The best athlete of today

Warning. This has nothing to do with baseball; but I think this article does two things very well:
1) highlights how NASCAR really is a sport
2) Possibly opens up a debate barring deletion or me getting laughed at in the face

about 2 years ago GoBravesNY 24 comments 0 recs |

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They're making another left turn! They're making another left turn!

Let’s got to commercial, come back in half an hour, you ain’t gonna miss a #$%@in’ thing!

by J-Freak on Nov 23, 2009 8:52 PM EST reply actions

Well, it's official

You can add Jay Busbee to my list of my most hated writers. Give me a break. Hell, Jimmie Johnson doesn’t even do anything besides drive the cars; he has a whole f’ing team that works on his car and services it during the race.

Any moron can make left turns.

"Are you tryin to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"

by Scott Coleman on Nov 23, 2009 11:21 PM EST reply actions

you have no clue…those guys have a ton of endurance…you try sitting in a car, controlling, shifting and driving 150+ mph for 500 miles and tell me how it feels.

Oh, and there is no AC, no music, no nothing…just you and the gears.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Nov 23, 2009 11:36 PM EST up reply actions

So stock up on Gatorade and prepare to sweat like a caveman. Big whoop. Any gamer could compete if fronted with the equipment- it’s all reflexes, everything else is shit we’ve all been doing since age 15. There is no way these guys are on par with professional athletes.

And for the record, neither is Tiger. Golf is not a true sport either, but that’s probably a discussion for another day.

by J-Freak on Nov 24, 2009 12:55 AM EST up reply actions

wait how is golf not a sport?

It requires athleticism (proved by the fact that Tiger dominates by being the only in shape guy), it requires patience, endurance and strategy.

Definitely a sport.

"If I have asthma, they won't let me scuba. And if I can’t scuba, then what’s this all been about?? What am I working toward??"

by Doghnut on Nov 24, 2009 7:38 AM EST up reply actions

Aren’t most athletic competitions based on one’s reflexes? I mean, hitting a fastball is all reflexes, fielding a line drive is all reflexes (and something that most people do from the age of 6 up).

I am not saying that NASCAR drivers can out jump or out run other atheletes (I bet some of them could – Carl Edwards, for example), but to dismiss them simply as people that drive a car and do simple crap that anyone else could do is very ignorant.

I will also beg to differ about golf. Golf is as much of a sport as bowling. Neither will require a great amount of atheletic ability, but both require certain basic elements that are foundational in all sports.

Try bowling for 3 hours and compare that to playing a baseball game…tell me which one physically wore you out more.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Nov 24, 2009 8:42 AM EST up reply actions

Sure it's a sport

But a lame one, with it being founded on illegal nature to begin with.

At least with Le Mans you have wussy French drivers getting into sissy fights after one is nudged out of contention, and the World Rally Championship, you have some incredibly epic crashes. Even the best NASCAR crashes pale in comparison.

But I digress – ask anyone who’s ever done work for NASCAR, they’ll hate the shit out of them too. But nobody can deny that they’re one of the most business savvy and cut-throat organizations in the country.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on Nov 24, 2009 9:48 AM EST up reply actions

I don’t know, the Carl Edwards crash in the spring and the Ryan Newman crash in the fall at Talladega were pretty epic.

"Matt Diaz is a baseball player."-Joe Simpson

by 10-4 on Nov 24, 2009 10:32 AM EST up reply actions

Dale Earnhardt…I’d say a crash that kills people is fairly epic…

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Nov 24, 2009 1:25 PM EST up reply actions

Pssh… that was the weakest crash ever. Sterling Marlin just turned him into the wall. The only reason he died is cause he is an idiot.

by someguy917 on Nov 24, 2009 1:48 PM EST up reply actions

or because his body went from 180mph to 0 immediately...

and the human body really isn’t designed to survive that.

by Mr. Sanchez on Nov 24, 2009 2:07 PM EST up reply actions

Reflexes will always play a part, my point was there’s a difference between being a professional twitcher- i.e. steering a car- and using reflexes to enhance a larger athletic performance, i.e. running down a touchdown pass, diving to field a screaming line drive, etc.

