v2 G.OA.T Round 2 Match 1

First topic message reminder :

Round 2 kicks off today with the first 1 on 1 match up.

Today’s match see's Tennis gland slam champion Roger Federer taking on Boxing legend Henry Armstrong.

Please vote for the participant you believe has achieved the most in sport

Below are the previous round 1 articles written by forum members

Please leave a comment as to why you voted

Roger Federer- Tennis- Championed by emancipator

2001, Wimbledon Centre Court; defending and seven time Wimbledon champion 'Pistol' Pete Sampras, the man who had reigned at the top of men's tennis for close to a decade and considered by many to be unbeatable on this hallowed turf is at crisis point. At two sets all, 5-6 and 15-40 down in the deciding set, the ruthlessly efficient Sampras is facing match point. It had been five years since anyone had managed to beat him in this tournament. His opponent is a relatively unknown challenger in the form of Swiss teenager, 19 year old Roger Federer. On countless occasions throughout his career Sampras had bailed himself out of tight spots with his booming, swerving, pin-point accurate serve; the serve universally acclaimed as the greatest in history. He wipes sweat from his brow, bounces the ball twice, looks up, coils himself into the releasing position, then with a seamlessly fluid motion he serves a missile out wide to Federer's forehand and charges towards the net. Federer takes a step towards the ball and unleashes a forehand that whizzes past Sampras for a clean winner. He crumples to his knees in disbelief and celebration. The BBC commentator proclaims the birth of a new star. The crowd rise as one to salute the new King. It is the dawn of a new era.. The Federer era.

It would be another couple of years before Federer would really hit the heights, and what heights! 17 grand slams from 24 finals, including 7 Wimbledon titles. Over 300 weeks as the number one player in the world, including 237 consecutive weeks at the top spot. 6 World Tour Final victories from 8 finals. 23 consecutive grand slam semi-finals; 34 consecutive grand slam quarter finals (and counting); a run of 24 consecutive finals victories in all tournaments, 65 consecutive match wins on grass, 56 consecutive match wins on hardcourt, five consecutive Wimbledon and US Open titles, a run of 18 grand slam finals out of 19 grand slam tournaments played, 21 masters titles.. and on and on.. all of them records, many of them by a considerable distance. There are at least half a dozen Wikipedia articles dedicated to the career achievements and complied statistics/records of Roger Federer. Peruse them at your own leisure - if you've got a few days to spare that is

But what makes Federer really stand out amongst the legends of tennis and indeed any sport is his unique game. Everything about his game is beautiful, everything is seemingly effortless. He glides around the court unhurried, with uncanny footwork and balletic grace. A sixth sense for being at the right place at the right time. He plays with perfect technique. Like an artist, Federer creates masterpieces; the court is his canvas. At heart, he is an attacking player who plays the game the right way; always looking to seize the initiative, to hit outright winners, to win spectacularly and brilliantly. He can hit every shot in the book. But he can also grind and play great defense. If it is so required he can switch to plan b, c, d, whatever it takes. In a sport dominated by super athletes, Federer at his peak was as fast and durable as they come. Modern tennis is played predominantly from the baseline (a stark difference to the tennis of Sampras's heydey which was mainly serve and volley based, with the majority of points won at the net) and Roger Federer can play the baseline game as well as anyone. But he can do so much more. He can mix spins and slices, lobs and dropshots, powerful winners and delicate touch, from the back of the court or at the net. It is this unique fusion of power, skill and aesthetic grace, that has captured the imagination of millions of fans around the world. Federer doesn't just win, he wins with style.

