Greatest Americans - Part 3 -Athletes
May 15, 2005
Posted by at May 15, 2005 08:26 AM
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Mark Twain was the runaway winner of the Artists & Writers category, so he'll join John Wayne in the finals. Now we're on to choosing America's greatest athlete.
A few notes on my methodology for this one, so there's one baseball player, one basketball player, etc. There's no pure football player on the list as I feel like there's no single standout player like there is for some other sports. Some athletes are on the list because of versatility, while others are there for sheer dominance of their sport.
Also, expect Jesse Owens, for example, to pop up in the "Heroes" category, while Jackie Robinson might make an appearance with other "Champions of Causes".
Voting in this category is closed. The winner was Jim Thorpe.
Note: Here's the schedule for the rest of the categories:
1. Actors & Directors: May 9-11
2. Artists & Writers: May 12-14 (This will replace "Political Figures")
3. Athletes: May 15-17
4. Business Leaders: May 18-20
5. Champions of Causes: May 21-23
6. Heroes & Icons: May 24-26
7. Musicians: May 27-29
8. Presidents: May 30-June 1
9. Scientists (I'll include inventors): June 2-4
Posted by at May 15, 2005 08:26 AM
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Comments
| # May 15th, 2005 9:43 AM Daddy |
| No Jim Brown?
Dominated the game....became a community activist in retirement. Did some good things for people when he wasn't beating his wife. |
| # May 15th, 2005 10:14 AM kris |
| If I put someone like Jim Brown on the list, then I would have had to consider Walter Payton, and there was no way in hell I was putting Walter Payton on the list.
These are some of the athletes who just missed the cut: Babe Zaharias Chris Evert John McEnroe Ben Hogan Ted Williams Man O'War Jack Dempsey Kareem Abdul Jabbar |
| # May 15th, 2005 10:56 AM Daddy |
| Was that a joke? :0
I mean....McEnroe. You're kidding, right? And what does it say if one of our Great Americans is a FRIGGING HORSE?? Although I would instantly nominate THIS Manowar! |
| # May 15th, 2005 10:58 AM kris |
| John McEnroe is, in my opinion, the greatest American tennis player.
Heh. I specifically put Man O'War on the "almost" list just to piss people off :-) |
| # May 15th, 2005 12:35 PM kris |
I should also note that part of the reason Mark Spitz made the list (in addition to the 7 (!) gold medals) was that my older sisters would be pleased and that I could make them even happier by posting a pic of the man in his prime:
 |
| # May 16th, 2005 10:04 AM countertop |
| I've just never gotten the Cascious Clay Muhammad Ali thing.
Rocky Marciano had a much better record, Mike Tyson in his prime was a better fighter (so was Roy Jones Junior and Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard) and George Foreman lasted longer and certainly is a more role model worthy individual. |
| # May 16th, 2005 10:59 AM PackerFan63 |
| I am not even sure if ANY athlete deserves to crack the top 100 of the Greatest Americans. After all, they are just entertainers. The only entertainer I am aware of that affected the world in any measure was Ronald Reagan. Any ordinary soldier who served under George Washington did more to affect our place in history than Babe Ruth, didn't he? |
| # May 17th, 2005 8:20 AM kris |
| I think athletes do deserve to be on lists like this. There's a handful of people who invent something or are leaders, but that doesn't mean that everybody else is unimportant. If we value writers, artists and musicians on a list like this, why wouldn't we value athletes too?
Sports are important to Americans. Sports can make people happy (and, in some cases, so sad). So many people relate to each other through sports-it's what bonds them together. As I've said before, a "contest" like this is almost certainly going to be won by a George Washington or Abe Lincoln, but I wouldn't ignore these other kinds of contributions to society. |
| # May 17th, 2005 11:23 AM james |
"If we value writers, artists and musicians on a list like this, why wouldn't we value athletes too? " are you serious? Well, for starters, writers, artists, and musicians are explicitly protected by article 1 section 8 of the constitution, which provides that congress has the power to "promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." last i checked, the founding fathers didn't consider athletes such an integral thread to the fabric of Americana that they mentioned them in the constitution. "pro athletes, being necessary to strong and free union...." you think that athletes should be on your list, fine - but don't go pretending like they make useful contributions like writers and inventors. without edison, we have no light. without bell we have no phones. without oj simpson, we have no oj jokes. |
| # May 17th, 2005 11:28 AM BVBigBro |
| Some people speak with a lightbulb, other people speak with a football. |
| # May 17th, 2005 11:39 AM kris |
| Sports make people happy. How is that not important?
