Could Kelly Slater be the best athlete ever?
 

The dude is a freak... no one has ever dominated a professional sport for almost 20 years...


http://www.grindtv.com/surf/blog/205...o+ser iously/


http://www.prosurfingwallpapers.com/...r-1024x768.jpg

Jits is pretty good too...

Can he hit a 90mph pitch? Come talk to us then.

does this look easier than hitting a 90 mph pitch to you?

he´s the fucking man!!!

Kelly changed the way people surf today, true hero of the sport!

Stephanie Gilmore is going to be the Slater in the female surfing world IMO

who gives his son name Kelly ???that a girls name...

How does Kelly Slater being the best in his sport make him the best athlete ever? Or even a top athlete? I can name you 100 people in any sport that are more "athletic" than him, unless of course your claim is that because he's able to ride waves, he's a freak athlete, which is just stupid.

Read the article you dim wit and stop trolling my threads because you have a crush on me and beat off every night while watching my cock being sucked by hot porn girls you fucking kook.

http://www.grindtv.com/surf/blog/205...o+ser iously/

I've seen him in the water a few times @ Newport when he was coming up. He just fucking rips hands down. Always pushing surfing to what is is now,

Now everyone and their uncle is doing tail slides of the top. kinda cool I guess.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qbftWpIvcpE

Best athlete ever:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Fox

:2 cents:

wait, surfing is a sport? lol

Could be, but he'd have to share his throne with...

http://marketing.jointheporn.com/w/c...Paen%20nep.jpg

Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno (born January 30, 1957 in Manila) is a six time World Bowling Champion Filipino bowler. He has won the World Cup of Bowling four times (1976, 1980, 1992 and 1996). Nepomuceno has also won the World's Invitational Tournament in 1984 and the World Tenpin Masters championship in 1999.

He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for three records:
1) for most Bowling World cup wins
2) for being the youngest ever to win the Bowling World Cup (at 19 years of age)
3) for having won the most number of bowling tournament titles

In total, Paeng has 118 career bowling titles. Paeng who still actively competes up to this day is the only bowling athlete to have won or awarded titles in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

He is the only bowling athlete in the world who has received the prestigious International Olympic Committee President's Trophy and was the first international male bowling athlete to be enshrined in the International Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum based in St. Louis, Missouri in 1993 where his seven foot image is displayed at the Museum's entrance.] In November 1999, the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) named Paeng as the "International Bowling Athlete of the Millennium.".

Source here

I would say yes. Hands down.

Hit a 90mph pitch...lol.

lol lots of fat dudes can do that

Meh........

No lie, I thought this was going to be a thread about a girl getting a gang bang.

Slater is the man.

Let me say it again all you webmasters. Slater is the man. Deal with it. Drop in 20 ft pipe and then talk. Adam from Wild Cash knows what he is talking about. These guys have no idea do they Adam? See you all out in the water.

I don't give a shit...

Yeah, freaks like Nadia Comaneci who can do cartwheels on a log,
Brian Boitano, who wears sequince to all his events,
david Pearson, whose only good at driving in circles,
or maybe like that gay guy Greg Louganis whose knows how to jump from high places. I mean everyone can do that, there's a huge and deep swimming pool at the bottom ya know.

You'r kidding right?

Michael Jordan is the Kelly Slater of basketball.

Slater is the man.. but no way the Best Athlete ever....

Jim Thorpe has it locked up!
Thorpe was a half Pottawatomie Indian, half white athlete who excelled in multiple sports, including track and field, football, and baseball. In the 1912 Olympic Games Thorpe won the gold medal in the pentathlon and the decathlon. He later played pro baseball and football and he became the president of the American Professional Football Association, which evolved into the NFL.

The guy couldn't even start his pro football career until the age of 27 - cause there was no such thing. He continued to play well into his 40's! It's also been said he could kick a football the length of the field. He kicked a 95-yard punt in the 1919 championship game the won it for his team.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...pece/image.jpg

Slater is a bad ass, no question!!!

Never heard of her.

Don't know who he is but I don't really see how any surfer no matter how amazing could even be in the discussion of the top athlete of all time.

Well all the pro surfers I met in AUS run 20km/week weight train 2-3hrs/day as well as train in some sort of martial arts to keep their joints bendy and loose.
They have to be able to paddle out in big surf up to 1/2 mile off shore in some places, no tow-ins during competitions and have the pipes to stay down if crushed by a wave.

Its all relative isn't it ... last year I sank 12 NBA reg 3 pointers in 1 1/2 minutes, granted no pressure or people but not bad for a short white guy. 4 years ago I stepped in and hit a 96.5 mph pitch in the batting cage ... didn't hit it well and broke my finger but did it.
In '97 I got a par on the 9th hole a pebble beach ... fucking par! Why does this matter you all say with bated breath????

It took me 3 hrs to stand up for more then 5 secs on a surf board and almost a week before I could turn properly and I still was falling off every ride and this was on 2-3 footers.
I was out of breath and energy in most cases after an hour. Kelly S may not be the best athlete ever ... but he sure is at the top of the list!
This dudes pulled more hot beach bodied pussy in 5 yrs then Heff did in his life ..

If Slats can win number 10 this year it would be an amazing accomplishment. No one has ever won ten world championships over the span of 20 years (take away 3 years right in the middle when he retired after winning 5 in a row) in any sport. Its a great article, brings up some really interesting points.

