Recently got into a discussion with some players dads about different sports, in particular the big three here in the states...football basketball and baseball. I have several kids who are involved in all three, some basketball being their favorite, others not. So the discussion started about what was the "best" sport.

 

More than a couple of guys argued for baseball pretty strongly. However, to me the argument was more based on the coaching/manager aspect of it and the strategy involved, which of course involves them (they coach) more than the athlete. No one really argued that strongly for football. I argued for basketball and to me, it isn't even close.

 

To me basketball is the true test of overall athletic ability compared to any other sport that I can think of. To be good at bball, you have to be good at a number of things and have to have varied athletic abilities. You have to be able to run, both fast and with endurance; you need to be quick; you need to be able to jump; you need good hand eye coord; sure helps to be strong but some players may can get away without it; you need quick feet; in todays game you need to be "tough" and physical; quick hands; theres just so much to basketball, I believe it's the best sport every invented and a true test of an athletes overall athletic ability.

 

To me, you can get away with being a good player in football and/or baseball without needing all of the above attributes. What say you?

Recently got into a discussion with some players dads about different sports, in particular the big three here in the states...football basketball and baseball. I have several kids who are involved in all three, some basketball being their favorite, others not. So the discussion started about what was the "best" sport.

 

More than a couple of guys argued for baseball pretty strongly. However, to me the argument was more based on the coaching/manager aspect of it and the strategy involved, which of course involves them (they coach) more than the athlete. No one really argued that strongly for football. I argued for basketball and to me, it isn't even close.

 

To me basketball is the true test of overall athletic ability compared to any other sport that I can think of. To be good at bball, you have to be good at a number of things and have to have varied athletic abilities. You have to be able to run, both fast and with endurance; you need to be quick; you need to be able to jump; you need good hand eye coord; sure helps to be strong but some players may can get away without it; you need quick feet; in todays game you need to be "tough" and physical; quick hands; theres just so much to basketball, I believe it's the best sport every invented and a true test of an athletes overall athletic ability.

 

To me, you can get away with being a good player in football and/or baseball without needing all of the above attributes. What say you?

 

I'm in your camp! It is no question. Athletically, it's the most challenging. As you stated, it has all the aspects you percieve an athlete to be able to excel in.

 

Now if you talking the most skill required and strategy, baseball is definitely in the race for that discussion. But you can see a lot of "bigger" guys that can be very good at one skill (pitching, hitting for power, etc) that can make it in baseball because the perfected a skill. Not going to happen in basketball. Even if you're a shooter, you still have to be quick, athletic and strong because you have to excel on both ends. Yes, some shooters are not as good defensively at others, but go play against them and I assure you they will be ultra athletic and change your mind on whether they can play defense or not.

Recently got into a discussion with some players dads about different sports, in particular the big three here in the states...football basketball and baseball. I have several kids who are involved in all three, some basketball being their favorite, others not. So the discussion started about what was the "best" sport.

 

More than a couple of guys argued for baseball pretty strongly. However, to me the argument was more based on the coaching/manager aspect of it and the strategy involved, which of course involves them (they coach) more than the athlete. No one really argued that strongly for football. I argued for basketball and to me, it isn't even close.

 

To me basketball is the true test of overall athletic ability compared to any other sport that I can think of. To be good at bball, you have to be good at a number of things and have to have varied athletic abilities. You have to be able to run, both fast and with endurance; you need to be quick; you need to be able to jump; you need good hand eye coord; sure helps to be strong but some players may can get away without it; you need quick feet; in todays game you need to be "tough" and physical; quick hands; theres just so much to basketball, I believe it's the best sport every invented and a true test of an athletes overall athletic ability.

 

To me, you can get away with being a good player in football and/or baseball without needing all of the above attributes. What say you?

 

I agree! Have always felt this way. It's also probably one of the fastest "weed out" sports in high school. If you do not have the skill to play basketball, you are eventually weeded out. If you are one of the lucky ones who is starting varsity your senior year, that means that you have worked very hard to continuously improve and keep your spot.

The "best" sport? Very vague. The discussion so far seems to be about which sport has the best athletes so I will go with that for my comparison. I also am going to focus on what we see at the professional level because there will be a multitude of exceptions in every sport when looking for athleticism in the lower levels.

 

Basketball and baseball are both high skill level sports, which is not necessarily about athleticism. Larry Bird is one of the greatest basketball players ever and no one would consider him as having great athleticism. If we are defining this by pure athleticism that includes speed, strength and agility, I think football wins. Football is the sport that demands the most athleticism.

Got to disagree with you about Larry Bird Voice. Bird was much more athletic than many give him credit for, and he was strong as an ox and had great hand/eye coord and great court vision.

I don't think you can ignore hockey either. Hockey players have to be mobile, skilled and conditioned but also need to be able to be hit, and be hit hard. Basketball = contact. Hockey = high contact. Grated, it's not as popular as the other three, but that doesn't change the fact it's a demanding sport.

Recently got into a discussion with some players dads about different sports, in particular the big three here in the states...football basketball and baseball. I have several kids who are involved in all three, some basketball being their favorite, others not. So the discussion started about what was the "best" sport.

 

More than a couple of guys argued for baseball pretty strongly. However, to me the argument was more based on the coaching/manager aspect of it and the strategy involved, which of course involves them (they coach) more than the athlete. No one really argued that strongly for football. I argued for basketball and to me, it isn't even close.

