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+--- Thread: Favorite Athletes (/Thread-Favorite-Athletes)
Favorite Athletes - grimmfreak - 06-24-2014
who are of your favorite athletes?
For me many names come to mind but I'll give you one for now...
Didier Drogba is by far my favorite football (soccer) player and a great person to boot. Just got through watching the heartbreaking Ivory Coast loss to Greece, eliminating Drogba's home nation from competition.
I am not one of those people who thinks it should be expected for athletes to provide examples of what it is to be a good human being. Still I look as much at this aspect of an athletes life as I do their skill on the field, when picking my personal favorites.
Didier Drogba has been a great hero on and off the pitch for millions I leave you to read about his football career at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Drogba here is some of what sells him as a great person to me...
From the wiki page...
"Drogba is credited with playing a vital role in bringing peace to his country. After the Ivory Coast qualified for the 2006 World Cup, Drogba made a desperate plea to the combatants, asking them to lay down their arms, a plea which was answered with a cease fire after five years of civil war. Drogba later helped move an African Cup of Nations qualifier to the rebel stronghold of Bouake; a move that helped confirm the peace process...
His involvement in the peace process led to Drogba being named as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine for 2010. Drogba's charity work continued when, in late 2009, he announced he would be donating the £3 million signing on fee for his endorsement of Pepsi for the construction of a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan...
You can read more on the Wiki page if you like...
RE: Favorite Athletes - Starfury - 06-24-2014
(06-24-2014, 03:03 PM)grimmfreak Wrote: who are of your favorite athletes?
For me many names come to mind but I'll give you one for now...
Didier Drogba is by far my favorite football (soccer) player and a great person to boot. Just got through watching the heartbreaking Ivory Coast loss to Greece, eliminating Drogba's home nation from competition.
I am not one of those people who thinks it should be expected for athletes to provide examples of what it is to be a good human being. Still I look as much at this aspect of an athletes life as I do their skill on the field, when picking my personal favorites.
Didier Drogba has been a great hero on and off the pitch for millions I leave you to read about his football career at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Drogba here is some of what sells him as a great person to me...
From the wiki page...
"Drogba is credited with playing a vital role in bringing peace to his country. After the Ivory Coast qualified for the 2006 World Cup, Drogba made a desperate plea to the combatants, asking them to lay down their arms, a plea which was answered with a cease fire after five years of civil war. Drogba later helped move an African Cup of Nations qualifier to the rebel stronghold of Bouake; a move that helped confirm the peace process...
His involvement in the peace process led to Drogba being named as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine for 2010. Drogba's charity work continued when, in late 2009, he announced he would be donating the £3 million signing on fee for his endorsement of Pepsi for the construction of a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan...
You can read more on the Wiki page if you like...
A truly magnificent man and athlete. I almost feel bad about lambasting him every time he scored against Liverpool but to quote the great Bill Shankly 'some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that'.
I don't think you are likely to find another inspirational sports person who comes close to helping to stop a civil war. But my favourite athlete is Sir Steve Redgrave, a man whose single mindedness allowed him to win 5 gold medals at 5 consecutive Olympic games, despite being diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, having ulcerative colitis, and being born dyslexic. Another inspirational man who has given back to his sport and works tirelessly for charity.
RE: Favorite Athletes - wfmyers1207 - 06-24-2014
I will go further back in time, and since I'm American and a baseball fan, I will chose Roberto Clemente. A very fine athlete, a fine person, a good Marine, and a humanitarian his whole life. Who died trying to help those in distress.
RIP Roberto!
RE: Favorite Athletes - grimmfreak - 06-24-2014
Two great choices my friends... here is another...
Tony Gwynn... A man who dedicated himself to a team and a city, Mr. Padre will be missed by so many in baseball and in life in general RIP Tony!
RE: Favorite Athletes - Starfury - 06-24-2014
If we are looking at Athletes that have given to a city what about Cal Ripken Jr, record breaking 2632 consecutive games, the 'Iron man' of baseball, I remember staying up into the wee twilight hours to watch the game where he surpassed Lou Gehrigs record of 2130. He continues to support the game he gave so much to and has been a governmental ambassador of sport, he also has a charitable foundation working to promote grass roots baseball.
RE: Favorite Athletes - grimmfreak - 06-25-2014
Cal is the awesome...
Another who gave back to his city is Mario Lemieux. IMO the greatest talent to ever play the game of Hockey, he took pay cuts, even gave back some of his salary to keep his team afloat financially and then bought the team after he retired to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Eventually he helped turn his team into one of the strongest franchisesmin the NHL both on and off the ice.
Gotta love that kind of dedication to a town and to a team... Would Gretzky do that... No.
RE: Favorite Athletes - Starfury - 06-25-2014
(06-25-2014, 10:33 AM)grimmfreak Wrote: Cal is the awesome...
Another who gave back to his city is Mario Lemieux. IMO the greatest talent to ever play the game of Hockey, he took pay cuts, even gave back some of his salary to keep his team afloat financially and then bought the team after he retired to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Eventually he helped turn his team into one of the strongest franchisesmin the NHL both on and off the ice.
Gotta love that kind of dedication to a town and to a team... Would Gretzky do that... No.
I bow to your obvious superior knowledge, Gretzky is the name always mentioned in non-ice hockey circles when this games is brought up, but as you say very few people would do what Mr Lemieux did. In the end a legacy isn't only about the stats you post on the board its about the feelings you leave with people through out life and it would seem from what you say, that one day he will get that statue outside the Civic arena 'the igloo' and people will remember a great player, a great owner, but above all else a great man
There was a quite heated debate between certain sections of the basball community prior to his election to the Hall of Fame out his stats, being ordinary for a short stop/third baseman, that would have made me pull my hair out if I had any
. People seem to have this very myopic view of what makes an athlete or lets face it anybody a great person. Its always what did he or she do for me, rather than what did they do and also what did they contribute to their team to their community. Cal Ripkin Jr posted good number for 21 straight years, the average professional baseball career is 5.6 years based on the last stats I could find, and then on top of that has had a distinguish post game career. What more can a man or woman do to be worthy of being considered a Hall of famer.
RE: Favorite Athletes - Nibbio - 03-15-2015
Do you guys watch tennis? My fav tennis player is Grigor Dimitrov!
RE: Favorite Athletes - grimmfreak - 04-03-2015
(03-15-2015, 01:41 PM)Nibbio Wrote: Do you guys watch tennis? My fav tennis player is Grigor Dimitrov!
While I don't have a lot of time to watch tennis I do watch when I get the chance and very much appreciate the level of skill that goes into it. In my younger and more nimble years I had the chance to play the game as well so I know first hand the amount of training involved.
My personal favorite has to be Billy Jean King not only for her aggressive net attacking style but for her courage in breaking down barriers both in the world of sports and beyond.
RE: Favorite Athletes - Grimmster123 - 04-03-2015
I happen to be a tennis player myself as is my brother and my father teaches it for a living. I can easily say that it may be one of the hardest and most grueling sports to play. For one you can't afford to have a bad day because there's no team to carry you to victory (unless of course you're playing doubles and even in that case you'll need both players playing well to have a chance to win). Second there's no time limit to how long the match can go and unlike other sports you can't run out the clock, you have to earn the win.