<p>cherry barry got his words mixed up when he said ‘not all golfers are athletes, but many are.’ he meant: ‘not all golfers are athletic, but many are.’</p>
<p>tell me seriously that david ortiz and frank thomas are fine-tuned athletic machines</p>
<p>right</p>
<p>they’re still athletes</p>
<p>didn’t check the 12 pages of posts to see if this was already mentioned, but here’s what ESPN came up with a year or two ago on this topic:</p>
<p><a href=“http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills[/url]”>http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills</a></p>
<p>their methods might not be that accurate for some sports, but just thought i’d point out one objective analysis</p>
<p>of the 60 sports they analyzed:
their top 10:
boxing, hockey, football, basketball, wrestling, martial arts, tennis, gymnastics, baseball/softball, and soccer</p>
<p>bottom 10 (maybe better titled those things that are hardly sports):
fishing, billiards, shooting, bowling, curling, archery, equestrian, roller skating, cheerleading, and golf</p>
<p>personally i’d have agreed with the tennis people, most demanding combination of skill and physical qualities (strength, speed, agility, etc.)</p>
<p>That list isn’t really very accurate. We had people arguing over that stuff on a different forum (not on cc). Many of the things could be very different depending on the skill level of the people doing the sport.</p>
<p>ok, so i know that you’re all going to chastise me for my opinion, but i’ll try to support this with facts and examples. i believe tennis is the most difficult sport to play. with possibly one exception, but it’s close.</p>
<p>firstly, any sport that is a team sport is already out of the picture. yes, i know you have to learn to work in a team, and i agree it can be very difficult and stressful because you dont want to let your team down, BUT whenever you have a team, you have support. if you’re having an off day, your team is there to support you and help you. also, when playing a team sport, you don’t have to be good at everything like in tennis.</p>
<p>soccer vs tennis- 1) soccer is a timed game, tennis isnt. you can go on for HOURS nonstop, no half time, no breaks. those five second breaks in between points dont even give you enough time to catch your breath.
2) its a team sport. you have a coach to support the team, you have your captain to help out, you have the rest of the team to cheer you up. like i said before, you dont have to be good at everything. in tennis, i cant call pete sampras to hit serves, and federer to make ridiculous shots for me. its just me out there. which leads me to my next point
3) THERE IS NO ONE TO HELP YOU BUT YOURSELF IN TENNIS. tennis players look like lunatics on the court. we talk to ourselves…and we answer. it takes FAR too much will power to stay focused and win. every single second is so crucial.
4) physically, alright soccer is hard. but like i said, there are breaks, not always running etc. tennis is constant sprinting, no breaks. also, you get injured in soccer manly because of physical contact. theres no physical contact in tennis, so injuries are due to wear and tear on the body.</p>
<p>basketball vs tennis- same deal, its a team sport=support, single responsibility, etc. i have to hand it to basketball players though, their footwork is impressive, but still doesnt compare to tennis. </p>
<p>baseball vs tennis-…this doesnt even need an arguement… come on.</p>
<p>football vs tennis- ouch. thats all i can say about football. its basically a bunch of brutes fighting eachother. thats it. yes, god footwork, quick decisions. but its also a team sport. AND its more for entertainment. they stop every 2 seconds. to be honest i cant stand watching football. the only one who’s fit is basically the quarterback.</p>
<p>swimming- yes swimming is individual and EXTREMELY difficult. however, swimming, although there are different strokes, is repetition of the same thing over and over. tennis has far more variety of techniques and skills, and every shot is different. you will never hit exactly the same shot. ever. so basically, swimming is training your body to go faster and be stronger, but tennis you need to be good at everything. and be reaady for anything.</p>
<p>that leads me to my final comparison-boxing. honestly, boxing is the only sport i can think of that can relate to tennis. the one-on-one competition. the intensity. the mental toughness. the training. everything. so i would say boxing comes closest, and possibly ties with tennis. </p>
