The hardest sport?

[Brian Fein]

Am I the only one who thinks its hard enough to ice skate, let alone skate backwards while controlling a puck, or to skate while someone fires a small piece of galvanized rubber at you at 100+ MPH?

[Dave Gray]

Yeah, Golf isn't a sport.  There's not defense.

I voted baseball, because I've heard that hitting a baseball consistancy is the hardest thing to do.  ...it makes sense to me.

[Thundergod]

Am I the only one who thinks its hard enough to ice skate, let alone skate backwards while controlling a puck, or to skate while someone fires a small piece of galvanized rubber at you at 100+ MPH?

I'm with ya there Brian, you just beat me to it!   ;D 

I'm the lone football vote at this point. I think that it takes all the skill of the other sports, but is performed while other people are trying to kill you. That last part makes it the hardest, imo.

...and do this on ice.

P.S.  I know I'm gonna get it,  but here goes. 

Golf, Horse racing,  NASCAR,  bike racing = Games,  not sports.   

[YoFuggedaboutit]

I'd honestly have to give it to wrestling, and not the WWE kind.  More like the kind you see at the Olympics.  Not only does this sport require a ton of individual skill (you have to know how to counter your opponents moves and you don't know what your opponent will do until you lock up), but it is also one of the most, if not THE most physically demanding sports.  Most people run a mile, and that's a cardio workout for them.  Wrestlers run 3-4 miles and that's only the beginning of a workout for them. 

[Brian Fein]

P.S.  I know I'm gonna get it,  but here goes. 

Golf, Horse racing,  NASCAR,  bike racing = Games,  not sports.   

You're not gonna get it, Dave has a often-published rant on the subject.

[Dave Gray]

Golf, Horse racing,  NASCAR,  bike racing = Games,  not sports.   

WORD (of the century)

[crazy_scar_man]

Nobody in here even mentioned soccer.

That is one of the most physically demanding sports there is. The sheer amount of running at top speed is more than any other sport I can think of.

I'd venture to say it is one of the hardest sports.

[JVides]

(Soccer) That is one of the most physically demanding sports there is. The sheer amount of running at top speed is more than any other sport I can think of.

That's an issue of stamina, though.  Just like some sports are about speed or strength, these skills can be developed (well, perhaps not sheer speed).  In terms of natural born skill, I think you either have a mind capable of seeing the spin on a slider or curve ball or you don't.  Sure, the ability can be developed to a point, but it's just a skill that most people don't have and never will.  This is why I chose baseball.  I know I looked like an ass every time someone threw me a curve ball, yet my height, strength, and marginal speed (physical attributes, not skills) made me an effective basketball and football player.  Not so for baseball.  Can't hit, can't play.

[Dave Gray]

Nobody in here even mentioned soccer.

That is one of the most physically demanding sports there is. The sheer amount of running at top speed is more than any other sport I can think of.

I'd venture to say it is one of the hardest sports.

I'd say that soccer is the easiet sport.  The rules are simple, and kids learn to play very early.  It may be physically demanding, but anyone can do it (maybe not well). 

[run_to_win]

I see a distinction between skill and athletic ability.

I also see a distinction between competition, sport and recreational activities. 

Tiddly winks is a competition that requires a fair amount of skill.  A spelling bee is a competition that requires knowledge.  Fishing and hunting are recreational activities that can also be competitions.  When you're bear hunting and you miss, and the bear comes running after you - and you're running for your life - now it meets the physical requirements to become a sport.

Anything that elite participants can still do at an elite level after age 40 is not a sport.  Golf may require the most skill of anything on the list, but if any elite 25 year old can't whip an elite 50 year old 9 times out of 10, it's not a sport. 

I'm the lone football vote at this point. I think that it takes all the skill of the other sports, but is performed while other people are trying to kill you. That last part makes it the hardest, imo.

I have to agree.  Also, mind you, football is one of the few sports with intentional, brutal contact as part of the game.  Hockey would be right up there too.  Boxing has to be mentioned with brutal contact, but you're not focusing on something else like in football and hockey.  Combine boxing and juggling (or something) to get the same degree of difficulty.

For example, imagine trying to hit a golf ball while another golfer was trying to tackle you, while another golfer was defending the cup.

In college I knew a member of the rifle team who was trying to make the Olympics.  He worked out like an animal.  I never understood.  He said that staring at a target the size of the head of a pin 300 yards away is the most physically demanding thing in the world.   I didn't, and still don't, agree and out of respect I didn't laugh.   Just goes to show that everyone thinks "their" sport is the most difficult.

[wyvernmcd]

At the start level, each sports requires a person who succeeds to be very good on an individual level.  Which game, played at it's highest level, requires the most individual skill?

I feel that hockey goalies have to have the best individual skill when it comes to sports.
What they have to deal with:

1.  Facing 100+ MPH slapshots
2.  Having to see plays through human traffic
3.  Players crashing into the net/goalie (most of the time its both)
4.  Having to deal with people slapping the helmet "accidently" with their stick.
5.  No breaks until intermission or time-outs.
6.  MUST ALWAYS BE DEPENDED ON
7.  No matter what the rest of the team does they are responsible for winning and losing games.

I could think of others and i know it is somewhat off topic because I was supposed to pick a sport not an individual within the sport.  (I am partial towards this because I have and still play net)

[Dave Gray]

5.  No breaks until intermission or time-outs.

Or until play goes to the far side of the ice.

[wyvernmcd]

Or until play goes to the far side of the ice.

What I consider a break is when you can sit down with your team. I don't see myself usually sitting down when the play is in on the other end.

[Phishfan]

I'd say that soccer is the easiet sport.  The rules are simple, and kids learn to play very early.  It may be physically demanding, but anyone can do it (maybe not well). 

What sports don't kids learn how to play early? That didn't even make sense, they are kids.

[run_to_win]

It makes sense if you think of examples like t-ball.  Pitching and hitting a baseball are too difficult for youngsters.  After t-ball the coach pitches for a couple years.

Except for the size of the field, soccer is soccer from the beginning.  Except for the goalie, it's just running and kicking.