IF Phelps wins 8 golds what do you equate that to?

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Woah, woah, Daddy's wrong, Mommy's right.
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i dont like the rule that other guys can qualify , but not have to swim in the final . phelps just steps in and swims

who thought that up ?

They do the same in track relays.

CoconutMan, everyone wears the suits, it gives no one a competitive advantage over another current swimmer. World records, different story.
 

UF. Champion U.
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there are people in swimming who specialize in certain strokes. breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle whatever. totally different movements.

i would compare this to shooting a 3-pointer in the NBA, dunking, passing, and defending.....it's all basketball to the naked eye.

imagine if there was someone in the NBA who could go out there at the allstar game and break the NBA dunking records and get perfect 10s every dunk, and not miss a single shot in the 3 point contest, and then easily be considered, by far the greatest defender of all time, and easily by far the greatest passer of all time.

in baseball, easily the fastest runner, hit the most and furthest homeruns of all time, have the best glove of all time, etc.

in football, be the best passer of all time, plus the best runner of all time, plus the best receiver of all time, etc.

that is what i equate what phelps is doing to. he is breaking world records, owned by different men, every time he races regardless of what stroke he is doing. and he's doing it racing back to back to back joining every different event, fatigued mentally and physically, and still breaking world records everytime out.

being the greatest ATHLETE has nothing to do with sport. swimming is certainly an athletic competition and i think everyone recognizes it as a sport. just because it isnt a very popular sport or you dont like his sport....and it isnt one of the big 3, doesnt mean he isnt one of the greatest athletes of all time. that is your bias kicking in.
 

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Exactly Boxslayer. If this was so easy to accomplish then why doesn't everyone else try it?
 

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my point is phelps is the best swimming athlete ever. not the best athlete. he couldnt excel at multiple spiorts like a Mauer or Lebron.
 

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the carl lewis comparison is popular:

if carl lewis went out and broke the world record in sprinting, then broke the world record in back pedaling, then broke the world record in long jump, etc all back to back to back he would have been the greatest athlete of all time. but there are fucks out there that would dedicate their whole lives to back pedaling and be phenomenal at it, and it would be hard enough for carl to beat a guy like that, much less break, and in some cases shatter, the world record

i agree the media is horrendous. they can take anything they want and shove it down your throat. and i hate swimming. it bores me to death. but it doesnt change the fact that what phelps is doing is truly a once in a lifetime athletic moment.
 

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my point is phelps is the best swimming athlete ever. not the best athlete. he couldnt excel at multiple spiorts like a Mauer or Lebron.

very good point and i tend to agree with that. im of the belief that bo jackson might be the greatest athlete of all time.

my point is though that if phelps went out and was able to be a bad ass on a bicycle, he still wouldnt be recognized by the big 3 loving typical sports guys because its not THEIR favorite and popular sports. it's p*ssy ass swimming and biking. my point is just because we dont like the sport, doesnt means what hes doing isnt truly phenomenal and it dosnt mean he isnt one of the greatest athletes of all time. he is still 6'4, lean muscle mass, has explosive power in his legs, fast twitch muscle, the ability to do things smoothly and effortlessly, outstanding stamina, mental preparation, etc all of the things you look for in a gifted athlete.

its not like he's bowling and he's big earn mcCracken and balding and a fat slob and bowling 400 strikes in a row and being considered the greatest athlete of all time.
 

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there are people in swimming who specialize in certain strokes. breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle whatever. totally different movements.

i would compare this to shooting a 3-pointer in the NBA, dunking, passing, and defending.....it's all basketball to the naked eye.

imagine if there was someone in the NBA who could go out there at the allstar game and break the NBA dunking records and get perfect 10s every dunk, and not miss a single shot in the 3 point contest, and then easily be considered, by far the greatest defender of all time, and easily by far the greatest passer of all time.

in baseball, easily the fastest runner, hit the most and furthest homeruns of all time, have the best glove of all time, etc.

in football, be the best passer of all time, plus the best runner of all time, plus the best receiver of all time, etc.

that is what i equate what phelps is doing to. he is breaking world records, owned by different men, every time he races regardless of what stroke he is doing. and he's doing it racing back to back to back joining every different event, fatigued mentally and physically, and still breaking world records everytime out.

being the greatest ATHLETE has nothing to do with sport. swimming is certainly an athletic competition and i think everyone recognizes it as a sport. just because it isnt a very popular sport or you dont like his sport....and it isnt one of the big 3, doesnt mean he isnt one of the greatest athletes of all time. that is your bias kicking in.


spot on
 

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I put more credence in the multi-sport athletes so maybe these 4 are the greatest athletes ever:

Only four athletes have won medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympics:

Eddie Eagan, USA–Light Heavyweight Boxing gold (1920) and Four-man Bobsled gold (1932).

Jacob Tullin Thams, Norway–Ski Jumping gold (1924) and 8-meter Yachting silver (1936).

Christa Luding-Rothenburger, East Germany–Speed Skating gold at 500 meters (1984) and 1,000m (1988), silver at 500m (1988) and bronze at 500m (1992) and Match Sprint Cycling silver (1988). Luding-Rothenburger is the only athlete to ever win medals in both Winter and Summer Games in the same year.

Clara Hughes, Canada—Individual Road Race Cycling bronze and Individual Time Trial Cycling bronze (1996) and 5,000 m Speed Skating bronze (2002).
 

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very good point and i tend to agree with that. im of the belief that bo jackson might be the greatest athlete of all time.

.

i have been saying this for years. glad someone else sees this. Not even a close 2nd imo.
Im glad phelps is getting the hype dude is amazing. I understand their is an opportunity to stack medals in swimming, but you still have to win the individual races. Dudes goggles came off and he still broke a world record even though it was a relay.
 

