Greatest American Male Olympian?

Who is the greatest American male Olympian?

  • Jesse Owens

    Votes: 18 23.4%

  • Al Oerter

    Votes: 1 1.3%

  • Mark Spitz

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Carl Lewis

    Votes: 10 13.0%

  • Michael Phelps

    Votes: 37 48.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 11 14.3%
  • Total voters
    77
T

thejumper5

Well-Known Member
Who is the greatest American male Olympian of all time? To me, five stand out above the rest, but who's #1?
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhKI7sH0O20]Carl Lewis: The Master Finisher - Faster, Higher, Stronger - BBC Two - YouTube[/ame]
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fJmxIXij-8]Michael Phelps Wins Most Olympic Medals in History - YouTube[/ame]
 
I can't believe Jesse Owens is losing this poll. What is the matter with you people??
Go read your freakin' history books. Sheesh.
 
Jesse Owens is the greatest Olympian of all time.

Michael Phelps is the greatest medal winner.

This is all very subjective. And it starts by necessitating a definition for "Greatest Olympian Ever". For me, as you can see, it's about more than just medal count. There is so much more to the equation. The way I define "greatest olympian ever" is: the athlete that shows the greatest display of athletics, sportsmanship, and world/cultural presence.

Phelps is among the greatest, due in large part to his incredible dominance in the pool. But to say he is the greatest "no question about it" is wrong. We are all biased by our personal backgrounds in different ways. But we all share the same bias that is the era in which we live/think. And that sports era is what I like to call: the 'post Michael Jordan era'. This is the age of winning, counting championships. How many rings does he have? Don't tell me **** until he wins a super bowl. I think the era of becoming title obsessed emerged from Michael Jordan winning his iconic 6. No longer can guys like Kobe and Lebron live out there own careers, now they are constantly being compared to Jordan. All NFL QBs are thought of by the number of titles they have. No one thinks of these pro sports as entertainment anymore, it's all about winning (and money). This has also helped the demise of college sports, transitioning the focus from student-athlete competition to winning. This has led to corruption across the board, ridiculous salaries, recruiting cheaters etc.

We are all under the influence of this era, and therefore forget about athletes like Jesse Owens. All we can know is what we see, and all we see is Michael Phelps wearing those stupid headphones before his race listening to Eminem, his parents in the stands screaming and dancing, and the NBC people talking about the medal count. Michael Phelps is a great swimmer, but he is not a transcendent athlete. Jesse Owens was. Jesse Owens changed the world with his performance, some may dispute this, but I believe it to be true. Michael Phelps has not changed the world.

Michael Phelps may be the better (best) athlete, but that's not the question. The Olympics is about more than athletics.
 
IowaTeddy said:
Jesse Owens is the greatest Olympian of all time.

Michael Phelps is the greatest medal winner.

This is all very subjective. And it starts by necessitating a definition for "Greatest Olympian Ever". For me, as you can see, it's about more than just medal count. There is so much more to the equation. The way I define "greatest olympian ever" is: the athlete that shows the greatest display of athletics, sportsmanship, and world/cultural presence.

Phelps is among the greatest, due in large part to his incredible dominance in the pool. But to say he is the greatest "no question about it" is wrong. We are all biased by our personal backgrounds in different ways. But we all share the same bias that is the era in which we live/think. And that sports era is what I like to call: the 'post Michael Jordan era'. This is the age of winning, counting championships. How many rings does he have? Don't tell me **** until he wins a super bowl. I think the era of becoming title obsessed emerged from Michael Jordan winning his iconic 6. No longer can guys like Kobe and Lebron live out there own careers, now they are constantly being compared to Jordan. All NFL QBs are thought of by the number of titles they have. No one thinks of these pro sports as entertainment anymore, it's all about winning (and money). This has also helped the demise of college sports, transitioning the focus from student-athlete competition to winning. This has led to corruption across the board, ridiculous salaries, recruiting cheaters etc.

We are all under the influence of this era, and therefore forget about athletes like Jesse Owens. All we can know is what we see, and all we see is Michael Phelps wearing those stupid headphones before his race listening to Eminem, his parents in the stands screaming and dancing, and the NBC people talking about the medal count. Michael Phelps is a great swimmer, but he is not a transcendent athlete. Jesse Owens was. Jesse Owens changed the world with his performance, some may dispute this, but I believe it to be true. Michael Phelps has not changed the world.

Michael Phelps may be the better (best) athlete, but that's not the question. The Olympics is about more than athletics.
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VERY well stated, Teddy. Particularly the bolded section.
Jesse Owens had zero advantages and faced tremendous opposition. He went in to the mouth of the monster and performed at a breathtaking level. What he did was entirely unique.
 
Scorpio79 said:
I can't believe Jesse Owens is losing this poll. What is the matter with you people??
Go read your freakin' history books. Sheesh.
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I get what you are saying, but it is weak compared to Phelps, that is the truth. Phelps was able to accomplish more than any other Olympian in history, not just American.

Owens' story is amazing, amazing that he even survived his childhood with his mother cutting a lump out of his chest that was causing him not to breathe properly. He did prove that Hitler was a lunatic, which most of the world found out later just how much. I appreciate everything that Owens was able to accomplish.

When you compare his accomplishments to Phelps, there really isn't a comparison. If you want to talk about what his accomplishments meant in the 1936 games historically, then you can't compare the two.

If you really want to talk about great male Olympians, you have to include Jim Thorpe in the conversation as well.
 
A) I cannot freaking believe Dan Gable is NOT on this list...this is an Iowa board right???

B) Jesse held the mantle of GAMO for 60+ years, and deservedly so, but what Phelps has accomplished is absolutely phenomenal and will not be broken by any Olympian in our lifetimes
 
sportstalent said:
If you really want to talk about great male Olympians, you have to include Jim Thorpe in the conversation as well.
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absolutely. the the difference in time is apples and oranges. the same with track versus swimming. there's no "fastest at running backwards" or "fastest at skipping 100 meters" in track. fewer medals to be had in track.

sheer number does not equal greatest. but the case can certainly be made for phelps. dude has dominated the world for 8-10 years.
 
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