Federer's style and success has allowed him to transcend the sport in a way that few sportsmen in history can match. He is a record four time winner of the prestigious Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award. In a recent poll conducted across 25 countries with 51,000 participants he was voted as the second most trusted person in the world after Nelson Mandela. During the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, Federer received the loudest cheer of the night when he carried the Swiss flag into the stadium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddojLWIjKK4 At the London Olympics Federer's pre-Olympic presser had more than 700 journalists, more than any other star at the games. He was mobbed by crowds during his recent tour of South America with political and sporting dignitaries (including Pele and Maradonna) feting him. He has the most impressive endorsement portfolio in all of sports including blue chip companies such as Nike, Mercedes-Benz (global ambassador), Wilson, Rolex, Credite Suisse, Gillette, Moet & Chandon etc.

But despite all the accolades Federer has remained a likeable, down to earth person. His fellow tennis professionals have voted him the winner of the annual Steffan Edberg Sportsmanship award a record eight times. He is the President of the ATP players council and in this capacity has campaigned for the benefit of all the players on the tour, including negotiating a fairer distribution of prize money for players who lose in the earlier rounds of the slams. The Roger Federer foundation is a charitable organisation with the stated mission of empowering children through education; it is involved in numerous projects throughout Africa.

It is incredible that with so many distractions (he's married with two young children to boot) Federer has still managed to stay at the top of such a global and competitive sport. As things stand he is the number 2 ranked player in the world and indeed was, just a few short months ago, the number one player in the world. Tennis has traditionally been a young man's sport but Roger Federer has redefined the parameters. An incredible work ethic, pure sporting genius with exemplary conduct has moulded one of the greatest sporting careers ever witnessed. And it's not over yet. Federer has declared his intention to play until the 2016 Olympic Games. There may yet be a few more pages to add to Wikipedia

Some quotes:

"[In the modern game], you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist ... or you're Roger Federer" - Jimmy Connors

"He is the most naturally talented player I have ever seen in my life" - John McEnroe

"He moves like a whisper and executes like a wrecking ball" - Nick Bollettieri (legendary tennis coach)

"He is the most perfect machine I have ever seen playing tennis" - Diego Maradonna

"Federer plays shots that other players don't even think of" - Ivan Lendl

"We are witnessing history. This is the most dominant athlete on planet earth today" - Jim Courier (4 time grand slam champion)

"Federer is the best player in history - no other player has ever had so much quality" - Rafael Nadal

"Roger's got too many shots, too much talent in one body. It's hardly fair that one person can do all this—his backhands, his forehands, volleys, serving, his court position. The way he moves around the court, you feel like he's barely touching the ground. That's the sign of a great champion." - Rod Laver

"He's the best I've ever played against. There's nowhere to go. There's nothing to do except hit fairways, hit greens and make putts. Every shot has that sort of urgency on it. I've played a lot of them [other players], so many years; there's a safety zone, there's a place to get to, there's something to focus on, there's a way. Anything you try to do, he potentially has an answer for and it's just a function of when he starts pulling the triggers necessary to get you to change to that decision." - Andre Agassi

"He's a real person. He's not an enigma. Off the court he's not trying to be somebody. If you met him at McDonald's and you didn't know who he was, you would have no idea that he's one of the best athletes in the world" - Andy Roddick

"Today I was playing my best tennis, trying lots of different things, but nothing worked. When you're playing like that and he still comes up with all those great shots you really have to wonder if he's even from the same planet" - Novak Djokovic

ps - For those of you who haven't seen the The Fed Express in action, the following video might give you some idea of what he's all about
http://vimeo.com/40765561


Henry Armstrong- Boxing- Championed by superflyweight

It's probably the case that for all but the more historically minded posters from the boxing forum, Henry Armstrong is going to be a bit of a mystery name. However, ""Homicide Hank"" has every right to be considered in this process and his exploits known to a wider audience. Armstrong might not be a household name but amongst keen boxing historians, he's pretty much a universal pick in the top 5 pound for pound fighters of all time. The respected IBRO picked him as the third greatest fighter of all time (Sugar Ray Robinson and Harry Greb took the top 2 spots).

