OT: ESPN ranks 60 sports from hardest to easiest.

[cliftonparksufan]

You can make an argument for so many of these sports. Gymnastics-yeah, right. There is a reason you don't see people perform over the age of 25 or near there. Horse Racing-very underrated. Yes, some jockeys can do it into their 40's and 50's, but that's like less than5 or 10 people in the entire world.

Love the comment on fishing being rated 60th. Some guy says he can sit there all day and not catch a thing. It's harder than people think. LOL!!!

x.com

x.com

 

[Bulldog04]

Golf at 51 shows me everything I need to know about this list. 14 clubs. Weather. Elements. Different styles of courses. Different grasses.

Basketball at 4, get real. Every court is the same. Every hoop is the same. Ball doesn’t change. Climate controlled. Stop it

This is laughable

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Nah I don't agree with most of this.

I'm an expert at skiing to the point where its too easy and nowhere near enough challenge regardless of how steep and if I hike to something crazy in the alps or wherever. I miss snowboarding for a challenge where I'm more of an intermediate but the falls are very violent and one smashed my shoulder and I can't be walking around in a sling for months again. Don't get me wrong I love skiing its just not hard to be an expert at all with modern equipment.

I'm terrible at fishing and haven't caught a single fish on my boat 2 summers in. Was out drifting and reading a book and I got a legit bite out nowhere yesterday. I was in 50 feet of water so it couldn't have been weeds or whatever on the hook. Nothing crazy like a shark or tuna but would have been big I faught it for 3-4 minutes and the line snapped. I think maybe I screwed up and tied the leader/spindle/hook wrong. Wish I at least got a look at the thing. Will almost certainly end the year on zero. Closest I've come by far. I don't even want to invite anyone to put rods in together bc I'm so ashamed and embarrassed at how much I suck at it I just cruise and drink with friends. Might hire a guide. I can't believe that is the easiest I thought the list was reversed my first read.

Hockey is also somewhat easy. There is no way to reliably play pickup basketball when your old. I tried to do pickup soccer games and everyone was WAY too good. And it totally wrecked my body the stopping and cutting on the astro turf fields for a slightly overweight late 30s guy was brutal 60 minutes was way worse wear and tear than a 10 mile jog or anything else I can think of. Think I played twice this spring one game my achilles was toast for 2 weeks and the next my quad was popped badly for 2 weeks as well. Groins hurt and both hamstrings were bad. Interested to try again if I can lose 20-30l lbs. Hockey on the other hand no matter what I'm fine after. Even a big fall last game where I banged my head hard on the ice with feet out from under me was no biggie not sore or anything. Was never good in HS but average and can play in any of these older player games and am fine. Just expensive and smelly. Usually score 1-2 goals per game and add some assists even against decent goalies and mostly better players.

Boxing is tough put gloves on and throwing punches is like taking golf swings everything is just way harder and you're much slower when 2 people have gloves on and are going the same thing. Tennis is hard. Baseball not really if you consider softball the same sport.

 

[eastcuse]

I found the table where they break down the scores in each category. Definitely seems like certain sports are overstated in the physical tools required. For instance according to the chart, basketball requires more durability than wrestling and more speed than long jump.

ESPN.com: Page 2 - Sport Skills Difficulty Rankings

 

[CuseFaninVT]

No mountain biking?

 

[Symphony Steve]

Uh, was cornhole the easiest?

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Nah I don't agree with most of this.

I'm an expert at skiing to the point where its too easy and nowhere near enough challenge regardless of how steep and if I hike to something crazy in the alps or wherever. I miss snowboarding for a challenge where I'm more of an intermediate but the falls are very violent and one smashed my shoulder and I can't be walking around in a sling for months again. Don't get me wrong I love skiing its just not hard to be an expert at all with modern equipment.

I'm terrible at fishing and haven't caught a single fish on my boat 2 summers in. Was out drifting and reading a book and I got a legit bite out nowhere yesterday. I was in 50 feet of water so it couldn't have been weeds or whatever on the hook. Nothing crazy like a shark or tuna but would have been big I faught it for 3-4 minutes and the line snapped. I think maybe I screwed up and tied the leader/spindle/hook wrong. Wish I at least got a look at the thing. Will almost certainly end the year on zero. Closest I've come by far. I don't even want to invite anyone to put rods in together bc I'm so ashamed and embarrassed at how much I suck at it I just cruise and drink with friends. Might hire a guide. I can't believe that is the easiest I thought the list was reversed my first read.