I agree golf is as much of a sport as bowling. Because neither is a “sport.” Both are recreational activities- they don’t require the athletic ability of true sports. Sure there’s a certain technique to them, and being in shape will make you a better competitor, but being in shape can help you win a jumping jack contest too, and that doesn’t make jumping jacks a sport.

by J-Freak on Nov 24, 2009 11:03 AM EST up reply actions

well, if anyone can do it, why don’t you try twicthing for 500 miles and tell me how you feel afterwards.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Nov 24, 2009 1:26 PM EST up reply actions

Unfortunately I can’t do that legally. I’m driving from Memphis, TN to Lynchburg VA for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I’ll let you know how that goes, but I can promise it won’t be at 150+ MPH. The tickets would cost too much.

by J-Freak on Nov 24, 2009 4:45 PM EST up reply actions

You probably wont be manually shifting gears every 1/4 mile or so either.

I miss Va…

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Nov 24, 2009 4:55 PM EST up reply actions

wow, you really are ignorant as fuck

"Im a fullonrapist, I do men, women, autistic kids, children, the elderly." -Charlie Kelly

by Hcgadawgs on Nov 24, 2009 3:32 PM EST up reply actions

Why, thank you sir!

by J-Freak on Nov 24, 2009 4:45 PM EST up reply actions

my biggest problem with nascar

is that drivers get ALL of the credit. JJ won another title — that’s great for him and obviously a reflection of his talent. But let’s be honest — he has a whole team of engineers, pit crew and other staff that do 90-95% of the work. They get NO credit.

I wish people would start realizing that nascar really is a team sport, not an individual sport. JJ is the QB of his team and deserves a lot of credit. But if you switch him with a crappy driver who has a crappy racing team, JJ doesnt win anymore titles.

"If I have asthma, they won't let me scuba. And if I can’t scuba, then what’s this all been about?? What am I working toward??"

by Doghnut on Nov 24, 2009 7:41 AM EST reply actions

Those mechanics and pit-crew guys aren’t complaining about that bonus check they just got.

I do agree with you though. I think those guys (the pit crew guys) are some of the most athletic people around.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Nov 24, 2009 8:44 AM EST up reply actions

You're correct to a point.

See Dale Earnhardt Jr. He should have access to all the same resources Jimmie Johnson has, but something is missing in several of those aspects. Thats why the “anybody can make a left turn” argument is idiotic. Here you have a guy who, has had success in the past and should be driving the best equipment in the sport for the best team in the sport, but yet has been very sub-par in his first 2 seasons on the same team as the four time champion.

"Matt Diaz is a baseball player."-Joe Simpson

by 10-4 on Nov 24, 2009 10:39 AM EST up reply actions

not to mention the drivers that finished second and third as well

"If I have asthma, they won't let me scuba. And if I can’t scuba, then what’s this all been about?? What am I working toward??"

by Doghnut on Nov 24, 2009 10:50 AM EST up reply actions

yup, although my driver almost broke up that party! Damn 2 tire stop.

"Matt Diaz is a baseball player."-Joe Simpson

by 10-4 on Nov 24, 2009 11:10 AM EST up reply actions

Race car drivers are just as much an athlete as a jockey

by Mr. Sanchez on Nov 24, 2009 12:32 PM EST reply actions

My take is...

Racing isn’t really a sport. It is racing. You aren’t an athelete, you are a driver. Does this take anything away from how hard it is? No. In some cases it is harder. I would like to see someone with the “anyone can make left turns” argument go through the hairpin at Sonoma with 10 other cars bunched around them.

But for the record, NASCAR is terrible. They race stupid looking non-stock cars, then call themselves stock car racing. The engines are still carbureted. The announcers are awful. The race to the chase is retarded. And the way the points system is structured it rewards mediocrity. They should add some real tracks (Laguna Seca, Sebring, Road Atlanta, Road America, Barber Motorsports Park) then spot going to the stupid ovals twice in a year. Actually try to challenge the drivers some.

/rant

by someguy917 on Nov 24, 2009 1:57 PM EST reply actions