The Ultimate Athlete

Maybe you dig hoops, or are hard-core for hardball. Maybe you prefer pucks, or instead pigskins. Me? I love all sorts of sports. It stems from my fascination not just for megastars, but for my own physical abilities and how I measure up. Competing, for me, can be for any person and in any arena, and it’s brought me much joy in my life.

Yes, most of us play sports just for fun — and some physical profit. After all, it keeps the body in shape and looking good (except if you are a sumo wrestler), and if you’re really good at it, you even can make a living from playing a game. Make a living? Make that “Earn obscene amounts of money.” You see, I’m not the only one who loves sports. Since so many of us love so many sports, sports mean money for those who most excel at them.

How much? You needn’t ask. As Dr. Evil might say to Austin Powers, “Milllllions of dollars.” So many millions that it all tends to blue for those of us whose paychecks are nowhere near seven figures. But give such rich pitchers and wealthy wideouts this: They’ve dedicated most of their lives to becoming extremely good at their sport. Just look at Tiger Woods who, at the age of 2, already was doing TV appearances and mesmerizing viewers with his golf swing.

Such athletes practice their sport — the same sport with the same moves — over and over throughout their lives, the way Larry Byrd used to shoot hundreds of hoops each day. For some, eventually the payoff means making lots of money, and being idolized by fans who adore their flirtation with perfection. While performing at the highest level, these players seem so unreal that we may have a hard time believing they’re only human — and not on the juice, even when all indications are that they aren’t.

Roll call time: Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Albert Pujols, Tom Brady, Roger Federer, Ronaldinho. What do these athletes have in common? They were blessed with great genetics and brought up with enough discipline that they’ve been able to work hard at their sport and be rewarded, not just with mounds of money, but with the title “superstar.” I know — the term is loosely used, just as “supermodel” now too often refers to rail-thin nobodies who are, in fact, only “models.” But legit sports superstars do exist, and I must confess, I’m as obsessed with them as anyone.

The media knows this. So do marketers. They use these superstars to market their goods, to pitch via product placement, and to sell ads during games or ESPN sportscasts. And that’s where we most often truly worship the sports gods who can glide through the air to perform a double pump dunk, or break the 10-second mark on the 100 meter dash while looking sideways and smiling, or winning eight gold medals at the Olympics, or simply by being so great that fans chant “King James, the second coming.”

But fans want more. They want other ways beyond games and commercials to quench their thirst and get the most out of such superstars.

That’s why now, via technology, even their stats are being used for our personal entertainment. Quite frankly, I have never being a huge fan of fantasy sports, but for the ‘09 NBA season, I joined an NBA Fantasy League with a group of buddies with whom I play basketball. They’d being doing the fantasy thing for years, but this was my first time.

I thought I was well versed and well rounded when it came to the NBA, but boy, was I wrong! My partner and friend David Astramskas knows more about basketball than probably many players who have played the game. Even the commissioner of our fantasy league responded to emails swearing he was, in fact, David Stern. So now, it’s not enough just to watch these athletes perform. Now, we want to dissect, analyze and somehow exploit each move they make for our personal enjoyment.

And now, quite frankly, I’m weary of giving so much attention to superstars who are extremely good at one thing — one sport.

Me? I’m looking for a new breed of athletes. Athletes who are not exceptionally incredible at one sport, but are  very good at many sports. Not the usual Bo Jackson like player who can cross between two or three sports, typically football, baseball or basketball. I hear all the time about high school football players who choose basketball as their main sport once they go to college. Or, like Tracy McGrady, were good baseball players but made the choice to only play basketball at a young age.

Michael Jordan tried the multiple sport trip when he retired from basketball after the ‘93 season to play baseball. Though he didn’t go far, I give him all the credit in the world for doing so. At least he was there — learning new moves, and understanding how his body could be used in other ways to play a totally different sport. Jordan also is a great golfer, with a handicap of 4. But I wonder if Jordan could have swum the 200 IM (medley), or clear at least 10 feet on the pole vault when he was younger.

And so, I’m looking for those athletes who aren’t afraid to try every sport known to man. Obviously these athletes will not compete at a high level in many of the sports, but they will have one thing: the guts to try as many sports as possible. That, alone, will put them in my book, the title to be called “Ultimate Athlete.” My goal is to find these persons and create a venue where they can meet, compete and learn who, among them, is that true, rare and far more than one-sport “Ultimate Athlete.”

The purpose of this blog is to document the process of creating a social virtual infrastructure to find the “Ultimate Athlete.” We have free tools in our disposal to stay connected (Youtube, Facebook and Twitter), and with them we will create a network of athletes who will not be afraid to compete against each other in any sport, regardless of his or her abilities. We will develop a venue and a new way of looking at sports, in competition with a new point system based not on other athletes but your own ability to use every inch of your body in every sport available, no matter the result or level of play. I have many ideas on how I’m going to create incentives for athletes around the nation to participate in my search for the Ultimate Athlete. Maybe you do, too. So let me hear from you, and in the meantime, feel free to follow “The Ultimate Athlete” via Twitter, RSS, Daily Email or Facebook.