I think one of the main reasons why the US isn't nearly as successful in this sport is because of the NFL. We have a major sport where all of the guys who are really strong can go and play and make loads of money.

You can't tell me that guys like Larry Allen and other offensive and defensive linemen aren't some of the strongest guys in the world. It's just that unlike every other country on Earth, our really strong guys don't care about power lifting and would rather play football.

I agree that they go play or compete in a sport that pays them a lot more than competitive lifting would ever pay.

Football and basketball suck a lot of phenomenal athletes out of many Olympic sports. Track and field, weightlifting, and even swimming.

other than tim duncan..who else for swimming, just curious...i dont really watch basket ball, and i dont know of any football/swimmers

Didn't one of them do synchronized swimming in a commercial a few years ago?

I don't remember exactly, I'm pretty sure I tried to block it out.

cherokee - he means the best athletes never even consider swimming... not that basketball/football teams steal swimmers from the sport.

There are plenty of guys in the NBA who would be phenomenal swimmers. You have to keep in mind that a world class athlete is a world class athlete and would have been able to play any sport at that level if they had put as much focus into that sport as they did in the sport they currently play.

For instance, I could see Kobe Bryant being a great swimmer. He has the body type and height to excel at it. There are many other NBA players who are built the exact same way.

Lebron James might be able to do it, but his body type is more suited for other sports where he could use his size as an advantage (like being a TE in football).

Sure there are guys like Bo Jackson who instantly become ridiculous at any sport they play the first time they try it, but only 1 of those guys comes around every 20 years or so. However those guys are literal athletic freaks and clearly not the norm.

I love these arguments.

Powerlifting, well just about EVERY competitive weightlifter played football growing up and there have been plenty of NFL players that have competed at least at the national level, Justin Geisinger & Jason Whitlock have.

Track and Field & the NFL have had crossover athletes since its conception, so I don't get this one.

MMA, this is my favorite. NFL players would dominate, but then former players like Johnny Morton who trained for 2 years & subsequently got knocked out by a D level fighter & carried off on a stretcher after 30 seconds of the first round.

What makes someone a good football or basketball player does not automatically make you a capable player in other sports.

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You have to keep in mind that a world class athlete is a world class athlete and would have been able to play any sport at that level if they had put as much focus into that sport as they did in the sport they currently play.

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Yeah, Michael Jordan was awesome with a bat.

Kobys body is not ideal for swimming...it is good but he would not be amazing at it...duncan on the other hand...yes...not all athletes would be good crossover guys...the mma example and baseball...there are a few that would be good...and i was asking if he knew of any others that were swimmers at one point...because i know duncan was a world class swimmer...and yeah you are right they dont pick swimming...if i was good at another sport i would pick it over swimming too...there is more money there...even though i feel swimming is the best full body workout and the women are sooooo hot...

[This message has been edited by CherokeeChief24 (edited 8/13/2008 2:24p).]

Syd - I disagree with you a bit. Sure - not every FB or BB player would be a great swimmer. And yes there are a lot of crossover athletes from FB to T&F. But how many T&F athletes give up the sport in high school for FB?

Virtually all great swimmers are tall. They are very strong for their body weight. The sprinters have explosive power for races as short as 21 seconds. If Tony Dorsett had become a swimmer when he was 10 his body would have grown differently. And his acceleration and coordination might have made him a great swimmer. Matt Grevers - who won bronze in the 100 backstroke - 6'8" and looks like he could have been a great tight end.

I think elite athletes have great DNA, and great dedication that would allow them to excel in many sports.

I hate to say it but there are not many good black swimmers...they are a rarity...it is because there bodies are built different at birth...that is why you only see one or two every few years...so saying that a good football player would be a good swimmer if he started a birth is off for the most part...I swam against warren moons children until I was 16 and they sucked...but they had great jeans from a great athlete

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I think one of the main reasons why the US isn't nearly as successful in this sport is because of the NFL. We have a major sport where all of the guys who are really strong can go and play and make loads of money.

You can't tell me that guys like Larry Allen and other offensive and defensive linemen aren't some of the strongest guys in the world. It's just that unlike every other country on Earth, our really strong guys don't care about power lifting and would rather play football.

