Who is the most overated athlete of all time?

[judgesmails]

I agree it is disgusting the way announcers slobber all over themselves to praise Favre. It is mostly because they like him as a person, not because he is still a dominant player.

But I assume you are a Viking fan and maybe your judgement of him is a bit clouded by hating the Packers and seeing him play a lot of bad games against MN in the dome.

His career accomplishments are impressive and too many to list.

Currently overrated? Yes. All-time? No way.

[Lazymeatball]

I still think Armstrong is overrated, but it's probably because I'm not a big cycling fan, so i guess I just think cycling is overrated in general. Nobody in the US cared about it until an American started to win it, and we'll never talk about it again once Amrstrong retires or is no longer the best. It reminds me of how we get all excited about olympic sports for a month every four years, putting athletes in commercials and on cereal boxes, and then they fall into obscurity 6 months later.

I'm sure I could create some sport where people just walk a really long distance, like 20 marathons over the course of a month, and I'm sure this sport would produce a more impressive athlete than cycling, but in the end it would be really boring and only freaks who dedicate themselves to training in it would succeed, much like cycling.

[Reef]

Here is ESPN.com's top-10 list of athletes whose reputations most exceed them:

1. Vince Carter, Raptors

2. Mike Tyson, boxer

3. Derek Jeter, NY Yankees

4. All closers in major-league ball

5. Darin Erstad, Anaheim Angels

6. Duval and Mickelson, golf

7. Antoine Walker, Boston Celtics

8. Jake Plummer, Denver Broncos

9. Pavel Bure, New York Rangers

10. Chris Webber, Sac. Kings

[sthief09]

jeter
vince carter

[sthief09]

[ QUOTE ]
Here is ESPN.com's top-10 list of athletes whose reputations most exceed them:

1. Vince Carter, Raptors

2. Mike Tyson, boxer

3. Derek Jeter, NY Yankees

4. All closers in major-league ball

5. Darin Erstad, Anaheim Angels

6. Duval and Mickelson, golf

7. Antoine Walker, Boston Celtics

8. Jake Plummer, Denver Broncos

9. Pavel Bure, New York Rangers

10. Chris Webber, Sac. Kings

[/ QUOTE ]


can't believe I didn't think of Erstad. he's really [censored] overrated. he's terrible but gets paid like he's good and for some reason people think he has value. antoine walker is another good one. I don't think Plummer is that overrated. he sucks but I don't think anyone thinks he's any good. I'd put Tom Brady up there too

[hoyaboy1]

The answer to this question almost has to be a baseball player, since nobody knew how to evaluate them effectively until pretty recently. I'll think for a while and come back later with a good answer.

[B Dids]

That's a pretty good list.

Jeter is WAY up there. He's good, but he's not in the same league as A-Rod or Nomar (and frankly- I think Alex is underrated still).

The people bashing Cal Ripken don't understand that the bulk of his career was playing in an era where offensive numbers were lower.

Rikpin dominated the position, and was far more valuable than other SSs in his era. It's not just games played.

I think Farve is a great example. Good player, but does some horrible things and somehow has a pass.

I think running backs, as a group, are overrated. I think the Denver Broncos are proving that.

[Alobar]

hoyl crap, how could I forget about...

3. Derek Jeter, NY Yankees

[bort411]

3. Sammy Sosa. Most people don't know that he's second all-time in baseball history in strikeouts, one of only 3 players to break the 2000 plateau. Also, he is a dirty cheater.

2. Dan Marino. Follow my logic here: if you attempt more passes than anyone else in the history of football, shouldn't you have the most yards and TDs? He played a long time, threw a ton of passes, and never won a big game. I'm not sure he should even be a hall of famer.

1. Nolan Ryan. 292 career losses. He lost over 47% of his starts. That breaks down to a scoge above league average. Strikeouts are impressive, as are no-hitters. But you'd think over 3 decades a great pitcher could find a way to win more than he lost. Also, 0 Cy Youngs. At no point did anyone ever think he was the best pitcher in half the league in a given season; why is he even considered among the best all time?

[bholdr]

I wasn't saying that he wasn't a great shortstop, a fine human being and a hard working player. I just feel that his legend has been inflated by the streak to the point where his accomplishments are misunderstood.

first ballot for sure, though.

also, he has been quickly overshadowed by the current crop of phenomonal SSs- Tejada, Rodregiuz, Jeter, and Nomar.