Who is the best sporting nation
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@Higgins said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@antipodean The hole in your theory is that they have so many there is bound to be one or two out of the many thousands of yank sportsmen with the basic suitable physical/athletic foundations that will be able adapt to rugby and could approach star status given time.
we've had this chat before. Developing top flight tight forwards is non-trivial. Aus struggles, along with a bunch of sevens countries. You have to bed in skills and workate early, adn keep at it for bloody ages.
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@Higgins said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@antipodean The hole in your theory is that they have so many there is bound to be one or two out of the many thousands of yank sportsmen with the basic suitable physical/athletic foundations that will be able adapt to rugby and could approach star status given time.
And they have massive financial resources. If you had the cream of their athletic talent playing rugby, after a while I have no doubt they could seriously contend
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@canefan said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@Higgins said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@antipodean The hole in your theory is that they have so many there is bound to be one or two out of the many thousands of yank sportsmen with the basic suitable physical/athletic foundations that will be able adapt to rugby and could approach star status given time.
And they have massive financial resources. If you had the cream of their athletic talent playing rugby, after a while I have no doubt they could seriously contend
Let's presume that rugby did manage to take the cream of their athletic talent and they applied their enormous economic resources, you'd still have to wait until their was sufficient depth to create the required level of talent to compete.
That would still take a generation. While they get paid what they do to play weirdo rugby with body armour or bouncy netball, that's never going to happen.
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@antipodean said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@canefan said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@Higgins said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@antipodean The hole in your theory is that they have so many there is bound to be one or two out of the many thousands of yank sportsmen with the basic suitable physical/athletic foundations that will be able adapt to rugby and could approach star status given time.
And they have massive financial resources. If you had the cream of their athletic talent playing rugby, after a while I have no doubt they could seriously contend
Let's presume that rugby did manage to take the cream of their athletic talent and they applied their enormous economic resources, you'd still have to wait until their was sufficient depth to create the required level of talent to compete.
That would still take a generation. While they get paid what they do to play weirdo rugby with body armour or bouncy netball, that's never going to happen.
It's all totally hypothetical and isn't going to happen anytime soon. America loves the NFL
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NZ would definitely be up there - rugby, cricket, cycling, rowing, sailing, netball, squash.
But I reckon one of the Scandinavian countries. They have small populations and when you look at team sports, Olympics (particularly Winter), tennis, golf etc, they always seem to punch above.
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Wales goes ok
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@antipodean said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@canefan said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@Higgins said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@antipodean The hole in your theory is that they have so many there is bound to be one or two out of the many thousands of yank sportsmen with the basic suitable physical/athletic foundations that will be able adapt to rugby and could approach star status given time.
And they have massive financial resources. If you had the cream of their athletic talent playing rugby, after a while I have no doubt they could seriously contend
Let's presume that rugby did manage to take the cream of their athletic talent and they applied their enormous economic resources, you'd still have to wait until their was sufficient depth to create the required level of talent to compete.
That would still take a generation. While they get paid what they do to play weirdo rugby with body armour or bouncy netball, that's never going to happen.
“there”.
but otherwise, agree -
@ACT-Crusader said in Who is the best sporting nation:
NZ would definitely be up there - rugby, cricket, cycling, rowing, sailing, netball, squash.
But I reckon one of the Scandinavian countries. They have small populations and when you look at team sports, Olympics (particularly Winter), tennis, golf etc, they always seem to punch above.
That per capita nation table @canefan posted says Norway. They topped the medal table at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics - but that table topping was based around domination of cross-country skiing.
I'd imagine they'd weight winter and summer Olympic medals the same, but it's a pretty small set of developed/mainly European and North American countries (that have snow) that compete at the Winter Olympics. Not dissimilar to plenty of disciplines at the summer Olympics - so counting all Olympic medals the same is highly misleading.
I you win the Athletics 100 metres that's probably equivalent to about ten swimming gold medals on the basis that Usain Bolt > Michael Phelps.
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@Chris-B said in Who is the best sporting nation:
I'd imagine they'd weight winter and summer Olympic medals the same, but it's a pretty small set of developed/mainly European and North American countries (that have snow) that compete at the Winter Olympics. Not dissimilar to plenty of disciplines at the summer Olympics - so counting all Olympic medals the same is highly misleading.
I you win the Athletics 100 metres that's probably equivalent to about ten swimming gold medals on the basis that Usain Bolt > Michael Phelps.Agreed. I've long argued Phelps is spectacular in being best at not fulfilling the Olympic motto. Swimming should be based on time over distance so if you want to do it sidestroke, go for it.
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@antipodean Swimming is an absolute pot-hunting sport. I really dislike these "Quest for X number of gold medals" that individuals at the pool indulge in at every Olympics".
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@Snowy said in Who is the best sporting nation:
Swimming (butterfly for example) is the like having an athletics 100m skipping event.
More like the sack race.
And it was always the most athletic who won. Always.
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@Snowy said in Who is the best sporting nation:
Swimming (butterfly for example) is the like having an athletics 100m skipping event.
I'd be all for that.
Running, skipping, backwards running and legs together jumping are all vastly underrated athletic endeavours. They're at least as virtuous as the variety of swimming strokes.
You could then add the 400m medley to the athletic events too.
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@Chris-B said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@antipodean Swimming is an absolute pot-hunting sport. I really dislike these "Quest for X number of gold medals" that individuals at the pool indulge in at every Olympics".
But I’m sure you were cheering as loud as I was for young Danyon 😀
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@ACT-Crusader said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@Chris-B said in Who is the best sporting nation:
@antipodean Swimming is an absolute pot-hunting sport. I really dislike these "Quest for X number of gold medals" that individuals at the pool indulge in at every Olympics".
But I’m sure you were cheering as loud as I was for young Danyon 😀
How big was Danyon's quest?
Double Olympic gold isn't obnoxious - going for 6/7/8 I'm cheering for the opposition! Well, not if they're a NZer....
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@dogmeat said in Who is the best sporting nation:
I don't know who the best sporting nation is as there are so many variables and influencers but I'd confidently suggest India is the worst notwithstanding their cricket
And knocked out of the CWC by the plucky NZers!
As hard as I'm trying to forget that WC, that really was a performance to savour. All of the former Indian players, commentators and fans saying the result was a foregone conclusion before it started, oh man that was so fucking delicious. Boult setting up Kohli was one of the best NZ sporting moments of all time.