Having turned pro in 1931, Armstrong fought frequently (he'd eventually rack up 181 fights by the time he retired) mostly with great success until in 1937 his career really took off. Incredibly so! Henry fought 27 times in 1937. 27!!! Unthinkable now when the top fighters barely manage three fights in a year. In the first 22 of those 27 fights he won 21 of them by knockout. In the 23rd fight he knocked out reigning champion, Petey Sarron in the 6th round to win the featherweight world title. He won his remaining four fights of 1937 with four more knockouts. So across 27 fights in 1937, Armstrong won 27 times and 26 of those victories came by knockout. Added to that he now had the featherweight title belt in his possession. A truly incredible year but Armstrong was about to surpass it. What Armstrong did in 1938 is simply the greatest calendar year any boxer has ever had. Harry Greb's 1922 is amazing but Armstrong's 1938 is staggering and almost beyond comprehension.

Homicide Hank managed 14 wins out of 14 fights in 1938 - all while he was still reigning featherweight champion. He'd continue the run of knockouts he's accumulated in 1937 by knocking out his first 7 opponents of the year (including future champion, Chalky Wright). In his 8th fights of the year, the very good Baby Arizmendi would see the final bell to end the run of knockouts but not the run of victories. However, Armstrong's finest moments were just around the corner. Armstrong jumped up a couple of weight divisions to challenge the great welterweight champion Barney Ross. Armstrong weighing in at less than the lightweight limit comprehensively beat the great Ross over 15 rounds to add the welterweight title to his featherweight title. Not satisfied with this, Armstrong immediately challenged the excellent lightweight champion Lou Ambers. Armstrong would take the title courtesy of a split decision and became the first person to ever hold three different world titles at different weights concurrently. In an era when there were only eight different weight divisions, Armstrong held nearly half of the available belts on offer.

Much has been made of Manny Pacquiao’s weight hopping exploits over the last few years and whilst what Manny has done has been impressive, it pales in comparison to Armstrong’s exploits. Armstrong gathered almost half of the available weight belts in less than 12 months and did so by beating the best men in each weight class. There were no weight stipulations imposed on his opponents and Armstrong would take the welterweight title whilst weighing in as a lightweight.

Although Armstrong would contentiously lose the lightweight title in a rematch with Ambers, he would go on to defend the welterweight title several times and would have a pop at the middleweight title (which he would have won but for the judges dubiously scoring his fight with Cerefino Garcia a draw). He'd eventually lose the welterweight title in 1940 to Fritzie Zivic but he would continue to fight until 1945.

Armstrong would finish with a record of 150 wins (101 knockouts) from his 181 fights but it's the period between 1937 and 1940 that truly stands out. From 1937 to late 1940, he lost only one fight. His record against topflight competition during this time was 59 wins, 1defeat and 1 draw with 51 knockouts. He scored 27 straight knockouts during 1937-1938. It's arguable that during that 3 year period, Armstrong was the greatest and most dominant sportsman on the planet.

Let ‘s turn to the excellent Monte Cox to get a picture of what Armstrong was like in the ring:

""Armstrong was a marvel of the ring. He worked at a fast pace, had quick hands and unlike most fighters seemed to pick up speed as the rounds went on. He was also a strong puncher and defensively his bob and weave style kept him from receiving the full impact of his opponent’s blows. The truth of Henry Armstrong is that he had much better boxing skills than some give him credit for.

Most fighters tried to run from Henry, but he never let them get away. He stuck to his opponent’s like superglue and drove them into a corner or trapped them against the ropes and them proceeded to give them a good pasting. Fighters who tried to stand their ground against Hank had difficulty keeping up with his work rate. He would overwhelm them until they were forced to back up and then he would chase them down, pounding away until they were beaten men.

Upon his death it was discovered that Armstrong’s heart was a third larger than that of the average person. This allowed him to fight at a ferocious pace for 15 rounds without loss of breath. It seems certain that he could have done the same thing in a 20 round bout.""

