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Originally Posted by Himbo
I am of the belief that any "sport" where you can remain a contender or top player for over 5 - 7 years is not a sport.
You can be a Nascar driver for 15 - 20 years if you so chose. You can't do that in Basketball, NHL or Baseball and remain at top/pinnicle of your game. imo.
I enjoy Nascar but i never refer to the drivers as "athletes"
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What the hell are you talking about? The only sport you CAN"T play 15-20 years is Football, for obvious
reasons. Hell, Mario Lemieux (NHL) has been playing since 1984, and he had freakin CANCER.
Many pitchers play baseball 20-30 seasons. Nolan Ryan played from '68-94. Gordie Howe played Hockey
till he was 50, Gretsky played from '77-99 (and he was definately top player for more than 5-7 years.)
Lance Armstrong, in Tour de France terms, has been the top player for 6 years.
You're arguement is quickly falling apart at the seams (at least your first part, and most of the second).
While it's true that after 15-20 years you may not be the top contender, most of the players who make it
that far are still pretty damn decent. (Ray Bourque for instance. Nolan Ryan pitched two no-hitters in his
last 4 years of the game. Michael Jordan was still super when he quit the Bulls (although maybe not after-
wards. I can only name a few greats who were still at the top of their game towards the 15-20 mark
because their are only a few race car drivers who are also still great after all these years.)