[rlmorel]

Perhaps he looks like a “fat slob” who will likely die an early death. From what I have seen of him, he understands full well how his image presents to people (and pokes fun at it) but people who have played with and against him have thrown that image prejudice in the trash after they have encountered him on the field of competition. 100% of people who know what it takes to be an athlete on an actual field of competition who have played against him would disavow you of your superficial analysis.

But if you say he isn’t an athlete, you really don’t know what you are talking about. Nothing personal there, but if you say he isn’t an athlete, without knowing anything about him, how can you say that? Based on his physical appearance alone?

What “objective measure” do you use to define an athlete? How fast he can run? How much weight he can lift? How high he can jump? And so on...

And if those are the “objective measures”, what are your parameters? Someone who runs the 100 yard dash in 10 seconds? 12 seconds? 20 seconds? Someone who can bench press 150 lbs? 250 lbs? And so on.

And who is the arbiter of those “objective measures”? The AMA? The NFL? The NBA? The USA?

You?

I don’t really know what “objective measure” you refer to.

[Elsie]

But if you say he isn’t an athlete, you really don’t know what you are talking about.

Take it with a grain of salt...

[Alberta's Child]

There are plenty of objective measures that can be used. For starters, how about we measure life expectancy and health risks? Even if the AMA has a political axe to grind in most cases, surely an insurance company would have this all down to a science.

I once read an article suggesting that tennis legend Bjorn Borg was an extraordinary athlete even compared to others at the top of their professions. His resting heart rate was once measured at less than 40 beats per minute, which was a big reason why he was able to perform at his peak even in long, grueling matches.