10 Hardest Things To Do in Sports

[cparakeet]

..... #1 is considered by USA Tody to be hitting a baseball? Oh *come on* folks. You have 3 tries to hit the damn ball. You get only one shot in Figure Skating.

Will everyone help support the poll they put up on their web page? The Quad deserves more credit!!!! Right now it's considered hardest by readers like you and me at 25.5% Let's keep it that way!!

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2003-03-02-ten-hardest-experts_x.htm

[Skatingsarah]

Okay this is sooo off!!
here's the order!
1-Hitting a Baseball
2-Driving a race car
3-Pole Vaulting
4-Hitting a golf Ball
5-returning a 30mph shot
6-LANDING A QUAD
7-Running a Marathon
8-Tour De France
9-Skiing down a hill

Can you imagine driving a race car would be harder then doing a quad! I mean how long does it take to drive a car, a couple Drivers Ed lessons, "IF THAT." Now landing a quad I would say thats more like over 15 years in the sport and only if your really talented you will be able to do it. I mean look at the women in the sport.. How many quads are landed in a ladies competition...ZiP, ZeRo.
Quoted by Picabo Street (downhill skier)
"Before all my injuries, I'd say yeah, give me a shot. Now I'd say no way. I'll admire from afar like all the other sane people."

[lilwish]

Okay, I will even give them driving a race car because they go so fast that it is difficult to maintain control and it takes courage as well as control. I will give them hitting a baseball because they are talking about hitting something that is coming at 90 mph toward you...Pole vaulting...I know nothing at all to contribute to the argument BUT hitting a golf ball? even hitting it well???? How can that be more difficult than landing a quad?

[Oracle]

Considering that Todd Eldredge is a former World Champion skater & does well in pro-am golf tournaments without being able to practice year round there is no way that hitting a golf ball can be harder than landing the quad which he trained for, for years. I'm surprised that the Tour de France is so low as well. It is a grueling competition which goes on for weeks.

[icyboid]

I'm just glad a jump made it onto that list, but I agree, it's way underrated...especially in the context of things.

You can make up ground from a mistake in the long run in baseball, driving, vaulting, golfing, and tennis, but you only get two (or three at Worlds/GPF) chances in skating.

[taf2]

This is interesting but I think my list would also be different. I've only played golf once, and I didn't whiff the ball even once, so how hard could it be? I think hitting a baseball is so high on the list because of the huge number of baseball fans. I definitely would have jockey on the list somewhere, especially steeplechase riders.

[Lindsay]

i agree with that list mostly except that DEFINATLY landing a quad should be way higher! and wut about synchro swimming the endurance, flexibilty and then presentation is WAY harder than hitting a golf ball----its so precise!

[Peter G]

I want all those people who voted "hitting a baseball" as the hardest thing to do to go land a quad.

I'm going to go hit a baseball.

Once the task is completed, everyone gets to have a massage, sit in the whirlpool, and have a home-cooked meal served to them.

But you must complete the task FIRST.

:roll:

[carebear]

Well, it looks like all the real sports got dissed-AGAIN. :x

For some reason I always thought it would be harder to get up on a four inch wide beam and perform series of backflips, than to swing a bat (or club) and hit a plain target...I don't know JMO....

[KHenry14]

Uh, not to be the naysayer here, because I do believe that landing a quad is extremely difficult, but I just have to comment.

When people talk about hitting a baseball, it's not a baseball that's sitting still like 6 year olds playing tee-ball. They are talking about a Randy Johnson 100 mph fastball thrown in anger. Or a Roger Clemens split-finger fastball that looks like it's at your waist but by the time it get's to you it's at your ankles. Add to that that the hitter doesn't know what's coming, and you'll begin to see why people are saying how hard it is to hit a baseball. Believe me there is a reason that hitters get less that 2 hits out of 10 off of Randy Johnson. And frankly, much of what I said here hold's true for returning that 130mph tennis serve.

As for golf, while I fully admit that hitting the ball that is just sitting there isn't that hard, I believe that what people were getting at is hitting it consistantly well. Even Tiger Woods hits at least 20 shots per round that aren't where he wanted them to go, and he is clearly the best in the world at hitting a golf ball.

So on the face of it, hitting either golf balls or baseballs may seem easy, there is clearly a lot more to it than the mere act of swinging a club or bat.

JMHO

Ken

[icyboid]

It'd be more credible if they said "hitting a home run" instead

[Dnce4UGold]

I just wanted to note that, in case anyone actually looked at the graphics to this article, they printed a quintuple demonstration drawing and called it a quad!!
Yes, that's right!-They have the stick figure doing 5 revolutions in the air. I guess that settles the question of weather their editor really knew anything about the sports they were writing about.....hmmmm.

Did anyone else notice this, or was it just me?