FanNation - The Republic of Sport

I agree with some of them, however others are absurd. I consider Tiger Words a lot things; great golfer, intelligent, classy and humble. Tough? Nope, no way no how. That word can't be associated with that sport, sorry. How about Bethany Hamilton?? Lost her arm due to a tiger shark attack. She still surfs and competes at a high level. Jeff Clark??? Surfed 50 ft cold and shark infested waters by himself at Mavericks for 12 years. Evander Holyfield should be considered too. I know he needs to retire and not fight anymore, but do you recall his old days. A blown up cruiser weight that fought against fighters much bigger than himself as his body failed him, with injuries. He dished out everything he took as well. Lance Armstrong, I don't like bike riding; however what he has done and been through is well beyond "tough." Well that is all for now. Our definitions of tough might be different, but your list is lacking, in my humble opinion.

this might make me seem like a homer but , Brett Favre should at least be on there.

Jon Runyan's the definition of tough.

Tough is when the odds are against you. When everyone's saying you can't do it. You're nothing. You don't matter. It's impossible for you to win.... and then you get up and get the job done, shocking everyone.

Tough is when you're hit time after time after time after time and you get back up, not fighting back, not yelling. Just dusting yourself off and going right at them again, knowing they'll hit you harder the next time. You'll let your stats speak for you.

Tough is taking the hits, the punches, the kicks, the tackles, the slides, the jeers, the hate, the chaos, and you turn it into something that makes you stronger, something that helps you build the bridge from here to there. From where you are to where you want to be. To victory. To a championship. To glory.

Im in a very poetic mood today...

With all that said, the toughest would have to be most boxers and MMA fighters, and of course the old school guys like Dick Butkus, Jim Brown, etc. Guys who took hits and gave them out without questions asked.

And really why is Chesnut on there? Competitve Eating really doesn't involve toughness. Hunger, maybe, and lots of spare time, but not toughness.

Brett Favre should be there but i think these are current athletes, they did put Brett in the 50 greatest retired legends...so I think that was why he was excluded.

I honestly can not believe that you put Tiger Woods as your number 1 pick as the toughest athlete. There is by far NO comparison to Lance Mackey. Not only did he (Lance) go on to win the Yukon Quest, AND the Iditarod back to back last year, when no one said it was possible, he did it AGAIN this year! (He even got the boot as a top athlete last year!) All this from a man who fought cancer and won... Talk about determination.

The racers who mush the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest, and the Sweepstakes have far more talent and ruggedness than your giving any of them credit for. Not only do they have to bear the absolute horrid weather, but try and take care of up to 16 dogs?!? I'm sorry but you are all way off on your call.

I'd love to see Tiger Woods handle dogs the way Mackey does, or any of the other musher's out there, no one understands and can get a team to work as hard as Mackey currently and in the past. It takes alot of cunning and thinking on your feet, while bearing the weight of yourself and those dogs all on your shoulders, and try to think while dead arse tired.

Shame on you Sports Illustrated

A golfer at number one. Good job of screwing up the list right off the bat idiots. This may be the stupidest list of any lists I've ever seen. My ass could pick a better list.

Sorry, but I have to agree with some of these other comments. There is no way that Tiger Woods should be #1 on any "toughest" list. There isn't anything tough about being a golfer. You say that he is #1 because he is mentally tough, but who on the list isn't? All elite athletes have to be or they wouldn't perform at that level. You listed Chrissie Wellington (Ironman Champion) at #10, you can't tell me that she isn't mentally tough too. She swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 and ran 26.2 in a little over 9 hours. That takes both physical and mental toughness. You can put Tiger on this list, just add two zeros after that #1.

Good going SI! How could you have forgotten Raider Great "00" Center Jim Otto!?!?!?

60 surgeries- the longest consective game streak (15 Seasons) for the Raiders WHILE INJURED practically the whole time- first Radier to go into the HOF. The epitomy of tough.

He went to the Pro Bowl after playing an entire season with 3 torn ACL's !

What are you drinking?

sports ill-its -stated why do you or cheeziespn even do rankings like this tiger no, chest-nut no, and chelios hell no. that skating pilon , he is still around only because his team is fast enough to cover for him. chelios over bourque in the final minute yeah i'm sure opposing teams drool when they see chelios the fossil on the ice. just keep the hockey players off any of your lists, even the hockey ones because you only pick your favorites which include the deadthings, rump rangers the stars

Steve Largent, stellar 5-11, 1987-pound Seahawk of the '70s and '80s who was blessed with terrific hands and no fear of going over the middle.

