the driver.
The cockpit temperature can raise up to 55C in tracks like Sepang or Turkey.
The steering wheel in F1 isn't powered. Try to steer a car running at 300kph.

F1 drivers are strongest ATHLETEs in the worlds.

For MotoGP:
The condition is different, but MotoGP riders are also very strong ATHELTEs.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teomolca @ Jan 5 2010, 05:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I could accept that Rossi was named sportsman or racer of the decade (or all time) but ATHLETE?? While MotoGP requires a good level of fitness, I don't think Rossi is an example of athlete's pushing their physical limits. I think his superiority lays in his talent mostly.
I think it's an insult to cyclists, runners, swimmers etc that Rossi is called an athlete.
So Michael Schumacher, Sebastien Loeb and any other motorsports "athlete" should be excluded too. Not to mention a lot of their success is based on the brains of some engineers not just their own doing.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nghiemlong @ Jan 6 2010, 08:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Although the likes of Valentino Rossi, Michael Schumacher and Tiger Wood are all well known outside of their sport, but Rossi is the most popular sportman in the world for sure (among them).
Just flat out wrong. Golf and Formula 1 are both more popular sports than MotoGP and Woods and Schumacher have been immeasurably popular in both of those sports. I like MotoGP as much as anyone, but Rossi would likely finish third in a popularity contest between the three.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nghiemlong @ Jan 6 2010, 08:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>F1 drivers are strongest ATHLETEs in the worlds.
I doubt that very much. Pure strength, I don't think there are many athletes who are stronger than linemen in American football. I'm not saying F1 doesn't take physical strength, but there are a lot of sports that require more strength and fitness.

Golf and Formula 1 may be more popular than MotoGP, but Rossi for sure would finish first in the popularity contest. Facebook statistics is a good proof.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Austin @ Jan 6 2010, 05:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Just flat out wrong. Golf and Formula 1 are both more popular sports than MotoGP and Woods and Schumacher have been immeasurably popular in both of those sports. I like MotoGP as much as anyone, but Rossi would likely finish third in a popularity contest between the three.

F1 drivers doesn't have that big muscle, but they are the strongest over long time span. In the race, there isn't a moment for relaxing: acceleration, brake, heart beat always ~200 bpm. MotoGP is the same.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Austin @ Jan 6 2010, 05:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I doubt that very much. Pure strength, I don't think there are many athletes who are stronger than linemen in American football. I'm not saying F1 doesn't take physical strength, but there are a lot of sports that require more strength and fitness.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teomolca @ Jan 6 2010, 03:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Happy new year Jumkie (I've emptied my banned list, new year resolution stuff)
Yeah, I see. I was surprised to get a reply I've made a similar resolution, to a bit nicer to the Rossi-boppers.

Anyway, like I said, you make some points. I agree with most.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Never heard about this Karelin guy, but seems a good candidate, 13 years undefeated is a huge achievement.

Yeah you should look him up, the dude was amazing.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Federer might be the GOAT in tennis, he has dominated his sport, but if you read carefully what I said is that he didn't dominate his sport as MUCH AS Isinbayeva (or that Karelin guy) DOMINATED THEIRS.

Oh, I see, you were saying Federer had not dominated like these other people. Yes agree, can imagine, Federer would have had to win ever single match for a decade. .

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>And I think there's a few tennis players who you could argue were as good as Federer (Sampras) there's a few cyclists that you could argue were as good as Lance (Merckx) there's no argument in other sports.

I'm not that into tennis, but I know that Federer is special (yes so was Sampras, yet still he had less domination). I think its like Rossi, he's won the most, though there were others that also dominated during their time, like Mick Doohan. On record alone, several riders won 5 titles, Armstrong won 7 in a row (Merckx not even close).

Well, I'm glad you finally took me off your ignore list. Don't worry, I won't start any threads about religion any time soon.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jan 6 2010, 07:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well, I'm glad you finally took me off your ignore list. Don't worry, I won't start any threads about religion any time soon.
You were on Teo's ignore list? How do I apply?

I'm no tennis expert to judge Sampras vs Federer. I thought they were more or less similar. But I'm gonna go and disagree strongly about Merckx was "not even close" to Armstrong. IMO Merckx is the GOAT of cyclism.

Yeah Armstrong has 7 TdF compared to Merckx's 5 but Cycling is not just the TdF, there's 3 Grand Tours (TdF, Giro D'Italia and Vuelta a España) and there's the classics (shorter races). Armstrong didn't win any Giro or Vuelta and only 2 classics.
Merckx has 5 Giri, 1 Vuelta and won 28 classics. To add to that he's got a bunch of records most victories for a pro cyclist (525), most victories in a season(54), most victories in the TdF(34), most victories in a sigle TdF (8), Most days in yellow (96), only rider ever to win all yellow, polka-dot, and green jerseys in the same TdF, most victories in classics (28), most grand tour victories (11), hour record ...

You can add to that that when he was inline to obtain his 6th Tour (leading the race) he was punched and knocked out of the bike (the French were not "too happy" a Belgian was going to beat their national hero's 5 tour record (Anquetil)) and lost his lead.

IMO Armstrong (and most other multiple winners like Induraín or Hinault) focused on the TdF and took the rest of the season as a training exercise to reach the TdF at their season peak, had Merckx taken that approach I think he would have won way more than 7 TdFs, but they didn't call him the Cannibal for no reason.