I say vee cut off your Chonson !!!!
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according to Wikipedia

Phelps has a body particularly suited to swimming. He has a very long and thin torso and arms which span 6 feet 7 inches (200 cm), disproportional to his height of 6 feet 4 inches (190 cm).<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-armspan_10-0>[11]</SUP> However, he has relatively short legs which reduce resistance through the water,<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-span_11-0>[12]</SUP> but despite this he has size 14 feet (49.5 Europe) and double jointed ankles. He can extend his ankle beyond the point of a ballet dancer which enables him to whip his feet for maximum thrust.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-12>[13]</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
<SUP>Sounds like an unfair advantage to me, Double Jointed ankles ??? </SUP>
 

Uno

Ban Teddy
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there are people in swimming who specialize in certain strokes. breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle whatever. totally different movements.

i would compare this to shooting a 3-pointer in the NBA, dunking, passing, and defending.....it's all basketball to the naked eye.

imagine if there was someone in the NBA who could go out there at the allstar game and break the NBA dunking records and get perfect 10s every dunk, and not miss a single shot in the 3 point contest, and then easily be considered, by far the greatest defender of all time, and easily by far the greatest passer of all time.

in baseball, easily the fastest runner, hit the most and furthest homeruns of all time, have the best glove of all time, etc.

in football, be the best passer of all time, plus the best runner of all time, plus the best receiver of all time, etc.

that is what i equate what phelps is doing to. he is breaking world records, owned by different men, every time he races regardless of what stroke he is doing. and he's doing it racing back to back to back joining every different event, fatigued mentally and physically, and still breaking world records everytime out.

being the greatest ATHLETE has nothing to do with sport. swimming is certainly an athletic competition and i think everyone recognizes it as a sport. just because it isnt a very popular sport or you dont like his sport....and it isnt one of the big 3, doesnt mean he isnt one of the greatest athletes of all time. that is your bias kicking in.

boom outta here
 

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according to Wikipedia

Phelps has a body particularly suited to swimming. He has a very long and thin torso and arms which span 6 feet 7 inches (200 cm), disproportional to his height of 6 feet 4 inches (190 cm).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-armspan_10-0">[11]</sup> However, he has relatively short legs which reduce resistance through the water,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-span_11-0">[12]</sup> but despite this he has size 14 feet (49.5 Europe) and double jointed ankles. He can extend his ankle beyond the point of a ballet dancer which enables him to whip his feet for maximum thrust.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12">[13]</sup>
<sup></sup>
<sup></sup>
<sup>Sounds like an unfair advantage to me, Double Jointed ankles ??? </sup>


sort of like this guy


adventure443.gif
 
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He SERIOUSLY avoided disaster tonight with the .01 second victory.

Or was it? :think2::think2:
 

The Reverend
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You equate it to Mark Spitz winning 7 golds. Spitz set 7 world records, there was no 50M race in 1972 or he would have won 8 and probably had 8 world records.


MICHAEL PHELPS ISN'T SWIMMING THE 50! SO WHO CARES?
 

The Reverend
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I Haven't Really Been Keeping Up w/ This Whole Phelps Story, But I'm Aware Of The 8 Medals Thing Due To It Being All Over ESPN News, Radio, Etc.....Any Sports Fan Is Aware....
But I Was In A Small Restuarant Earlier Tonight And Bob Costas Was On & I Saw Phelps Swimming In An Event & Finishing 2nd...........
Does That Mean His Chance For 8 Golds Is Over?



NW:think2:

NO THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND. HE WAS SWIMMING IN THE SEMIFINALS, BEFORE THAT (WHICH THEY DON'T TELEVISE) HE SWAM IN THE PRELIMS. THIS GUY HAS NOT ONLY SWUM OVER 2 FKING MILES IN THE LAST 8 DAYS, HE'S RACED THEM AGAINST THE BEST IN THE WORLD. AND WHEN HE GOT TO THE FINALS, HE WON EVERY TIME.
 

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I'll be honest and I'm no Chad Johnson but Phelps is incredible BUT......he is just a swimmer. To me an athlete is someone who can run, jump, swim, accelerate, take a hit/injury, throw, catch, strength, endurance. Phelps is an awsome swimmer the best ever I would say. He is not the best athlete ever...in fact nowhere close. Think of the millions who have never swam...or who swam at a young age and gave it up. He has perfected a skill that many havent tried or have given up at an early age.

Dont get me wrong I don't want to take anything away from Phelps who has dedicted his life to becomeing the best swimmer ever. But just for comparisons sake lets look at a scenario.

If we took the world population or even just the US population and said the whole US population is going to train to be a swimmer. Would Phelps still be the best? If everyone HAD to try and be a ridiculous swimmer. My guess is no. However I dont think Chad Johnson would be in the top 500.

In contrast what if the US population had to train to be a Michael Jordan, LT, or Kobe Bryant. Would they still be the best? My guess is YES Jordan, LT, and Kobe would still be the best.

In summary Phelps is amazing but I dont rank him among the best athletes ever. I rank him as one of the best olympians ever.

Well then why do guys like Dwayne Wade call him the best athlete of all time? Kinda makes you think...
 
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Any value in betting the field tonight at +600? Shit, anything can happen. May take a little stab at it. Phelps is on fire though. He has a few other schmucks he has to rely on tonight. Hmmmm.....
 

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I agree with the earlier comparison to the Lance Armstrong Tour de France wins.

Actually, I think that Phelps will kind of supplant Armstrong as the figure that all non sports fans/people who don't know squat about sports will embrace. Because of this, the Madison Avenue dweebs will jump all over the guy as well. He's going to be VERY overexposed for the next couple of years.
 

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The guy made other world class athletes look like middle schoolers.


One of the best American athletes ever in my book.
 

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