Armstrong won't be the most celebrated name of the 64 men and women that will be considered in this process, but there should be no doubt that he is fully deserving of his place among the greatest sports stars that the world has ever seen.

Just looking at the voting so far, this is the biggest drubbing since Roger stepped out at SW19 to compete for the Gold medal

Hibbz wrote:Can I assume that the Main Event Lads are Hans, Knees and Boomps a Daisy?

No idea, but if they're the main event I hope I never have to endure the support act.

It Must Be Love wrote:

Stella wrote:Federer. The tennis fans say he's the best ever, so that's enough for me.

He really really isn't.

Everyone feel free to ignore It Must Be Love.

He's consumed with envy with regards to Federer's mainstream appeal and tennis legacy in relation to Rafael Nadal. IMBL's 'hero' Rafa 'The Pauper' Nadal never gets mentioned in any debate of this sort and, much to IMBL's annoyance, 'No Name' Nadal is completely unknown outside of tennis - and not even particularly known within it. The Fortunate One - Roger Federer - made $50 million in endorsements alone in the year-ending July 2012. Nadal actually had to pay Richard Mille for the opportunity to wear their watches on court.

Don't worry IMBL, even though Nadal didn't qualify for the 64-man tournament, The Chosen One - LeBron James - last night secured his place in the last 32. If you so desire, we will allow you to Champion King James for the remainder of this process.

You must be having a laugh that Lebron James beat Khan for the wild card placing?

Some sort of lobbying going on Ghosty.

To be honest this whole process loses all credibility straight away with that single decision.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:You must be having a laugh that Lebron James beat Khan for the wild card placing?

Ghosty, Why are you surprised? just have a look at the massive following in the Basketball section!!!!

What Basketball section?

Exactly..

Aroma of rodent?

Hi Mtothec,

You've mistakenly added the wrong Fed article, please can you add the correct one.



emancipator

But to be fair there also isn't a squash section but my main problem has be the emission of the Khans in the initial 64.

There isnt a surfing section either, but im sure most contributors on here fully recognise the achievements of the Khans and even understand the standing/contribution of Slater in surfing compared to LeBron james in the NBA.

I agree that Jahangir Khan should have been included in the top 64.

But likewise with Lebron!

The guy is an absolute beast. 6 ft 8. 250 pounds of muscle. And he's a proper athlete who can move fast, jump high, has amazing coordination and vision and endurance.

He's not like some fattish bloke that sails a boat (sorry sailors).

Anyone who follows boxing will note how few of the 220 pounds + heavyweights look to be in decent shape. Lebron, on the other hand is ripped. Not a pound of extra flesh on him.

I know there's a bias against American sports, and in all honesty I'm not the biggest fan of American sports, but to rule someone like Lebron out cheapens this whole process. How can a guy who's so big, so heavy and yet moves so athletically not be considered? Particularly when he is already considered just below Jordan in the basketball hierarchy, ie he is one of the top two in his sport - a sport which now has a massive grassroots following around the globe.

aucklandlaurie wrote:
There isnt a surfing section either, but im sure most contributors on here fully recognise the achievements of the Khans and even understand the standing/contribution of Slater in surfing compared to LeBron james in the NBA.

Really? Slater and Khan more well known than Lebron James?

I doubt it, especially amongst the youngsters.

Sorry I just realised that you said recognise the achievements rather than more well-known.

Lebron is clearly more well-known. The relative achievements can of course be debated.

I don't know much about Slater but Khan's credentials are insane.

Hibbz wrote:Can I assume that the Main Event Lads are Hans, Knees and Boomps a Daisy?

My question would be: do the Main Event lads live always together, they look incredibly close and comfortable with each other.

emancipator wrote:Sorry I just realised that you said recognise the achievements rather than more well-known.

Lebron is clearly more well-known. The relative achievements can of course be debated.I don't know much about Slater but Khan's credentials are insane.

