Is Federer the greatest sports-person in the world?

[AJG]

what about the top 5 tennis players of the last 20 years?

1. Roger Federer
2. Pete Sampras
3. Andre Aggassi
4. Rafael Nadaal
5. Stefan Edberg

Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, McEnroe and Bjon Borg (ok, hes going back more than 20 yrs). Lets not forget poor old A-Rod, who Fed took the mantle of No. 1 from in Australia 2004, and has runner up'ed Wimbledon 3 times since 2004, which in the age of Federer still says a lot! (Whats up with his butt when he serves though?)

Based on Nathan's criteria (but I dont think personal life has anything to do with it, otherwise OJ Simpson would have a big leg up in the 'social' criteria, just for the wrong reasons ) Michael Jordan would certainly be my vote:
For overall athletic ability and with all his NBA awards (especially in the more competitive modern era):
# 2 Olympic Gold Medals – 1984, 1992
# 6-time NBA Champion [woulda been 7 had his father not died the year after his 1st 3]
# 6-time NBA Finals MVP [Thats EVERY title he won, also MVP!]
# 5-time NBA MVP [How can this not be 6 to??!]
# 7-time The Sporting News MVP
# 10 NBA Scoring Titles
# 14 NBA All-Star Selections
# 3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP
# 11 All-NBA Selections
# 9 All-Defensive Selections
# 2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion – 1987, 1988 [And the only player to actually dunk from behind the freethrow line - slow motion showed others who did it actually had their foot over the line AND he was the only one who dribbled the ball into the dunk, the others just palmed it and ran!]
# NBA Rookie of the Year – 1984
# NBA Defensive Player of the Year – 1988 [Same year he won one of his scoring titles!]
# Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year – 1991
# Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996
# Ranked #1 by SLAM Magazine's Top 50 Players of All-Time
# Ranked #1 by ESPN Sportscentury's Top 100 Athletes of the 20th century

I mean come on! Thats borderline inhuman! And that last acolade pretty much says it all....
And his legendary ability to make 'clutch' plays and perform under extreme adverse conditions, ie his famous Flu Game in the '97 playoffs (I can still remember watching that game in absolute awe!) Another link here
Changed the game style a lot, and although the NBA was huge in the US already, he is largely repsonsible for making it globally huge...
I remember at 1 point in the 90s, he was THE most recognised sports figure in the world (u only need to see an outline of his patented dunk image to recognise him, or just a black profile of his bust).
And he also changed the US socially, with all his work with young, poor, (mainly black) kids...
And he's made more money than those 5 tennis players benny the cunt listed combined!

But what about Michael Phelps with his 7 world records and 14 Olympic golds?
He certainly had a social impact being caught with a bong!

[AJG]

But I do agree, Federer in one amazing player, and an absolute pleasure to watch.... As being one of the hallmarks of the truely great, he is so silky smooth he sometimes makes me feel 'Hey, that looks EASY' after watching him play... And what a gentleman!
One problem though is he is still in his carreer, if not his prime, so with Jordan (and others) we can look back on an entire career, we are yet to see what Federer can fully acheive, and for the most part he has done it without a coach! (cmon dude! BUY a clay court and sleep on it if you have to to get a French Open!). I'd lay money on him to make atleast 20 Grand Slam Titles! And I really hope he gets a sweep of all 4 majors...

He gets an extra vote to for emotional attachment to his sport and its History.
Who remembers him breaking down being presented the Australian Open trophy BY Rod Laver IN the Rod Laver Arena? Awesome! Gotta admire a man who can weap like that on International TV! (Imagine Helmuth crying on TV if he wins the WSOP ME )

[bennymacca]

(cmon dude! BUY a clay court and sleep on it if you have to to get a French Open!).

dude, federer won this years french.

[Scotty]

(cmon dude! BUY a clay court and sleep on it if you have to to get a French Open!).

dude, federer won this years french.

[krunchie]

(cmon dude! BUY a clay court and sleep on it if you have to to get a French Open!).

dude, federer won this years french.

+1

[maccatak11]

haha, code monkeys in sports threads. i love it.

[BigPete33]

Jordan also had the benefit of being on the up whilst almost everyone else that was a superstar around him was either at their peak already or on their way down.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird (and especially the rivalry their teams had) were just as awesome as Michael Jordan and what he did the for Bulls.
I cannot help but feel that a lot of Jordans sports popularity was also due to the marketing of him and that he was a flashy type of player. No, I am not saying that's all he was good at, I am saying that's what a lot of people with no idea would see and jump on the bandwagon for.




I also lol'd at not knowing Federer won this years French Open.

That's like not knowing to not comment on a live hand but then asking someone why they bet into a dry side pot.

Oh wait.....

[Des]

(cmon dude! BUY a clay court and sleep on it if you have to to get a French Open!).

dude, federer won this years french.

I LOL'D

+2

[AceLosesKing]

(cmon dude! BUY a clay court and sleep on it if you have to to get a French Open!).

dude, federer won this years french.

+3. It was funny

[AJG]

(cmon dude! BUY a clay court and sleep on it if you have to to get a French Open!).

dude, federer won this years french.

My Bad, wasnt around to watch it this year...