GQ's 25 Coolest Athletes

Sorry that's too American for the rest of us

bollox it might be a cliche but Ali is the greatest of all time and will never ever be superceded

Best wasn't even as good as Jimmy Greaves btw

does _anyone_ think pele is cooler than maradonna?

lol lincecum, he gets my vote

Let me begin by carping about one omission: Mark Fidrych. I love seeing Derek Sanderson and Kenny Stabler there, even though I haven't paid much attention to either sport for a long time. I'm a baseball guy, and should vote for Gibson or Lincecum, but I've got to go with Pistol Pete, who was one of my heroes in high school.

there was some family on the news last night called Blowman, I lost my shit for 10 minutes

The basketball choices from the '70s are all great.

OK, so don't know these people:

Tom Brady
Walt Frazier
Bob Gibson
Julius Irving
Allen Iverson
Bo Jackson
Tim Lincecum
Pete Maravich
Derek Sanderson
Ken Stabler
Kelly Slater
Ted Turner

... unless that's the Ted Turner! Only know Jim Brown 'cuz he did some acting.

Pele is not cool. And neither is Gary Player.

not a single female athlete there o_0

does _anyone_ think pele is cooler than maradonna?

Does anyone think pele is even cool? Really?

(xpost, obv Tom D agrees with me)

Saw an achingly bad "coolest footballers" list the other day, might chuck it up on ILF for everyone to point and laugh at.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s32uMiY0HGY

No one thinks Pele was/is cool.

not a single female athlete there o_0

Was gonna say!

not a single female athlete there o_0

It's in GQ, a publication whose attitude to women is roughly the same as Patrick Bateman's.

I realize the list tilts way American. I'm posting from Canada. Just a fact of life with an American magazine. The omission of women also speaks to the kind of magazine GQ is. Serena Williams should be there for sure.

no fucking way a Williams sister shd place above Navratilova

was going to say, pele is a football choice only someone who'd never seen a match could make

kelly slater invented video games in 1988 i think

this is tim lincecum arriving at a world series game last year

http://www.mocksession.com/30fps//2010%20November%201%2020%2039%2014.jpg

ya gq is terrible shit afaict, the sort of thing junior estate agents 'read'

xxpost: Well, sure there is, if that's what you think.

The one ridiculous choice for me is Ted Turner.

Pele was obv. cool when was playing, but certainly not after he stopped

To the British guys: if this poll is going to cause you undue stress and aggravation, one suggestion would be to skip it.

Having a pop at GQ is never an opportunity to be passed up.

PELE? FUCKING PELE?

discussing the poll options is SOP for ilx.

if you're going to post during uk lunch hour you can also expect some weird stuff about the media landscape here too. sorry.

xxp ha!

My nan is cooler than Pele.

http://www.draftdaysuit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/tom-bieber-brady-more-hair.jpg

Not to get defensive or anything, but I'm pretty sure this is the first issue of GQ I've ever bought. The Ali cover is excellent--I wanted to show it to my students this morning--and the list interests me a lot. I haven't quite signed on for the GQ lifestyle.

Mario Andretti as the coolest Formula 1 driver is a tad Amerocentric? Or is it for Indy 500 an' shit?

also in what fucking universe is evil knievil an athlete?

ali is all time and even though i'd never know him as anything other than pure-gazza hell, best is understandable, and the rest are lol americans, so...

(lol americans or i've just not heard of them. if this was indie music, that'd be cool, but its not.)

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/10/1002_power100_second_careers/image/arnold-palmer.jpg

It's in GQ, a publication whose attitude to women is roughly the same as Patrick Bateman's.

that shouldn't absolve them! you'd think there'd at least be a sharapova-esque token blonde hottie type, at least.

m-nav is the obvious choice - yeah a williams sister, but venus, not serena - svetlana khorkina (gymnastics) and yelena isinbayeva (pole vault) spring to mind too

and natasha zvereva/gigi fernandez obv!!! coolest doubles team ever.

didn't think about the "coolest" thing, okay Best probably shades Greaves on account of not sobering up and playing the cunt on ITV for 10 year

Hip-hop has taught me that Allen Iverson is a short dickwad tho, I'll give them that.

xp to clemenza, ignore the brits on GQ. US GQ is different to UK GQ, which is basically just Nuts/Zoo + adverts for nice watches.

Nastase cooler than Borg surely to god, McEnroe too

m-nav is the obvious choice - yeah a williams sister, but venus, not serena - svetlana khorkina (gymnastics) and yelena isinbayeva (pole vault) spring to mind too

Yelena is cool

PELE? FUCKING PELE?

― Samuel (a hoy hoy), Wednesday, 23 February 2011 12:42 (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

Jeez. Pele is about as cool as Stephen Ireland.

the notion of 'cool athletes' is fucking stupid n e wayz

only ali, iverson, brown of these seem vaguely ~cool~, tho i havent heard of a couple

ppl like george best were just wifebeating drunken cunts who nonetheless obtain the status of FUCKIN LEGENDS among gq tards

~relax~ xp

I don't mean to be superficial, but I'm curious as to how Martina Navratilova comes out as cooler (in the normal sense of the word) than Serena Williams. It's not a list of the 25 most politically admirable athletes. When I think "cool," mundane concepts like attractive, fashionable, celebrity, etc. come to mind.

ha, i'm sat in my pjs drinking cocoa, i'm chill. even if my internet persona isnt.

navratilova is a g, basically - so fucking tuff

We need an ILX coolest athletes poll, is what I'm thinking.