Has he ever won a World Championship?

Basketball is only really played seriously by americans in America with the odd exception here and there. There really isn't any comparison between him and Khan, who blows him out of the water. As for Ainslie i'd take him over James every day as I would Couture, he was one of the weaker wild card picks.

I think a lot of it comes down to perceptions. In my mind I can never award the sports GOAT title to a person who does not possess even the most basic athletic qualities.

Therefore a guy in a boat, who looks like a butcher, just doesn't fit the bill. However, I understand that could just be my prejudices and puritannical views of what constitutes sport and athleticism. I'm sure everyone else has their own.

I'd of thought that another criteria worthy of consideraion was that they at least be the greatest in their own sport, before trying to argue that they are the best in all sports.

Then maybe I'm prejudiced...

Sure.. that's one of your criteria and it's one that I would largely agree with.. however I think you'll accept that in some sports it's not always clear cut and also perhaps there are some sports that, just by virtue of their global reach and participation levels, probably warrant more than one contender. Not saying basketball is necessarily such a sport, although I do think people underestimate how many people participate in it around the world, particularly amongst the youth.

We all have our own criteria and I don't think anyone one person is entirely correct.

aucklandlaurie wrote:

emancipator wrote:Sorry I just realised that you said recognise the achievements rather than more well-known.

Lebron is clearly more well-known. The relative achievements can of course be debated.I don't know much about Slater but Khan's credentials are insane.

Has he ever won a World Championship?

As you well know, LeBron dominated proceedings and led the Miami Heat to the World Championship in 2012.

Purely from a talent perspective, pound-for-pound, there has never been a more gifted player in the NBA than, The Chosen One - LeBron James. 'King James' is the World's premier 'Sports Entertainer'. 6'8, 260, an electrifying offensive force and unbreakable defensive wall. A locomotive with career averages of 28-7-7, LeBron is the greatest overall statistical out-putter in the global era of the NBA, even out-stripping Jordan in terms of stat-lines. LeBron's 40-18-9 performance in Game 4 of last year's Conference SFs, on the road vs the Indiana Pacers, was the best stat-line in the play-offs for 51 years. In Game 6 of the Conference Finals vs the Boston Celtics, with the Heat facing elimination at 2-3 down, LeBron produced a superlative-exhausting 45 point-15 rebound performance that many observers believe was 'the first time that one man has beaten five'.

In a historic year for sport, LeBron James was the best athlete of 2012, picking up his 3rd NBA MVP Award, posting averages of 30-10-6 in the play-offs, leading the Miami Heat to the NBA Title and claiming the Finals MVP with averages of 33-11, plus winning an Olympic Gold Medal to boot.

The mere fact that LeBron was being discussed as potentially the best ever straight out of High School, should illustrate to everyone what a unique talent that he is. In fact, just a few days ago, American President Barack Obama invited LeBron and the rest of the Heat to the White House, in order to pay homage to the Chosen One in person - leading the Daily Mail of London to headline the event: 'When the Most Influential Man in America met Barack Obama'.

All Hail King James.

Well, if it's in the Daily Mail, it must be true.

Basketball, Baseball and American Football are three sports in which you will not find the GOAT, too confined to one country.

I bet more school aged kids in this country play basketball than any other sport apart from football.

Emancipator:
Then I think that you would have to then accept that when one particular sportsman is clearly the best in his particular sport, ie Slater and surfing, then he cleary warrants consideration as "The greatest of all time" ?

Imperial Ghosty wrote:Basketball, Baseball and American Football are three sports in which you will not find the GOAT, too confined to one country.

Basketball is global.

The sport of basketball is played seriously all over the world. At the Athens Games in 2004, Argentina defeated Team USA's NBA stars 89-81 in the SFs, en route to the Gold Medal. In the Bronze Medal Game, the USA held off the minute Baltic nation of Lithuania, 104-96. At London 2012, Great Britain - by no means a traditional power - lost a heart-wrencher to Spain 79-78, before the Spanish pushed the USA's Dream Team all the way in the Gold Medal Game. As these results illustrate, quality ballers can be found in any country.