Hockey is also somewhat easy. There is no way to reliably play pickup basketball when your old. I tried to do pickup soccer games and everyone was WAY too good. And it totally wrecked my body the stopping and cutting on the astro turf fields for a slightly overweight late 30s guy was brutal 60 minutes was way worse wear and tear than a 10 mile jog or anything else I can think of. Think I played twice this spring one game my achilles was toast for 2 weeks and the next my quad was popped badly for 2 weeks as well. Groins hurt and both hamstrings were bad. Interested to try again if I can lose 20-30l lbs. Hockey on the other hand no matter what I'm fine after. Even a big fall last game where I banged my head hard on the ice with feet out from under me was no biggie not sore or anything. Was never good in HS but average and can play in any of these older player games and am fine. Just expensive and smelly. Usually score 1-2 goals per game and add some assists even against decent goalies and mostly better players.

Boxing is tough put gloves on and throwing punches is like taking golf swings everything is just way harder and you're much slower when 2 people have gloves on and are going the same thing. Tennis is hard. Baseball not really if you consider softball the same sport.

I agree about skiing but I don't agree about fast pitch softball. Those girls hum it from 43 feet.

Forget anything with heights, so diving and ski jumping would be ranked high for me.

The one I can't figure out is field hockey. I've never played it but I use to mess around with my sister's stick when I was a kid and used to be able to dribble and get off some monster shots. And they are all righty sticks and I'm lefty.

I'm surprised polo wasn't on the list. I almost thought playing croquet on horseback was hard to learn.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I played basketball, soccer, and baseball growing up. Baseball was by far the hardest.

 

[CanadianSU]

Golf at 51 buddy needs to check out the municipal course here.

Hockey is my fav sport. Once you learn how to skate it isn’t that hard.

 

[bevosu]

I played baseball, football, and basketball. I had no formal training as a kid and I played each sport as well or better than my peers.

I tried tennis and golf and I was terrible. You need someone who knows how to teach you the fundamentals to not be terrible in those sports (at least in my case). I never got any coaching and I remained pathetic.

Some sports you can pick up on your own and do well. Some not so much.

 

[Ragman2000]

Not having boxing number 1 and Wrestling number 2 is a good indicator that the list maker has done neither.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Golf at 51 buddy needs to check out the municipal course here.

Hockey is my fav sport. Once you learn how to skate it isn’t that hard.

So once you learn how to do a very hard thing it’s not that hard? Lol

 

[CanadianSU]

So once you learn how to do a very hard thing it’s not that hard? Lol

Skating isn’t that hard to learn at least for a Canadian

 

[ar inj]

Not having boxing number 1 and Wrestling number 2 is a good indicator that the list maker has done neither.

Well the list was not compiled by one person and Boxing was #1 and wrestling was #5

 

[orangefog]

I watched my daughter practice and compete in gymnastics nearly everyday for over 8 years. I think gymnastics is the hardest. Try doing a backflip on a board 4 inches wide that’s three feet off the ground

 

[mark79]

Golf at 51 shows me everything I need to know about this list. 14 clubs. Weather. Elements. Different styles of courses. Different grasses.

Basketball at 4, get real. Every court is the same. Every hoop is the same. Ball doesn’t change. Climate controlled. Stop it

This is laughable

First thing I looked for was to see where they had golf. People who don’t play don’t realize how mental a game golf is. And don’t get me started about putting lol. Gotta be at least in the top 10.

 

[CIL]

Nah I don't agree with most of this.

I'm an expert at skiing to the point where its too easy and nowhere near enough challenge regardless of how steep and if I hike to something crazy in the alps or wherever. I miss snowboarding for a challenge where I'm more of an intermediate but the falls are very violent and one smashed my shoulder and I can't be walking around in a sling for months again. Don't get me wrong I love skiing its just not hard to be an expert at all with modern equipment.