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A football player has a better chance of getting struck by lightning than making it to the NFL. NFL players don't make it there based on strength alone, and while I won't argue that there are some weight room freaks in the NFL, typically the ones that excel in the weight room in terms of pure strength aren't the one's that make it to the NFL. At the same time, many programs in the country don't employ an "Olympic" style weight program in training for football, in fact, it's quite the opposite.

So the fact that in sheer numbers of the NFL, there are a lot more guys that don't make it there that are equally strong or stronger that would make better Olympic lifters. The problem with interest in lifting in the US is that there just simply enough interested in perusing that sport, which is where I would agree that we spend a lot of time as Americans concentrating on other sports than the Olympics. I don't know too many former teammates that want to go train as hard as they have to to become an Olympic lifter after spending 12 years training for & playing football.

Cherokee - I think your generalization is based on no facts whatsoever. This has been studied and there is little doubt that demographics are at play. Most black children do not have access to pools. They have very little parental influence for swimming. A recent study shows that 60% of black children do not know how to swim - twice the percentage of white children.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24411271/

These kids grow up thinking football and basketball. They aren't even thinking baseball these days.

Cullen Jones is an important role model to encourage more black kids to learn to swim. Maybe they'll compete but more importantly they'll grow up as adults who know how to swim.

Here in Austin I know of several black boys who are very good age group swimmers. Two are brothers - and very tall. If anyone saw them not at a swimming pool they would assume they are basketball players. I believe both of these boys will be NCAA division 1 swimmers.

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But how many T&F athletes give up the sport in high school for FB?

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Uh, Xavier Carter, Trindon Holliday, Jacoby Ford, Jeff Demps, C.J. Spiller, Jamere Holland are just a few current football players that also run track. Hell, go back over the years, Michael Bennett, Rocket Ismail. We've had Danny McCray & Toya Jones.

There is a LONG list of college football players that also ran track. There is a LONG list of world class sprinters that have tried to make NFL rosters, and most played college football.

Football speed doesn't always translate to track and field and vice versa, but the 2 have a long relationship to a certain level.

There are also plenty of track stars that quit football when they realized they had world class speed and could make millions in Europe & through endorsements without taking the wear and tear abuse.

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There are also plenty of track stars that quit football when they realized they had world class speed and could make millions in Europe & through endorsements without taking the wear and tear abuse.

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That's a key statement there because it shows the reality that we don't have enough emphasis on Olympic sports in the US.

spice - im going to disagree with you...and leave it at that...we do not need this going any farther than it has...

[This message has been edited by CherokeeChief24 (edited 8/13/2008 3:17p).]

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That's a key statement there because it shows the reality that we don't have enough emphasis on Olympic sports in the US.

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We don't, but that doesn't preclude the kids that know they are fast from making money in Europe & through track.

Most NCAA guys that star in football & track make their decision based on where they are projected to get drafted & whether they have World championship type speed. Most football players don't, so they go the NFL route, like Bennett ultimately did. Xavier Carter chose the opposite because he is fast enough, plain and simple.

The fastest guys in the NFL for the most part are a couple steps behind professional track stars and that's why they spend 2-3 years clinging to roster spots instead of just running for a living.

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The fastest guys in the NFL for the most part are a couple steps behind professional track stars and that's why they spend 2-3 years clinging to roster spots instead of just running for a living.

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Running a 100 M is a lot different than running a 40.....

I think some of you misunderstand what I am saying. If a guy who is at the top of his sport in the NFL or NBA was able to go back in time and put all of his focus into an olympic sport, then I have no doubt that he would be successful on an olympic level in that sport.

What this would mean is that that ahtlete wouldn't look the same and would mold his body to look like someone from that particular olympic sport because his training would be completely different.

I could easily see Michael Phelps being amazing at another sport if he put all of his focus into that sport instead of swimming and the opposite is true of many athletes in the NBA.

Well, it would have been a lot better if you stated it that way in the beginning.....

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I think some of you misunderstand what I am saying. If a guy who is at the top of his sport in the NFL or NBA was able to go back in time and put all of his focus into an olympic sport, then I have no doubt that he would be successful on an olympic level in that sport.

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That's all fine and dandy, but then our football & bball teams would then suck.