What, In Your Opinion, Is the Most Demanding Sport

for me:

1. boxing
2. hockey/bb
3. football
4. tennis
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100. bowling

 

101. Pool

 

TMG - I think your response is great. I'm a HUGE Formula 1 fan - and I think the MENTAL demands of racing are near the very top. You cannot take a lap off. One misstep in 2+ hours could mean disaster. However, even though it's also phsyically demanding, I think that category drops it below Tennis (which remains no. 1).

 

LOL Jack,

I'm beginning to think your just a little prejudice. :wink:

 

For me:

1. Tennis (these athletes go downhill after 30, it just destroys your body. Plus the timing involved requires INTENSE mental preparation). There's a reason that athletes who achieve the No 1. ranking frequently go downhill quickly, it's just too much to handle. Athletes like Sampras come around once every few generations.

2. Boxing (It's mentally tough, but the physical demand is awesome). the reason it falls below tennis is the schedule - 2 or less fights/year. Additionally - the corruption in this sport is extreme. One belt/weight division w/no independent promoters would help this sport immensely.

3. Football - not necessarily the most MENTALLY demanding of sports, it's just so physically demanding that the AVERAGE career is extremely short - takes advantage of subsititutes.

4. (tie) Basketball - Physically demanding, takes alot of practice, the sport is on hardcourts - takes advantage of subsititutes.

4. (tie) Hockey - Physically demanding, alot of practice, physical abuse is prevalent - takes advantage of subsititutes.

5. Tour De France/Endurance Cycling - Extremely Physically/Emotionally Demanding. Should be ranked higher (potentially no. 1) except for the influence that your team can exert on the PELOTON - the lead racers.

6. Rugby - I don't know much about it, but this is a hardcore sport.

7. Formula 1/Rally Racing (motorsports w/o right turns are omitted) - Physically and mentally demanding!

50. Baseball - People who sit around for three hours spitting out sunflower seeds and grabbing their crotches shouldn't be considered.

100. Golf - The fact they they're considered for the ESPIES is an abomination.

101. Bowling - The DUDE abides.

 

- I'm sort of prejudiced, but i've tried to look at this objectively. My favorite sport is basketball, but I realize that it isn't the most physically/mentally demanding of sports.

 

i'd also like to say that i respect ALL professional athletes. All professional leagues represent the pinnacle of their profession and anyone who's made it there represents the very BEST of that sport. I'm just trying to objectively decide what are the very toughest sports (both mentally and physically) to conquer. It's not easy, but I feel certain criteria can lead to a determination about the very best that professional sports offers.

 

i don't see tennis as demanding..... EVERY sport demands high training in off season. just because basketball and such only last a few months of the year, doesn't mean they work their butts off in the off season. tennis is....... not rough. a net is between you. in hockey, you are between the nets. in basketball and football, you are between the nets/ goals. the fields are bigger, the work is bigger, and team play and risks are higher. and lol@ whoever said basketball isn't physical, tell that to someone like shaq, who gets hits every night, or someone like earl boykins who is 5'5" i believe and has to earn his way into the paint. but imho, i say...... rugby, football, hockey, basketball....... comatose marathon, then baseball. boxing isn't a sport..... i see that on my streets all the time.... lol.

 

Another sport I would nominate, which our resident political extremist Senator Joseph Lieberman keeps trying to ban is Ultimate Fighting. This sport would go HIGH on the list as it represents the very best of fighting sports. A great clash of different styles. Unfortunately extremists have been successful in getting this removed from TV (w/ the excepton of pay per view) although rule changes have made this a very safe sport w/little to no bloodshed.

 

Skornz, nice post. I assume you've played basketball before - take that physical punishment, multiply by 10, you've got tennis. It's not about bumping, it's about stopping/starting. Watch a hardcourt match and watch the physical abuse a player goes through over 3+ hours. Why does basketball/football not compare? Randy Moss, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jerome Bettis can take a play off if their number isn't called on the current possession. That doesn't happen in individual sports like tennis. Pete Sampras can't sub out when he's tired like Shaq, Priest Holmes, Gretzky or Moss can. He's in there until he wins or loses. It's truly the ultimate in mental and physical extremes.

 

OK Basketball is less physical then hockey, sitting in the paint is like sitting in front of the net, but people are not getting physically punished at half court.
jackBURTON - hockey is played on ice, last time I checked a ball bounces better on hardcourt cuz there is some give, ice doesnt have a whole lot of give so you cant tell me that the hardcourt all of a sudden equals out getting nailed in center ice.

