Throwdowns > Closed

Marlins Fan said 02/01, 03:52 AM
Pick any 3 athletes you wish were still playing. Pick one per argument and explain why you picked them. Could be someone you loved watching as a kid, or someone you never got the chance to see; whatever. The only rule is remember we were talking about these players as if they could still play at the level of their prime, so theoretically you could even pick an active player. This isn't a true debate, I guess; I just want to talk some sports and I have no friends, so... once again here we are on FN, lol.

Anyway, my first selection is Michael Jordan.

Now I'm not the biggest basketball fan in the world, by any means, but Jordan is widely viewed as the epitome of basketball, and every year we hear the talking heads comparing players to Jordan.

This doesn't happen so much in the other major American sports, probably because each of the positions in MLB/NFL are so different it's tough to say any one player was indisputably the greatest.

But it happens frequently in basketball. Everyone uses MJ as the measuring stick by which all the current great players are gauged. And that's precisely why I wish MJ were still playing today.

To see how today's greats measure up.

Marlins Fan said 02/01, 11:41 PM
My second selection is Barry Sanders.

Barry was the most-fun-to-watch athlete I have ever seen, from any sport. As far as I'm concerned, Barry was the one guy you just had to watch regardless.

I'm a Cowboys fan, and growing up I always watched the Cowboys and Lions on Thanksgiving. And no matter how much I loved watching the Boys, especially in their glory days, it was always an extra speical treat watching Barry dance behind the line of scrimmage and break peoples' ankles on his way to a 50 yard TD run.

Barry wasn't consistent, and sometimes would start a game with 10-15 carries for about 10-15 yards but you knew that sooner or later he was going to bust a completely jaw-dropping run.

I would love to see Barry today just because I miss the excitement he brought to the game.

For me, watching Barry was like having Devin Hester, Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Demarcus Ware all rolled into one. It was the ultimate in football viewing, and oh how I wish he were still playing at an elite level so I could turn to my wife after a great play and say, wow how redonk was that?!

Barry brought out the childlike fan-boy quality in me, and I wish it could happen again.

Marlins Fan said 02/03, 12:36 AM
Alright, I've given you one NBA player and one NFL player, meaning I've saved the best for last. That's right, here comes the MLB guy...

Without any further ado, for my final selection I'm going with the Say Hey Kid.

Willie ****-ing Mays.

I thought about the Babe, but honestly I would rather watch Willie Mays in action that Babe Ruth. Some might call that sacriledge, I call it the wise choice, the only choice.

Babe Ruth could knock the stitching off the ball but Willie Mays could do it all.

He could hit for power, hit for average, run like the wind on the basepaths and he fielded his position perhaps better than any other.

According to Ted Williams, Willie Mays is the reason MLB invented the All-Star game.

While I realize that Ted was making a point, Willie is still the one athlete that I would watch if I could watch anybody from any era.

660 career HRs, two seasons of 50 homers in an era when it wasn't common, a .302 career BA, 338 stolen bases, 12 Gold Gloves even though the GG award wasn't invented until Mays was already in his sixth year.

Willie Mays was the epitome of baseball.

Heck, Willie was the epitome of an athlete.