I didn't notice that Steve Largent weighed over a half-ton, I wouldn't be scared going over the middle if I were him either!!

To not give Lance Mackey or any other number of extremely tough athletes who have withstood unsurmountable conditions, injuries and sickness, to still pursue their sport and be on top the number one position is absolutely ridiculous. This is not to say that Tiger WOods isn't a superb athlete... but if your list focuses on toughness, I agree with another comment here that everyone on this list is mentally tough, or they wouldn't be here... toughness is far more than mentality... and as far as what Tiger could handle, if faced with the trials, trails and tribulations that Lance Mackey has faced, he wouldn't bother walking off the plane in Anchorage to the starting line because he couldn't handle it... I think you ought to really give credit where it is due, not where its probably been paid for.... why the hell else would you place Tiger at the top of a list of superb athletes known for their TOUGHNESS?????????????????????????????????

I think that somebody somewhere was taking a nap. How could Tiger Woods be #1 instead of Lance Mackey? There is no comparison if toughness was the basis of the voting.It is like saying whipped cream is tougher than ice.
I guess the reality of dog mushing has yet to become public knowledge. It is about time that all the dog mushers get the credit they well deserve!

Tiger Woods as number 1? I'll admit he's a good golfer, but there are others on the list who would be better at number one. The man at Number 2, has a lot more power and strength to go on with life AND fight cancer AND race 1,049 miles through the freezing cold (Tiger has played in rain, but rain ain't -50 below and colder when the wind chill hits you). Plus if your a musher you have dogs to feed, take care of, train, have a REAL job to support your lifestyle, in the middle of nowhere in Alaska, YEAR ROUND (there is no "I'll take a break and come back to a later tournament, I need a break"). Shame on you SI. Just because Tiger Woods is a more popular name in the Lower 48, DO NOT forget that there are TOUGHER people in this world, that live in the USA (that's ALL 50 states. Not just the ones you choose to look at).

Tiger Woods as number 1? I'll admit he's a good golfer, but there are others on the list who would be better at number one. The man at Number 2, has a lot more power and strength to go on with life AND fight cancer AND race 1,049 miles through the freezing cold (Tiger has played in rain, but rain ain't -50 below and colder when the wind chill hits you). Plus if your a musher you have dogs to feed, take care of, train, have a REAL job to support your lifestyle, in the middle of nowhere in Alaska, YEAR ROUND (there is no "I'll take a break and come back to a later tournament, I need a break"). Shame on you SI. Just because Tiger Woods is a more popular name in the Lower 48, DO NOT forget that there are TOUGHER people in this world, that live in the USA (that's ALL 50 states. Not just the ones you choose to look at).

I love Tiger, but Lance Mackey is the toughest man on the planet. (Put Tiger at #24).
Mush a team 1100 miles and win a race over the most treacherous terrain on earth at 60 below, then enter the Iditarod 2 weeks later and mush to victory again at the end of a 1200 mile trail through the extreme Alaskan wilderness. He did this 2 years in a row! ....a feat thought impossible to do even once.
There is NO ONE, not even extreme fighters that have the toughness of this man. They listed him #2, I guess that's something.

Lance Mackey should have been on the top. What does Tiger Woods do in golf that is TOUGH!

Put any of those listed on your list on Iditarod Trail and see if they can make it 1100 miles in 40 below.

Lance Mackey should have been No. 1 on the list. What did Tiger Woods do in golf that defines Tough??

Put any of those on the list out on the Iditirod trail at 40 below and see if they make it 1100 miles with a dog sled.

Lance Mackey is the toughest guy I know. He also is the most down to earth determined person I have EVER met. They just don't make them any better than that.

I have been an Iditarod fan forever, and when I saw that Tiger Woods was the "toughest athlete" I nearly choked. Tiger woods is a great athlete, I'm not arguing that fact, but tough he is not. While Tiger was relaxing with the heat on in his Buick Lucerne, Lance Mackey raced for over 1,000 miles in the most awful conditions imaginable on frostbitten feet, and managed to win both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod TWO years in a row... let's see Tiger do that! Tiger's manicured hands couldn't hold Lance Mackey's jock strap. Lance Mackey is the epitome of tough. GO #13... oops #6.