Without Edison, sure we don't have lightbulbs, but without sports, a lot of people would have had NOTHING to talk about with their father growing up. Sports is a way for people to bond, and that's just as important as these other things. Maybe it's hard to credit that feeling to an individual, but I'm telling you that sports are JUST as important to America as authors, musicians and writers are - Constitution or not. |
| # May 17th, 2005 12:32 PM james |
| "JUST as," eh, not quite. not even close.
michael jordan is the most recognized human being in the world. nothing says "america" like mcdonalds, starbucks, and michael jordan. how he isn't winning in the poll, i have no idea. |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:17 PM kris |
| maybe because he was a crappy baseball player |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:20 PM james |
and mcdonalds makes crappy hamburgers. your point? 
|
| # May 17th, 2005 1:21 PM kris |
| that's just your opinion.
jordan stinking as a baseball player can be backed up with statistical evidence. i voted for eric heiden |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:30 PM james |
| of course you did, you didn't have to tell me that.
i like this heiden quote, After winning his fifth race, his thoughts were not about fame. |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:31 PM BVBigBro |
| This poll is rigged. There has been massive fraud and I had to wait in line 5 hours to vote. All the exit polls showed the Babe in a landslide. |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:35 PM james |
| you can't vote in this poll unless you have cookies enabled - they call it an "anti-fraud" measure, but it's clearly so paramountly unfair to that .001% of people that use a browser that doesn't support cookies. if those people weren't being turned away, then the real will of the people could be known.
Damn these republicans and their cronies for stealing the election for Thorpe! These poll people must be on the Halliburton payroll! Help me, Governor Doyle! |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:40 PM kris |
| actually, i voted for heiden at home (pretty much just because James is right-i will support the overlooked athlete), but, at work, i voted for Thorpe. So there. |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:45 PM james |
| you voted twice? |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:46 PM kris |
| No, I voted once. Zaporzan voted another time. |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:50 PM james |
youve already admitted otherwise:
actually, _i_ voted for heiden at home (pretty much just because James is right-i will support the overlooked athlete), but, at work, _i_ voted for Thorpe. So there. |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:54 PM kris |
| well, by "I" at home, I meant Zapor. I just voted for him. |
| # May 17th, 2005 1:59 PM kris |
| help me on Business Leaders. Here's who I'm considering:
henry ford andrew carnegie bill gates steven jobs michael dell jack welch sam walton oprah winfrey martha stewart ray kroc walt disney john jacob astor corneliuos vanderbilt j.p. morgan john d. rockefeller |
| # May 17th, 2005 2:03 PM kris |
| Hey BV,
Every time you see those big business mogul names like John Jacob Astor, does it remind you of the characters in our old Titanic boardgame? |
| # May 17th, 2005 2:07 PM BVBigBro |
| Take Oprah off the list and put on Steinbrenner. And maybe Levi Strauss. Ross Perot - you need some controversy. Maybe Sears or one of the early catalog people. You need a tenth category for people like people like Roebuck who let it get away. |
| # May 17th, 2005 2:17 PM james |
i'd say
additionally, i'll throw out :
ill update the list here |
| # May 17th, 2005 2:31 PM kris |
| there's a scientist/inventor category, but not entrepreneurs. this is where they'd go.
i think Gates has to be on the list. it'd be a weird list without him. |
| # May 17th, 2005 2:43 PM james |
| gates should be on the list about as much as gerry ford should be on a list of "greatest elected presidents."
|
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