To me basketball is the true test of overall athletic ability compared to any other sport that I can think of. To be good at bball, you have to be good at a number of things and have to have varied athletic abilities. You have to be able to run, both fast and with endurance; you need to be quick; you need to be able to jump; you need good hand eye coord; sure helps to be strong but some players may can get away without it; you need quick feet; in todays game you need to be "tough" and physical; quick hands; theres just so much to basketball, I believe it's the best sport every invented and a true test of an athletes overall athletic ability.

 

To me, you can get away with being a good player in football and/or baseball without needing all of the above attributes. What say you?

 

 

Kyle Wiltjer????

Lots of different factors to look at. Football is a much more specialized sport. A QB requires a different skill set then and DB. What the different positions are asked to do mentally and physically are very different. Football requires a wider range of athletes. Contact in football is very different then the type of contact you have in basketball. The amount of information and how fast you must process it is very different then in basketball.

 

As far as "weeding out" goes well when you can only play 5 and you only keep 12 or so on a team of course you will weed out kids. You also see guys on basketball teams that are there just because they were blessed with height. Basketball players have much longer careers. We all know skills and athletic ability decrease as one ages. In most cases with football you do not pick when to leave the game. Game tells you when to leave because your body can no longer produce at the level required.

The sport that requires the best athletes is basketball.

The single most challenging feat is probably the hand eye coordination of hitting a 100 mph pitch. But lots of down time I the game. 4 at bats and a handful of opportunities on the defensive end.

Basketball players have no down time during a game. They play offense and defense the entire time.

Baseball players can be John Kruk or Tom Browning-- and someone said Larry Bird was not athletic?

Hockey is a hard sport too especially since I can't skate. Very fast game. Part of the reason people don't like to watch it on TV. Remember when Fox tried to highlight the puck?

Football has several skill sets required for each unique position. Linemen big and strong, WR fast and tall, etc.

I'll stick with hoops, speed, strength, agility, hand-eye etc.

If you're talking about the best sport to watch as a fan.

 

IMO it's football without question. My three favorite sports are College Football, Pro Football, and High School Football, in that order. College Basketball is 4th.

A wise old man named Marty Brenneman once said "Baseball is the toughest sport to play well"

Reading through some of the replies, I started to think about this question. Maybe has no relevance and maybe it does. But thinking about professional sports, just to keep everyone on the same page, what percentage of NBA players could cross over and could have played football if they pursued it vs what percentage of football players could have crossed over and played bball if they pursued it. Assuming they would have had passion for the other sport. Just curious to hear everyone's thoughts. I've kicked it back and forth in my own head!

Football requires split second reads and decisions, if you make the wrong decision in that split second you give up a touchdown. Of course the ability sometimes overcomes the mental aspects of the game, but the higher up you go in the sport the less likely you are able to get away with pure talent and no knowledge of the game.

 

To go further against the basketball argument, one think I have noticed from watching college basketball is that the players are not too bright, either that or they are not well coached for end of the game situations. Cannot count how many times I have seen times go for the three to win by two, instead of the two to win by one. I watched Vanderbilt do it; I watched Trey Burke do; and I'm sure Russ did it this past game against ND.

 

I have also noticed that basketball players shy away from contact; and if contact is made to give advantage to one player over a defender it is called a foul?! Come on. In football that is either called a broken tackle, or a tackle.

 

Football requires plenty of hand-eye coordination. Look at the catches that WRs and TEs make on a weekly basis and tell me they lack hand-eye coordination; heck even some of the defensive guys made incredible plays on the ball that require unmatched hand-eye coordination.

 

There is so much skill to be learned in football, because the variations of the positions are so fast. Unlike basketball where there is SOME difference between a PG and a Center, but they essentially need to be able to do everything all the other basketball players need to do; dribble, shoot, pass, and defend.

Got to disagree with you about Larry Bird Voice. Bird was much more athletic than many give him credit for, and he was strong as an ox and had great hand/eye coord and great court vision.

 

The only one of those three traits I put in the athletic category is "strong as an ox", and I am not sure why you think he was strong as an ox. I am not saying he wasn't strong but I don't necessarily think of him in that way. Bird could not jump, he was slow. Maybe we are looking at "athleticism" in a different way, which goes back to my comment about judging the best sport being vague.

Football requires split second reads and decisions, if you make the wrong decision in that split second you give up a touchdown. Of course the ability sometimes overcomes the mental aspects of the game, but the higher up you go in the sport the less likely you are able to get away with pure talent and no knowledge of the game.

 

To go further against the basketball argument, one think I have noticed from watching college basketball is that the players are not too bright, either that or they are not well coached for end of the game situations. Cannot count how many times I have seen times go for the three to win by two, instead of the two to win by one. I watched Vanderbilt do it; I watched Trey Burke do; and I'm sure Russ did it this past game against ND.

 

I have also noticed that basketball players shy away from contact; and if contact is made to give advantage to one player over a defender it is called a foul?! Come on. In football that is either called a broken tackle, or a tackle.

 

Football requires plenty of hand-eye coordination. Look at the catches that WRs and TEs make on a weekly basis and tell me they lack hand-eye coordination; heck even some of the defensive guys made incredible plays on the ball that require unmatched hand-eye coordination.

 

There is so much skill to be learned in football, because the variations of the positions are so fast. Unlike basketball where there is SOME difference between a PG and a Center, but they essentially need to be able to do everything all the other basketball players need to do; dribble, shoot, pass, and defend.

 

A majority of offensive linemen cannot play basketball more than 5 trips up and down a full court, skills excluded. Any basketball player can step on the football field and perform.