<p>i just want to make a few last points. ive been playing tennis for four years, and im not too bad. four years is NOTHING compared to what other players my age have been playing. other players have been playing ever since they were three years old. what other sport starts children at three years old? what other sport REQUIRES A THREE YEAR OLD CHILD TO BE AN ADULT?? by themselves. all alone. to win. as a tennis player myself, i must say i LOVE the sport, but i hate it too. there are days i wish i had never picked up a racquet. there are days all i can do is cry. the physical intensity is ridiculous. playing in 100 degree weather with 100% humidity for 6-9 hours every single day is unbelievable. the commitment required from a tennis player is unmatched by any other sport. tournaments all the time, never getting a day off. COMPLETELY cutting off any type of social life. honestly, i can ramble on about this so much, but i think ive said more than enough. please, reconsider when you say tennis is easy. that’s just proving your ignorance and lack of respect for other sports. if you don’t play tennis competitively, and by that i dont mean hs tennis, or L3, L2, or even L1 tournaments. im talking about sectionals, then nationals, then internationals, and finally pro. the amount of people playing and the competitiveness of tennis makes it virtually impossible to go pro. there is just too much involved in being a tennis player for any other athlete to understand. if you knew a real tennis player, you would see what it does to them.</p>
<p>im going to add to that and say that i have respect for all sports, honestly. they’re hard in their own way. and it is true, its only as hard as you make it. but i will stick with my opinion that tennis is one of the hardest sports.</p>
<p>oh and for an arguement against golf. don’t get me wrong, golf is EXTREMELY difficult. it takes pin point accuracy. and hours of practice for years. but just think of this, there’s no rush. you can play golf for a lifetime.you can’t be a pro tennis player basically past 30 years old. AND there’s barely anything physical involved. which is why people put it out of the picture. its just not physically demanding, thats it. but i do have a lot of respect for golf players!</p>
<p>Anything that involves coordination is impossible for me. I swim.</p>
<p>Wrestling is by far the hardest sport. Not only does it require the mental toughness after sometimes 8 minutes intense movement and strength exertion with a guy that is nearly trying to beat the **** out of you.</p>
<p>Let me tell you something about the WEIGHT aspect of wrestling. For which other HS sports do you have to do the hardest workout of your life, on a 900 calorie diet and 5 pounds of sweats? Which other sports requires that you cutdown your food and water intake and still put out near peak performance.</p>
<p>The mental toughness to go at it for 8 minutes after nearly starving for the past 2 days is insane.</p>
<p>In terms of requiring the most dedication, I would have to say cross country or swimming.</p>
<p>Who else but a wrestler can put perfomance out like this when they’ve been on a 900 calorie diet for 3 days?
[YouTube</a> - Tom and Terry Brands Part 1](<a href=“Tom and Terry Brands Part 1 - YouTube”>Tom and Terry Brands Part 1 - YouTube)</p>
<p>
I’m certainly not saying wrestling is easy, but if you’re on a 900-calorie diet, then you will not be reaching your “near peak performance.” In any case, the person you’re wrestling is under the same conditions (or if he’s not, then he’s at a disadvantage).</p>
<p>golf is by far is the hardest sport</p>
<p>Don’t know what’s been said, but I’m just gonna say it; rugby is the hardest sport. I’m not knocking football, Gaelic football, soccer, hurley, etc. Rubgy is just the most demanding sport. Personally I don’t like it. I love football, soccer, cricket, etc. Just never could get into rugby.</p>
<p>It has been said before Tennis. It is grueling.
A true gladiator sport.</p>
<p>freestyle skiing–you can die doing this sport!</p>
<p>you could die by trying to sit in a beanbag that doesn’t make that the hardest sport</p>
<p>Chess, of course.</p>
<p>I haven’t read much of this thread but rowing is tough</p>
<p>Gladiator games is the hardest sport! I mean, if you mistime your defence or offence, you may most likely end up dead!</p>
<p>In all seriousness though. . .that honor has to go to tennis. There are just infinite number of variables involved in that sport that the player has to deal with.</p>
<p>what about the infinite number of variables you have to deal with while golfing</p>