The only NFL athlete in history that could possibly be faster than Usain Bolt, is Bob Hayes. Hayes ran a 9.91s 100m, on wet cinder. He may be the fastest human in history. He was the Olympic gold medal winner, and world record holder. So he is "track fast," not just "football fast."
The Dallas Cowboys signed him after his world record setting Olympic performance.
The fastest Chinese track athlete, Su Bingtian, ran a 4.3 second 40m split in his fastest 100m race. But he had a 0.142 second reaction time to the starter pistol. In track, the clock starts when the gun goes off. 0.142 seconds later, Su started running.
NFL combine timing works on the runner's movement. There is no starter pistol.
If you time Su's run from when he started moving, his 40 time would be ~4.16 seconds. Again, much faster than the fastest NFL players.
These statements shouldn't be so surprising to people, but they are:
Pro track sprinters are faster than NFL players
Pro powerlifters are stronger than NFL players
Pro gymnasts, are more agile than NFL players
Pro fighters, are better at fighting than NFL players
There's something very American about not knowing how deep the knowledge on a topic goes, only spending a few hours a week on it, but then fully expecting to be better at it than the people that dedicate their lives to it.
@mekkaokereke living in a techie city with techie friends and not many friends who grew up watching the NFL, watching the superbowl had the feeling of being a tax accountant watching other people doing their taxes the first time. I didn't realize how deep ingrained the knowledge of all the rules and schemes and coverages and skills I got just from watching every sunday for my whole life.
So yes. I definitely know what you are saying above.
@mekkaokereke I’ve always wondered how an NFL lineman would fare at sumo, and vice versa. Sumo wrestlers are big, extremely strong and can direct that strength fast, but they have so-so endurance. NFL lineman, even the biggest, are lighter, but have equal or better strength and better endurance.
Both being an NFL lineman, and being a sumo wrestler, are skills. The skill of the person is often more important than size of a rank amateur. But a stronger faster opponent with enough skill, is effective. Takanoyama was from the Czech Republic and only weighed 200 lbs, but he was a master of Judo before switching to Sumo. He obsessed about the technique of throws and balance. He did quite well, despite being half the weight of some of his opponents.🤯
Add comment