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Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:15 am
by Dog'sbreath
Oscar Pistorius

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:32 am
by Wilson's Toffee
Nieghorn wrote:Isn't Brendan Venter a doc as well? Castaignede has an engineering degree (not sure if he does anything with it).

Brendan. Divan Serfontein (orthopedic surgeon). Uli Schmidt. Edrich Krantz. Many medical professionals (doctors) in SA rugby. Many accountants (chartered) too. A few other professions.
Quite a few lawyers too - Johan Heunis. Jacques Olivier.

Kiwis, Ozzies and Brits have a clever chaps few too, Frenchies and Argentinians as well. Rugby was a sport for an elite, where education and intelligence are more easily manifested.

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:33 am
by farmerdave
Jack Lovelock
Peter Snell

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:35 am
by naki
Wilson's Toffee wrote:Rugby was a sport for an elite, where education and intelligence are more easily manifested.
Not in NZ. It has always been a sport for everyone. Except, perhaps, the gays.

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:10 am
by Wilson's Toffee
naki wrote:
Wilson's Toffee wrote:Rugby was a sport for an elite, where education and intelligence are more easily manifested.
Not in NZ. It has always been a sport for everyone. Except, perhaps, the gays.

Old Governor Grey immediately started building an elite. Like he did in Oz and SA. The "ruling elite" were always seduced by rugby ....

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:13 am
by Turbogoat
Dolph Lundgren.
European Karate Champion (yeah yeah, it's the Dane Cook of martial arts, buts still)
MIT Scholarship

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:15 am
by Wilson's Toffee
Sharon Stone. MENSA member

(not sure in which sport she was a champion, but she was a champion !)

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:30 am
by Calculus
Nieghorn wrote:Isn't Brendan Venter a doc as well?

Practising GP and lover of biscuits

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:40 am
by Brumby_in_Vic
Scott Baldwin Zookeeper

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:49 am
by Newsome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrAWrsb13bU

Johnathan Bernier - Ice Hockey player

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:53 am
by eldanielfire
Nieghorn wrote:To be fair to many athletes, the people doing the interviewing ask questions ranging from 'already answered the question with the question' to 'completely inane'.

CGW's "Yeah, Definitely!" segment showed that they always get closed questions with obvious responses (but it seems they've taken them all down from youtube :( )

... found a supercut on fb: https://www.facebook.com/CrowdGoesWild/ ... 415448764/
Agreed. It's insane when they tell the athlete what they must have been thinking before their debut or something.

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:55 am
by eldanielfire
shereblue wrote:Michael Johnson might not be an intellectual but he is a mature and intelligent commentator and successful business man - as well as having been an amazing 200 and 400m runner.
Magic Johnson, a genius on the Basketball court and a massively successful businessman. I think he won awards for most successful afro-american business man multiple times.

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 10:50 am
by handyman
Brumby_in_Vic wrote:
Nieghorn wrote:Isn't Brendan Venter a doc as well? Castaignede has an engineering degree (not sure if he does anything with it).
Venter is a practising GP. Jannie du Plessis has trained to become a full time doctor after his Rugby career finishes.
It's accepted that Saffers are smarter people in general.

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 11:07 am
by Steamin Beamin
Geoff Cross is a qualified doctor and Euan Murray is a qualified vet. Rob Wainwright studied medicine at Cambridge, qualified as a doctor and served as an officer in the Royal Army Medical Corp but I believe he runs a farm now.

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 11:51 pm
by Dork Lard
Nieghorn wrote:
Dork Lard wrote: Definitely the consistent more clever role player...but there's room in RU for the hardworking type that isn't blessed with incredible athleticism where it's less common in for eg basketball I'd say where explosiveness/athletic ability will practically guarantee you a spot. There have been clever bball players, but I mean actually intelligent, not just high basketball/Rugby/soccer IQ but, straight-up high IQ.
Growing up, being a devotee of the NBA and NFL, I was always interested which of them actually got through uni without struggling. Probably most, but there were always stories of the rampant boosters and coaches doing whatever to keep their best athletes in 'The Program' (the film by that name a stark look at it).

David Robinson and Grant Hill were two who went four years at school and seem very intelligent.

John Amaechi is now a psychologist and has some great things to say about life and sport: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/26/spor ... index.html

https://soundcloud.com/your-brain-on-sp ... nba-career
Amaechi, also the first gay player to come out in the NBA, surely the intellectual type and definitely not one of the best so exactly to the point. His case is more understandable as large body 7footers with a bit of mobility are so rare there's been lots of pretty avg centers in the NBA.
Checked out your soundcloud a bit, lol had never heard the word 'alacrity' before.

D-Rob no doubt intelligent but more importantly seems a great human being with lots of depth and substance, AND also what a fkng athlete and player.

Since we're on the topic of centers, I believe you forget one of the most salient examples: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A straightup intellectual also, along the lines of an Amaechi, except actually meaningful as a player in the NBA.

I don't believe I've heard RU players as intelligent as those NBA examples.

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 11:52 pm
by Keith
Andy Fordham

Re: Most intelligent athletes

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 11:56 pm
by CrazyIslander
naki wrote:
Wilson's Toffee wrote:Rugby was a sport for an elite, where education and intelligence are more easily manifested.
Not in NZ. It has always been a sport for everyone. Except, perhaps, the gays.
Unless the gay man has the strongest right shoulder!