I watch a lot of YouTube and Mike Tyson is someone who gets views because of his image and ruthlessness. The casual young sports fan view Tyson as a GOAT candidate, but in reality he’s a tier below.
Just curious who others on the forum would view as some of the most overrated athletes in history?
Yeah, I won't put Tyson here. He disposed of Marvis Frazier in 30 seconds and Marvis was projected to be a rising star and future champion. I suggest people go back and look at his early bouts, completely a beast.
As for overrated, three that immediately jump to the top of my list are Dale Jr, Tony Romo, Kurt Warner. I'm sure I can come up with others but want some time to think about it.
Kurt Warner is a tough case. He's sort of like Bill Walton in terms of his career. Two MVPs, three SB appearances, and a bunch of shortened seasons. There's always the question of "if this guy stayed healthy, what would he have done?"
I'm okay with him being recognized as a Hall of Famer.
A guy I think that was overrated was Eli Manning. He's got the two SB titles, which are big, but otherwise I think he was way too sloppy with the ball to be considered a great QB, particularly in light of a career .500 record. He's actually got more INTs + fumbles than he does TD passes, and he only won a playoff game in two out of 16 seasons. It's just that in those two seasons, he won eight playoff games.
Fully agree on Eli, just think wasn't Kurt really as great as people thought he was. My answer is no.
I'm seeing a few say Jeter. Again, I say, go watch the tape. He played 20 years and aside from his first and the 2013 season, he averaged 150 games per season. He was 14x all-star, 5x Champ, World Series MVP, Rookie of the year, 5x Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. He was also the sixth overall pick in the 1992 draft, so overrated, maybe not so much.
"To appreciate Jeter's impact on a generation of players, look no further than Red Sox All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who grew up in Aruba idolizing the Yankees captain to the point that he has mimicked his patented "jump throw" from the grass in shallow left field. Jeter spent 20 seasons in the big leagues and never played for a losing team. That can't be a coincidence. -- Lauber"