Who are the Top 10 sportspeople since 1975?

No NFL player with a multi-million dollar contract gets fired after one game. I think you're talking about guys trying to make the cut for an NFL team.

Bolt is #1 if we are going to play the 'how many people in the world play or try the sport' line. Why? Because everyone who ever lived and is able has tried to run fast. Those who can't go onto another pursuit - including everyone who has replied to this post!

"they think of those players who qualify for Grand Slam tournaments" Which is an appropriate level to take for my example. The NFL is the 'Grand Slam' of American Football. You do not make it in the NFL by being a fringe player, you make it because you are awesome at the game. If you want to talk about players at the "bottom of the rankings", a more appropriate comparison would be college football or some similar lower league. My point remains, the NFL offers little job security and high accountability on the individual. You could lose your multi-million dollar contract after just one bad performance. In Tennis, if you're good enough to earn millions, one bad performance does not bar you from tournaments, it takes a series of bad performances (a LOT).

Justin, exactly my point. People have some sort of romantic notion about boxing. We've all seen the stories, poor kid from Cuba pics up gloves and is one of the greats...but...

How many people have tried boxing as a sport compared to any football code? I would argue boxing is one of the more minor major sports around. Fark all people really box.

Tell that to the people who are at the bottom of the rankings. When most people think of tennis players, they think of those players who qualify for Grand Slam tournaments. There's countless numbers of professional tennis players who flake out like your NFL example. The difficulty of making it as a tennis pro or an NFL pro doesn't really reflect how difficult they are to play. It's part and parcel of all sport.

But sliding down the ranking doesn't actually have any consequences, you don't get kicked out/barred from future tournaments, your income stream isn't threatened like it is in the NFL.

You only have to look as far as the ranking system.

Take NFL for example, players who perform badly in ONE match can be immediately dismissed from their franchise. I can't see the same degree of accountability in Tennis.

Its an opinion and thanks for the hyperbole straw man. "Tennis is one of the most demanding sports, both physically and mentally, and is exciting to watch" You do realise this phrase is entirely subjective? Way to go fool. I didn't say Tennis wasn't demanding, merely that other sports are MORE demanding, which is of course my opinion only. "Individual sports enable a person to dominate the sport – and they are accountable for it. " Team members who do not perform are cut - they are entirely accountable. Do try and comprehend English, otherwise you'll come off looking like an idiot. And yeah, I've still yet to hear how Tennis is more demanding than Mountaineering. Snicker all you want but its a real sport.

Ermm.... sorry that should of been a reply to Beastie. I have to post covertly when the boss isn't looking.

woops, my handle from another forum.

Lazza, what are you on about? I agreed with him other than boxing.

No, he makes a valid point. In those sports you have to compete literally against the whole world because any country rich or poor can take part. The sheer numbers of competing athletes from every single country makes it incredibly tough to reach the top and succeed. Why is that so hard for Australian sports fans to understand?

Beast-A-Tron obviously has no idea. Mountainerring to tennis to cricket. Obviously an arm chair expert. Tennis is one of the most demanding sports, both physically and mentally, and is exciting to watch. Individual sports enable a person to dominate the sport - and they are accountable for it. Teams come and go and is difficult to dominate - except of course for the likes of Jordan and Warnie. Legends!

All I am saying Sammy22, is that the list is for the best of all time. Not the best 'female athlete' or the best 'athlete with a disability' or the best 'tree hugging hippee who wants to stand up for the weak and feable'. Get a grip. The list is for the best of all time. Men are physically superior so they should dominate the list. Perhaps you could table a list of the best cleaners, procrastinators or dress makers???

Being ready for a catch strikes me as somewhat different from being ready to receive a serve or return a shot. The big difference to me is that in tennis you have to win a certain number of points in order to win the match. In cricket, a bowler could go wicketless or a batsman scoreless and their side can still win the match. It's only in certain match situations that a bowler or batsman are under pressure to be the one who takes the wickets or makes the runs. In basketball, you can have a poor shooting night and another guy carries the load. In rugby, a winger can stand on the sidelines all game long and never touch the ball. These sports are like cricket in the sense that there are moments when players can stand up and win games with their individual play, but in tennis there is only the individual.

Agreed re Schumacher. He was a great driver, but definitely benefited from being in the right place at the right time.

Mids criteria = "his word" JOKE . To be honest I agree with his sentiment about Soccer..its head and shoulders above the rest.... but he's being a little romantic about boxing and perhaps even track. All of the "2nd tier" sports have their weak spots. Basketball, Rugby, Boxing etc are all huge in some regions and hardly played in others. But to suggest boxing is ahead of Basketball and Rugby based on some romantic idea because of the low entry cost is over the top.

"3 truely world sports" Just curious, what is your criteria? "truely international" is a subjective phrase that needs clarification.