 

OK it is kinda hard to compare the two then if you are comparing it on an individual basis, and then what about the goalie in hockey, he doesnt get subbed out unless he is doing a horrible job, and that doesnt happen that often so there is an equal and fair comparison. And for reflexes you have to react at the same speed for roughly the same amount of time, cept you have to wear bulky, heavy pads.

 

Not sure about that, when the puck is in the other team's zone, the goalie can relax a bit and watch the play develop. There's no relaxation for either player in Tennis.

With regards to Basketball/Hockey - i'm saying the punishment equals out. Ice is an easier form of transportation - there's no doubt about that. So the starting/stopping and confrontation of basketball equals the starting/stopping + checks of hockey.

 

162 game season... baseball just beats you down... track and cycling dont even come close...

 

good thread guys! keep it going. 8)

I think Rugby should be in front of Football most definitely.

Golf I would say is a little higher than 100 on the list as it is extremely mental but not as much physical. There is so much pressure to hit the shot you want and keep the line you are aiming for. But it is still at the bottom of the list.

You guys ever watch the Lumberjack competitions? Those are all very physically challenging, and very mental as you have to get your cut right the first time and do it extremely fast. Playing with saws and axes all day where every chop counts (spring board chop, standing chop are really the only ones that apply, as all other events are purely physical).

OK, heres one for all us Gen X'ers out there. Flatland Skateboarding. 90 Seconds similar to boxing but only one run at a time. Best two out of three runs is your final score. I have recently gotten back on my board and have renewed my respect for these guys. Physically skating is very demanding, keep pushing that right leg to keep you going and keep that left leg balanced to guide your way. Do it for an hour, its very exhausting.
Now mentally, see how you feel when you are staring at a 10-15 step staircase with a rail going down it, and lets see if you can do the kickflip to 50-50 railslide and balance yourself all the way down the rail, and then land it at the bottom. This sport is probably more mental than physical, but I think it definitely goes in front of golf as golf has no physical pain associated with failing.

Its very interesting to pick apart each sport like this, because by doing so you can understand a little more about the people that play them.

 

How come no one has mentioned indoor soccer? Its basicly soccer on half the field and no rest. The game is 10 times faster than normal soccer and twice as rough. No pads above the knee, though the ball isn't as lethal as a hockey puck. So its all ball control and field positioning at a very fast pace. I would put it in front of football because of the pace and lack of protective gear, and possibly in front of hockey because the pace is the same, the surface is more unforgiving than ice (carpet on top of cement), and again the lack of protective gear used. The only thing you can put against soccer is the material of the ball shot at the goalie. But then again I'd say that a soccer goal is Proportionally about 4 times bigger than a hockey goal so i'd call the goalies about even.

 

i saw that coming...of course a hockey fan will put hockey in the 1st place...as a toughest sport.
me playing for a college team i know what it takes to play 40 mins...plus practice ware's u down physically....i could go on n' on...

with out a doubt basketball should be up there on top..at least a tie.

 

Baseball could be a 500 game season and it wouldn't approach the other sports in terms of mental and physical stress.

When you look at the total amount of activity the average player experiences during a baseball game it's extremely low.

 

Mental state for team sports seem to be over looked but what happens when you make a mistake that costs your team a game much like Buchanan did in the Chiefs Raiders game last night when he dropped the punt and the Chiefs recovered and got the touchdown or when Brown had to come out to the 1 yard line to make the receception at the end of the game and didn't get in for the score with no time left. Every team sport has great mental challenges because when mistakes are made it takes toll on more than just yourself.

I have watched a few baseball games that were approaching 6 hours long between 16-18 innings before. Each team was down to the last possible pitcher they could use. After a game like that it takes the team many weeks to recover after using the entire team for a single game. They also play 6 games a week on avg., only see their family for a couple hours a day when they are even home because most players show up to the field before 2pm for a 7pm start time or there at day break for a noon game. Baseball is a very demanding sport mentally as your team becomes your family for around 8 months of the year. And the comment about baseball being the only sport where a guy like Mo Vaughn can be a key play think again when looking towards boxing (George Foreman) and football (most offensive and defensive lineman).

I don't think there is really any sport when taken to a professional level that there can be considered one that is more demanding over the other since the Press is where the big pressure will come from with any sport.

Even Gary Kasparov was put in a huge deal of pressure when he agreed to take on Deep Blue (a supercomputer designed to play chess by IBM for those that don't know). Or the amount of pressure Tiger Woods has to feel by the media everytime he steps foot on a golf course.

So no matter what it is you do when you approach the top of any game everything will become mentally and physically challenging to meet the new demands expected.

 

There is so much physical wear and tear though...maybe not for all the players out there but like i said before the pitchers and catchers get beat down every game they are out there