McNabb says Jimmie Johnson "not a athlele"

[aye_H8_ewe]

I have no problem with this, except that he says that Tiger Woods is an athlete while Johnson and race drivers aren't. Golfers are obviously less athletic even than race drivers.

Donovan McNabb riled the NASCAR community late Friday night by reigniting the old “Are NASCAR drivers athletes?” debate during an appearance on Fox Sports Live.

McNabb, asked to rank the most dominant athletes over the last decade, put Johnson third behind Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant. Johnson is on the verge of winning his sixth Sprint Cup Series championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

But then the former quarterback said Johnson wasn’t actually an athlete.

“Do I think he’s an athlete? Absolutely not,” McNabb said.

Host Charissa Thompson expressed surprise at McNabb’s statement and asked him to clarify, but he only dug in deeper.

“He’s not an athlete,” McNabb said. “He sits in a car and he drives. That’s not athletic…. What athletically is he doing?”

Former tennis player Andy Roddick chimed in and said it was “disrespectful to say he’s not an athlete.”

Much of the NASCAR community apparently felt the same way, because Twitter lit up in response to those who jumped to Johnson’s defense. The hashtag #PeopleWhoAreMoreAthleticThanDonovanMcNabb was the No. 1 trending topic in the U.S. at one point Friday night.

The defense of a driver most NASCAR fans love to hate due to his frequent winning might have something to do with the fact Johnson is a well-known triathlete who recently ran 20 miles for fun — all in the 7-minute mile range. Johnson told USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Ryan just this week that he’s training to run the Boston Marathon the day after competing in a Cup race in Texas next year.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/11/donovan-mcnabb-nascar-athletes/

 

[Dazzle1]

I have no problem with this, except that he says that Tiger Woods is an athlete while Johnson and race drivers aren't. Golfers are obviously less athletic even than race drivers.

I agree with McNabb about Johnson but I put tiger in the same category.

You can be great as a sport but not be a great athlete.

 

[jomar]

The ongoing debate...what is an athlete.

I'd probably give it to JJ...he needs endurance, sustained concentration, excellent hand-eye/visual-spacial skills/reaction time. Different sports require different skill sets for participants.

And if it is defined as a sport aren't participants athletes? Though I am reminded of the time when cousin Bubba and uncle Donny, both of whom stand about 5' 10" and weigh in at about and 300 pounds, were out bass fishing, drinking beer and eating pork rinds and Bubba said to Donny, "Say Donny, if bass fishing is a sport, does that make us athletes?"

 

[Sean Renaud]

Racer's aren't athletes, they aren't even in the same category as golfers and golfers aren't athletes by any rational standard.

What they do takes talent, they are skilled . . .whatever you want to call them. It's not a knock against them in the least. Video Gamers aren't athletes either even if there are guys who make a living playing them.

 

[eyer]

Legendary shoes Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are tied with most NASCAR Cup championships at 7...

...Jimmie Johnson, 38, just won his 6th championship today.

JJ isn't just a champion athlete...

...he's also an improving triathlete:

Johnson averages five days of running (30-40 miles total), two days swimming (four miles total) and two or three days biking (100 miles) during the week under the direction of former professional triathlete Jamey Yon of Tri-Yon Performance. They began working together about 18 months ago.

Johnson won his age group and finished ninth overall last December in the Palm Springs Triathlon’s Olympic distance (1,500-meter swim, 24.8-mile bike, 6.2-mile run). He posted a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes, 45 seconds — well under his goal of 2:30:00.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/...utine-triathlon-chase-sprint-cup-championship

Johnson's on the far left in the following pic...

http://wciv.images.worldnow.com/images/18974442_BG1.jpg

...fellow Hendricks Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne is on JJ's immediate left.