Yes Laurie, I would agree.

I have no problem with that. I know very little about surfing but despite that I can easily appreciate that it probably takes a huge amount of athletic prowess to be good at it. And of course athletic prowess is one of my abolutely key criteria when judging the GOAT.

The sports that were played by everyone I knew were Football, Rugby, Cricket, Athletics, Swimming and Cycling, there were the few who did Rowing and Kayaking but I knew of no one who played Basketball.

Spaghetti-Hans wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:

emancipator wrote:Sorry I just realised that you said recognise the achievements rather than more well-known.

Lebron is clearly more well-known. The relative achievements can of course be debated.I don't know much about Slater but Khan's credentials are insane.

Has he ever won a World Championship?

As you well know, LeBron dominated proceedings and led the Miami Heat to the World Championship in 2012.

Purely from a talent perspective, pound-for-pound, there has never been a more gifted player in the NBA than, The Chosen One - LeBron James. 'King James' is the World's premier 'Sports Entertainer'. 6'8, 260, an electrifying offensive force and unbreakable defensive wall. A locomotive with career averages of 28-7-7, LeBron is the greatest overall statistical out-putter in the global era of the NBA, even out-stripping Jordan in terms of stat-lines. LeBron's 40-18-9 performance in Game 4 of last year's Conference SFs, on the road vs the Indiana Pacers, was the best stat-line in the play-offs for 51 years. In Game 6 of the Conference Finals vs the Boston Celtics, with the Heat facing elimination at 2-3 down, LeBron produced a superlative-exhausting 45 point-15 rebound performance that many observers believe was 'the first time that one man has beaten five'.

In a historic year for sport, LeBron James was the best athlete of 2012, picking up his 3rd NBA MVP Award, posting averages of 30-10-6 in the play-offs, leading the Miami Heat to the NBA Title and claiming the Finals MVP with averages of 33-11, plus winning an Olympic Gold Medal to boot.

The mere fact that LeBron was being discussed as potentially the best ever straight out of High School, should illustrate to everyone what a unique talent that he is. In fact, just a few days ago, American President Barack Obama invited LeBron and the rest of the Heat to the White House, in order to pay homage to the Chosen One in person - leading the Daily Mail of London to headline the event: 'When the Most Influential Man in America met Barack Obama'.

All Hail King James.

Interesting Spaghetti:

In the 606 v2 basketball section (Youll find it under other sports) they ran a "best of all Time" poll.

The winner was Michael Jordan, with 71% of the vote.

LeBron came 4th equal with 4% of the vote...

Neither of these guys is the greatest sports person of all time

Having said that Laurie, if the said sport does not require any athleticism, or very little, then in my heart of hearts I could never vote for such a person to be the overall GOAT, and there may even be better sportspeople from other sports that rank far above this person even if they themselves are only ranked 2nd, 3rd etc in their own sport.

It just doesn't feel right to me that a golfer or snooker player for example could be the GOAT of all sports.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:The sports that were played by everyone I knew were Football, Rugby, Cricket, Athletics, Swimming and Cycling, there were the few who did Rowing and Kayaking but I knew of no one who played Basketball.

Yes Ghosty, I'm talking about today, not 70 or 80 years ago - whenever it was that you were in school

Basketball is hugely popular amongst the kids particularly in the inner cities.

emancipator wrote:Yes Laurie, I would agree.

I have no problem with that. I know very little about surfing but despite that I can easily appreciate that it probably takes a huge amount of athletic prowess to be good at it. And of course athletic prowess is one of my abolutely key criteria when judging the GOAT.

Yachting requires a lot of stealth, cunning, strategy,prowess and smarts by the truckload, because not only do you often have to win the race, but then you have to go to court and win the court case.

