Toughest sport to play

[rusellmj]

Not something you play, but what about mauntaineering? You know, the Everest or K2 type.

[mslif]

As for a "sport to play" I would definitely vote for rugby (I played in HS because it was required and it was tough)

A lot of people on this thread are mentionning running. I do not consider running a "sport you play". if you go that route then my vote would go for thriathletes (bias opinion here [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img])

[fluxrad]

I would argue that the OP meant toughest as in "you have to be really tough to play X" otherwise one would certainly nominate some extremely skilled sport rather than rugby (i.e. golf is "tough" to play well).

Of all the sports I've seen, I think there are different kinds of tough.

1. Endurance tough - Hockey. 82 games a year (plus playoffs). Roenick had his jaw shattered mid season and was back in time to try to help the Flyers make a run for the cup. In terms of physical stamina over a period of months, professional hockey wins hands down.

2. Brute force toughness - In terms of who has to be toughes t to play a 60 or 90 minute game, I would probably give that honor to Rugby. I haven't ever played rugby personally, but I have been told it is quite brutal.

That being said, football is a close second. While pro footballers wear pads, I would rather be tackled full force in rugby than on the receiving end of a hit from John Lynch coming over the middle.

Take that for what it's worth.

[RRRRICK]

No one has said Motor racing.

A Formula 1 driver has to be physically fit to cope with G forces at lateral loads. Mentally they have to be razor sharp to control a machine that movings at 300Kph + and cornering at 4 - 5 g's.

Not just anyone can do this, it takes a highly skilled and confident individual.

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]

A Formula 1 driver has to be physically fit to cope with G forces at lateral loads

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. But you can also be a booze hound like Raikkonen and still be second in the points. You have to be fit to race in F1, but it's nothing compared to the other sports mentioned (This is coming from a huge F1 and Rally fan.)

[LethalRose]

Ive tried a lot of sports (never played rugby though) and I find the toughest sport as far as conditioning would be tennis or racketball. Ive watched and even dated a girl who played rugby and it may be a tough sport but it doesnt require you to be in tip top shape. Basketball is up there too. ultimate is by far the funniest sport ive played.

[Chairman Wood]

interesting answer, I agree that it is very tough. However, as far as this type of "toughness" I would argue that distance swimming is tougher.

[antidan444]

A side note: Some people are taking this question to mean, toughest sport to participate in, such as football, rugby, mountaineering etc. (using the physical fitness angle of toughness rather than the skill level required, as in gymnastics or hitting a major league pitch.)

For those of you mentioning marathons ... you're not going far enough. Try ULTRAmarathons. There's one I know of (not sure where it's held) where runners race for 100 miles one day and 100 more the next day, with the times combined to determine the winner.

I have covered the John F. Kennedy 50-mile ultra (held in Washington County, Maryland ... usually attracts close to 1,000 entrants), and the top few guys who finish it each year are beasts ... within five minutes after finishing (which takes 6-plus hours), they're walking and talking like normal. It's unreal.

I left the question vague for a reason. I wanted to see people's reactions for what they considered "tough".

IMO, Tough is not the same as hard. Professional ping pong is hard. Advanced yoga is hard. However, I do not consider either one to be tough.

My reasoning of why I chose rugby:
1. The skill to play well at a somewhat competitive level is absolutely insane. If you have never played before you probably think it's an organized kill the carrier. It's not. It is more strategic than you can imagine and all the decisions are made on the field by the players while they are playing. The coaches actually sit in the stands during the matches (at the higher levels...not high school or most college).

2. The endurance it takes to play is akin to running 5-7 miles. This does not include the energy it takes to scrum, ruck, maul, tackle, break tackles, etc, which, as anyone who has ever wrestled someone for fun knows, is very hard.

3. You have to be able to control your emotions, more so than many other sports. In hockey a cheap shot is two minutes, in Rugby it is 10 and will leave gapping holes in your defense.

Aussie rules is actually the toughest game but I was including that into the "rugby" catagory.

As for being bad ass to play, two of my teamates (PSU Rugby) were all American last year. Fullback and Scrumhalf. Neither one is a badass....off the field.

I am shocked no one has said professional wrestling.