Top Ten: Athletes of the Decade

Honorable Mentions- A-Rod, Tim Duncan, Shaq, and L.T.

10. Tim Tebow- Anybody who has watched this kid the last 4 years will never forget him. Tebow is the greatest college football player ever. 3 time Heisman Finalist (first ever), Heisman winner as a Soph (first since Archie Griffen), 2 time National Champ. 8457 passing years, 84 tds, only 15 picks, 2833 rushing yards, 56 tds. The list goes on and on. The nicest kid in the world, and hell, for being a virgin at the University of Florida while being a God there, he deserves to prob be higher. 

9. Roger Federer- I was going to sit here and list off his records and achievements, but then I looked at his wikipedia page and realized that I couldn’t list that much stuff here. He is a top 3 if not the best tennis player to ever live. Tennis is a nitch sport, but Federer crossed over and brought non-tennis fans into the game. Here is the page that will do him justice- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Roger_Federer

8. TIE- Ichiro and Albert Pujols- Due to the Steroid Era, guys like Bonds and Arod miss out. But Ichiro and Pujols are two of the most amazing players that we will ever see (if clean). Pujols is a 3 time MVP, but his numbers are amazing. 366 homers with a .334 career average. His accomplishments go further. Ichiro is just as impressive. Ichiro is the best hitter I have ever seen. I wont go into the stats, but over 2000 hits in a 10 year period is amazing.

7. Peyton Manning- 3 time MVP, Super Bowl MVP, few players in history put up the number he has in his career. He is on pace to break numerous NFL records. But along with the stats, Peyton is the face of the NFL. More so than Tom Brady, Peyton has branched off and become a commercial darling. Peyton is the most unlikely funny athlete of all time. 

6. Michael Phelps- in Olympic competition since 2000, Phelps has won 14 Gold Medals and 2 Bronze. In 2008, he put in the greatest feat in Olympic History, winning 8 Gold Medals in 1 Olympic Game. He was a national phenomenon. Also, to top it off, since 2001, Phelps has broken World Records 37 times, and still holds 6 of them. 

5. LeBron James- The best high school athlete of the decade, LBJ had more hype coming into the NBA than any other player of all time in any sport. Not only has he reached the hype, James has surpassed it, and he is still only 25. I could go into the stats, or the how he is the youngest to do some sort of record, but if you follow sports, I don’t need to. He is a global icon, makes millions on endorsements, Gold Medal winner, one of the biggest athletes in the world. Wait till he comes to the Knicks, cause if he wins a championship, he would be number 1 on this list.

4. Kobe Bryant- 4 championships. That is what separates him from LeBron and other basketball players this decade. Kobe is a winner, and his stats are unreal as well. While he had that Rape allegation and had his image take a huge hit, he bounced back and now people never mention it. Kobe has made his mark on the NBA, and this decade is his in basketball.

3. Tom Brady- Like Kobe, Brady is up here cause he won. 3 Super Bowls, 2 Super Bowl MVPs. Numerous NFL records, Brady has the allure that only a QB like Joe Montana has had. He can do no wrong in the eyes of many. While I hate Brady, the guy is hands down the best NFL player this decade. He also has a smokeshow of a wife that every man on the planet is obsessed with, so I hate him even more.

2. Lance Armstrong- Won 6 Tour de France championships since 2000. All after having Cancer. His Cancer spread all the way to his brain. The key to why Lance is here is because he did something that few athletes do, he becomes bigger than his sport. The Tour de France is nothing without Lance. He is single-handedly the one of the biggest inspiration to people in the world. What he has done for people with Cancer is something people can’t thank him enough for. Anybody who says he took PEDs should shut the hell up. He didn’t, and he is somebody who will never be forgotten after the decade he had. 

1. Tiger Woods- Ok, he has had the roughest few weeks of his life the last 2 weeks, but the rest of the decade is one of the best by any athlete ever. I am not going to list his majors, or wins, cause quite frankly, that won’t even do Tiger justice. Tiger is the biggest name in sports. Tiger is one of the biggest names in the World, not even sports. He makes more money than God. Up until now, he could endorse everything. Tiger is the best golfer ever. He had one of the best decades ever.