I'm in my 20's so not far removed from school, unless us grammar school boys had completely different vocations I can't agree with your statement at all.

Interesting Spaghetti:

In the 606 v2 basketball section (Youll find it under other sports) they ran a "best of all Time" poll.

The winner was Michael Jordan, with 71% of the vote.

LeBron came 4th equal with 4% of the vote...

That's because they allowed their hearts to rule their heads.

Jordan's body of work is more exhaustive at this juncture due to LeBron still being relatively young for a baller. But in terms of his skill-set and from a physical stand-point, LeBron is more gifted than MJ. Even LeBron's most ardent critics, such as Skip Bayless, concede that LeBron is more talented than Jordan - they have only raised (misplaced) doubts about his will-to-win.

Spaghetti-Hans wrote:

Interesting Spaghetti:

In the 606 v2 basketball section (Youll find it under other sports) they ran a "best of all Time" poll.

The winner was Michael Jordan, with 71% of the vote.

LeBron came 4th equal with 4% of the vote...

That's because they allowed their hearts to rule their heads. Jordan's body of work is more exhaustive at this juncture due to LeBron still being relatively young for a baller. But in terms of his skill-set and from a physical stand-point, LeBron is more gifted than MJ. Even LeBron's most ardent critics, such as Skip Bayless, concede that LeBron is more talented than Jordan - they have only raised (misplaced) doubts about his will-to-win.

One of the first lessons you should learn when it comes to competitive sport, never underestimate the power of the heart..

Imperial Ghosty wrote:I'm in my 20's so not far removed from school, unless us grammar school boys had completely different vocations I can't agree with your statement at all.

Grammar school boys probably do have more varied and different pursuits than the average inner city kid. How many kids from the inner city get opportunites to do regular canoeing? Not many I expect.

Anyway, that's just an impression I have from seeing the numerous basketball rings in just about every park I've walked into and of course every school is also equipped with such.

We didn't do rowing and canoe through school but it was the choice of many including those who were taught at comprehensive. Basketball is very a minority sport in this country hence why it has so little financial backing and a general lack of interest on the whole.

So what, this is not the UK GOAT. You just need to grow up a little and travell across the world a bit to find out that Basket is at the top of popularity not only in the US, but also China, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, many European countries as well.

You have learned something new, I suppose, go back to school Ghosty!

Bit harsh Jeremy.

But the point is taken. Basketball IS popular around the world and as Jeremy pointed out, in very populous countries. It is definitely growing in popularity in this country. Some people are resistant to this but it's happenning.

I've learnt nothing new having watched the olympics it seemed only one country took the sport that seriously.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:it seemed only one country took the sport that seriously.

But why don't you just say: I have got no idea what Basketball is all about I never liked the game and never whatched or played a match in my life. Wouldn't it be better?

I don't really take anything you say seriously JK, i'll come out and say that instead.

Basketball is a massively global sport.

That's kinda funny.

It's probably similar to me and American football or baseball. Just can't stand them. Don't understand them and don't want to either. I played a lot of basketball at school and even uni so I do understand it. Actually the rules are really simple, you can learn them in 10 mins.

But of course, because I am the emancipator, I learnt the rules in 10 secs.




emancipator

so maybe you will take seriously what severe-mma is saying to you? grow up!

I don't believe it to be a truly global sport and it is largely based in America which makes it seem bigger than it actually is.

Our local basketball team "The Breakers" are the current Australasian NBL champs.
I dont know if this proves how small basketball is in Australasia or how big it is in Auckland.

A big problem on here seems to be the assumption that because the UK are either rubbish or not that interested on a sport it's not global, which is of course nonsense.
If you look at American football hardly any foreigners play, and those that do tended to grow up in the States. Completey different with basketball where many overseas play in the NBA as it really is as widespread as any sport including soccer.