I'm terrible at fishing and haven't caught a single fish on my boat 2 summers in. Was out drifting and reading a book and I got a legit bite out nowhere yesterday. I was in 50 feet of water so it couldn't have been weeds or whatever on the hook. Nothing crazy like a shark or tuna but would have been big I faught it for 3-4 minutes and the line snapped. I think maybe I screwed up and tied the leader/spindle/hook wrong. Wish I at least got a look at the thing. Will almost certainly end the year on zero. Closest I've come by far. I don't even want to invite anyone to put rods in together bc I'm so ashamed and embarrassed at how much I suck at it I just cruise and drink with friends. Might hire a guide. I can't believe that is the easiest I thought the list was reversed my first read.

Hockey is also somewhat easy. There is no way to reliably play pickup basketball when your old. I tried to do pickup soccer games and everyone was WAY too good. And it totally wrecked my body the stopping and cutting on the astro turf fields for a slightly overweight late 30s guy was brutal 60 minutes was way worse wear and tear than a 10 mile jog or anything else I can think of. Think I played twice this spring one game my achilles was toast for 2 weeks and the next my quad was popped badly for 2 weeks as well. Groins hurt and both hamstrings were bad. Interested to try again if I can lose 20-30l lbs. Hockey on the other hand no matter what I'm fine after. Even a big fall last game where I banged my head hard on the ice with feet out from under me was no biggie not sore or anything. Was never good in HS but average and can play in any of these older player games and am fine. Just expensive and smelly. Usually score 1-2 goals per game and add some assists even against decent goalies and mostly better players.

Boxing is tough put gloves on and throwing punches is like taking golf swings everything is just way harder and you're much slower when 2 people have gloves on and are going the same thing. Tennis is hard. Baseball not really if you consider softball the same sport.

Hockey is easy?

 

[alphaorange]

I have a feeling that a lot of people on here think they are better than they are (or were)...

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Hockey is easy?

It’s not that much more difficult than gym class floor hockey on ice. Surprisingly not hard on the body either to play as an adult vs soccer or tackle football.

 

[CuseTG2003]

It’s not that much more difficult than gym class floor hockey on ice. Surprisingly not hard on the body either to play as an adult vs soccer or tackle football.

Have you played ice hockey?

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Golf at 51 shows me everything I need to know about this list. 14 clubs. Weather. Elements. Different styles of courses. Different grasses.

Basketball at 4, get real. Every court is the same. Every hoop is the same. Ball doesn’t change. Climate controlled. Stop it

This is laughable

I didn't comment on golf because of the way the rankings were applied. Anyone who has played golf and has achieved any type of consistency or success will know that mentally it is by far the hardest form of competition out there. If it wasn't you wouldn't regularly see the very top golfers in the world hit balls into the water or bunkers, regularly have their approach shots leave them 20, 30 or 40 feet from the hole and/or occasionally miss putts from five or six feet.

But, the judging didn't take the mental aspect into play. Sure, there are a lot of great golfers (even on this board) that can regularly shoot in the 70's, but then you have other golfers, like myself, that could or should be but invariably get that blow up hole that takes them off course. After all, how hard is it to hit a ball that is positioned stationary on a raised peg. Just ask Hank Aaron. He has one of the most famous quotes on golf

 

[JustPherU]

No Break dancing?

 

[baggerbob]

You can make an argument for so many of these sports. Gymnastics-yeah, right. There is a reason you don't see people perform over the age of 25 or near there. Horse Racing-very underrated. Yes, some jockeys can do it into their 40's and 50's, but that's like less than5 or 10 people in the entire world.

Love the comment on fishing being rated 60th. Some guy says he can sit there all day and not catch a thing. It's harder than people think. LOL!!!

x.com

x.com

They leave out the track and field event the 400 meter hurdles which no one on this site or many others could do. Running at full speed and jumping while doing it is harder then any of those sports.

 

[Eric15]

Re: golf, I'm trying to figure out the most tactful way to word this.

If a sport features elderly and overweight people playing it regularly, it's probably shouldn't be high on this list.

 

[djcon57]

The internet and how things go viral is so weird.

That list is 20+ years old.