I was always a Curren fan growing up. Saw him surf in some gnarly waves in NorCal. Then I watched Slater in Hawaii for a few winters (with all the rest of the pros as well) and Slater is a once in a generation kind of athlete.

Sort of like dedicating a whole thread to me and getting laughed out? ROFL

Lairds wave at Teahupoo still gives me chills. I remember the Surfer cover shot...unbelievable.

By the way, I just read an interview with the author of this book, sounds realy interesting. She spent a bunch of time at Jaws with Laird and the crew. You might like it.

http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51NFTz...500_AA300_.jpg

http://www.mensjournal.com/a-1740-fo...-other-marvels

I'd like to see that list of "100 people in any sport" more athletic than him. He is the best in his sport, hands down. Does that make him the best athlete ever? Have you ever tried to surf? I think the article makes some great points for conversation. If you don't agree, thats fine. But 100 more athletic than him? Really?

:2 cents::2 cents:

I don't think having the ability to surf makes you more athletic than say soccer players or football players. That's like saying the best cheerleader at a cheerleading competition or the best bowler are freak athletes. I'd put the best soccer, basketball, football, and tennis players in the world ahead of this guy.

Ok, I'll ask again. Have you ever tried surfing? Comparing the athletic ability needed to surf with the athletic ability needed to bowl I am going to guess no, you have never tried. Unfortunately surfing has had a stereotype about the kind of people surfers are and while there are some truths to that, in the end, like all stereotypes, it falls short of encompassing the whole. So, even while many pro athletes respect other athletes in various fields for their accomplishments it becomes difficult for others outside that world to view it with any respect.

I have played tennis, basketball, football, soccer, ran track, (tried) to ice skate, surfed, skateboarded (what can I say, I like sports!) and although I may not be a professional in any of them, I can tell you that for a 9 (soon to be 10, I hope) time world champion who has made records that may never be broken again, Kelly Slater is by far the sporting worlds most underrated champion.

And you gave me 4 you feel are more athletic than him, I'm waiting for the other 96 :upsidedow

I don't think you've ever surfed. Go in the ocean and try to surf a 10-15 ft wave and when it crashes down on you, sucks you under for a 2 minutes, let us know how athletic they are.

Yea, I'm actually pretty good too. No, I'm not a pro nor do I care to be. But your question is invalid because it depends on the type of person you are. If you're not athletic, then something like surfing is going to be more difficult for you than anything else. I happen to be athletic so my balance is pretty damn good. My only problem is I only doggie paddle.:)

He may be underrated but that's completely irrelevant. The discussion is about him being the greatest athlete ever, not the most underrated champion. And while he's a great champion, he's nowhere near as athletic as the majority of players in those sports I listed.

I gave you 4 sports, not 4 players. You're waiting for 96 other sports?

I'm pretty sure you just equated the ability to be a good swimmer with athleticism. ROFL

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:O...lps_nc.jpg&t=1

athleticism
1. an active interest in sports.
2. an obsessive participation in physical activity. — athletic, adj.

Have you ever tried to paddle out in 10-15 foot waves? Most of those surfers are some of the best swimmers in the world.

Having lived in Cocoa beach I've had the pleasure of watching Kelly go from a wide eyed kid that used to follow us around to arguably the greatest surfer ever. I'll get to see him again when he comes home for the annual Slater Brothers surf contest to benefit the World Skin Cancer Foundation next month.

Surfing at the level Kelly does takes extreme athleticism and it's hard to find another sport that requires more.

I'm positive there is no non surfer that could go out and do what Kelly does while Kelly can do many other sports with different disciplines very well. Until there is a set judging criteria for " greatest Athlete " it can be argued all day long but with all things considered Kelly has to be recognized as one of the best.



There's no comparison. If you saw a collage of Kelly's past girlfriends you would freak :winkwink:

The question was valid as most times people can form a better opinion of something that they themselves have experienced. So, you are a pretty good surfer? Excellent. Then you understand how difficult it can be. And using your logic, if someone is not athletic nearly any sport would then be difficult, not just surfing. And only being able to doggie paddle seems quite dangerous. I have had my leash snapped more times than I care to remember and swimming in under those types of conditions is never fun.


Oh, so you are saying that there are 100 people in each of the four sports you listed that are more athletic than him. Wow, I can barely name 10 let alone 100 tennis players, but I have a hard time believing that the number 99 player in the world is more athletic than Slater.

I did that at Backdoor/Pipeline many times back in the early 90's.

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/da...ompson-400.jpg

:)

you're funny. Pipe and backdoor are both some hairy waves. Teachupoo in that clip is a monster.

And I would bet that Slater could hit a 90mph fastball. A curve...not so sure...lol

You are seriously comparing baseball players to great athletes? I'm a baseball fan and all, but that is just dumb.

Some better athletes off the top of my head:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EXrCmkQko7...00/CarlLew.jpg

http://wwmmd.com/wp-content/uploads/...jerry-rice.jpg

http://dribleo.com/wp-content/upload...1_jordan12.jpg

http://www.marketing.com.uy/wp-conte...estigacion.jpg

Where I'm from, only girls are called Kelly.

hahah man ohh man

I bet if those pictured fully understood who Kelly Slater is and what he does they would all say Kelly is more of an athlete than they are :)

actually, other than Ronaldo, I would say Slater is well situated in that group. Let Ronaldo play some more years before we start lumping him with some of the greatest athletes to have played in their respective fields.