Is Lance the greatest American athlete of all time?

[jakethebake]

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Can't really say - for me or most people since very little is known about cross country cycling - or whatever the silly non-sport is called.

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[razor]

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According to the great George Carlin, "baseball, football and basketball are the only three sports".

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it's hard to take this kind of statement seriously.

[trying2learn]

i think the point is - some people say greatest athlete and some say greatest ALL AROUND athlete. as long as this distinction is left grey, this debate is pointless.

carl lewis, jim thorpe, jim brown, lance armstrong, michael jordan, who cares? they're all freakin' amazing...

[gumpzilla]

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i think the point is - some people say greatest athlete and some say greatest ALL AROUND athlete. as long as this distinction is left grey, this debate is pointless.

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I think people need to actually define what they mean by athlete, period. Are we talking about somebody who is capable of the most impressive physical feats? Somebody who is the most coordinated? Somebody who is the fastest? What?

[ClaytonN]

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carl lewis, jim thorpe, jim brown, lance armstrong, michael jordan, who cares? they're all freakin' amazing...

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This is my philosophy, and I would include guys like Gretzky, Rice, Phil Taylor, Woods, Sampras, Federer if he keeps this up, etc etc

[pryor15]

i find it hard to believe the world's greatest athlete can compete in a sport that doesn't require him to be at least standing upright.

i know it's hard and everything, but he's sitting down.

[jakethebake]

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i find it hard to believe the world's greatest athlete can compete in a sport that doesn't require him to be at least standing upright.

i know it's hard and everything, but he's sitting down.

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i had not thought about this, but it's a great answer.

[Matt Williams]

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I love Lance Armstrong but get real. The guy rides a bike.

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There is a difference between riding a bike in the neighborhood and riding a bike over 1,000 miles in 3 weeks. Not to mention the fact that he is going over mountains. Anyone can hit a baseball if it's lobbed to them, try hitting a 98 mph fastball.

[RacersEdge]

I think you need a skill level included to be considered a great athlete. Body control, hand-eye coordination, quick reactions, or something along those lines. So a RB making a great cut in a addition to being fast and strong makes a great athlete. Or a baseball player being able to alter his swing mid-pitch to foul off a curveball. It's not just about being in great physical shape. So given his hitting abilities and even pitching abilities - I would say Babe Ruth was a better athlete that Lance Armstrong.

[Voltron87]

it takes a lot of technique to ride a bicycle well. form is incredibly important to keeping wind resistance down, plus there is tons of skill involved in going downhill. people understimate how crazy the descents are.