GQ's redeeming facet: It features the work of Tom Carson. http://www.gq.com/contributors/tom-carson

Navratilova is tremendously funny and savvy, as well as being dismissively, effortlessly great at her sport, in ways that neither Williams can match.

lex have you ever seen "The French" by William Klein?

though it's interesting - m-nav fulfils male-coded notions of cool (tough, outspoken, funny, bit scary, absolutely not to be messed with) rather than female-coded ones (pretty, fashionable etc)

http://images.wikia.com/muppet/images/b/b1/Waltfrazier.jpg

Welcome to my first music blog. To get started I have given some answers to some general questions about my music habits and what I like and don’t like.

What I like

My musical tastes are just generally whatever my ear likes! I would say it is predominantly guitar based, and I’m still trying to broaden my horizons by listening to different stuff when I can. So whatever stuff you like that you think I may be interested in, please let me know. And I will give it a listen. Although, whilst I am willing to give most things a try, I tend to avoid things like the modern versions of r'n'b - its just not my cup of tea!

My top five artists

Bob Dylan: People label him a poet or storyteller but basically he is the greatest lyricist ever.

Pink Floyd: Possibly the most innovative band of all time – they pushed boundaries with their music, lyrics and live shows.

The Beatles: The most influential band that has existed. They produced an amazing range of music. Their music always seemed to be developing - and throughout their collection there is something for just about everyone to enjoy....a national treasure!

Arctic Monkeys: An amazing band that I feel like I have grown up with - because they are a similar age it seems that as they have developed their sound and that it has always been in keeping with how my tastes have developed....lucky me!

Paul Weller: A fantastic musician who also is an idol to many and has influenced a lot of British bands over the years.

A gig I would love to go to

I would have loved to go to a Pink Floyd show - Roger Waters is doing Pink Floyd’s 'The Wall' Tour and that is on in Manchester next year. That could be a mind blowing experience and one I would like to get to.

What I listen to in the car

In the car I almost never have the radio on and just have the ipod plugged in. Maybe I should do a playlist of stuff that I am listening to and update it accordingly for future blogs?

My recent purchases

The latest album I bought was The Black Angels – ‘Phosphene Dream’ and latest single was Miles Kane – ‘Inhaler’. They are both very good! I would recommend the ‘Tame Impala’ album too!!

What the other lads listen to

I’m not sure about the other lads in terms of their taste in music - like at most clubs they listen to a lot of hip-hop and r'n'b. I think Ossie and Hibbo are alright. They are into their bands a bit – the likes of the Arctics, Kasabian etc and a bit of old school too - Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac etc. When JP (Kissock) was at the club he was massively into his tunes and we would talk about different stuff we were listening to and he would put me onto all kinds of stuff – he’s a great lad!

Interests outside of football

Music is probably my main hobby really. Growing up my parents would have tapes on in the car like Phil Collins, REM, Deacon Blue and that sort of stuff. As an early teenager I remember I started to get into Oasis, Travis, Cast, Space etc. But a few years later I got into all sorts! I remember I even used to go into my sister’s room and listen to her Spice Girls album!! Then I got into hip-hop - 50 Cent and all that!

I was into Dizzy Rascal’s first album, so started to listen to stuff along that UK garage vibe. But the stuff he puts out now seems so far detached from that! Like I said, I think I just follow whatever my ear likes!

Obviously, as I have grown up I look back at some of the stuff I used to like and cringe but that’s all part of the process! Over the past couple of years, as well as trying to keep up with new stuff that’s coming out, I have enjoyed going back listening to older records which is great fun and when you come across something that you love it’s very rewarding. My wife says getting into my car is like stepping into a time machine and going back years!

Getting to gigs

I have found it difficult to get to gigs a lot of the time because obviously my main priority has to be football and when we have a game I tend to do very little in the 48 hours before. That means that on a typical week when we play on a Saturday, Thursday and Friday for me are generally about training and starting to prepare for the game which means getting the right amount of rest. So, as you can imagine, when we play a midweek game too it pretty much writes off the whole week!

So that is an insight into where I stand musically – not loads of detail but just a glimpse. What stuff do you like? And what are you listening to right now? All recommendations are welcome.

xp to tracer, no! what is that?

serena especially doesn't come across as cool - she always comes off like she's hanging on the coattails of current celebs like kim kardashian and ciara - i love kim kardash and ciara but it feels ass-backwards for someone like serena. venus seems a lot more secure in her own skin, a lot more singular.

i was gonna add something about the Williams's being fashion plates, in the best sense of that, but neither of them are stereotypical hetero fantasy material either

Navratilova would be a serious contender if she was actually on that list. Arnold Palmer is all you need for golf, you do not need two golfers!

http://www.sneakerfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/julius-2.jpg

I'm only a casual tennis fan, but from what I've seen of Serena, she hardly strikes me as a wallflower--"absolutely not to be messed with" would seem to fit her, too.

http://stellarsurf.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/kelly-slater-400-030807-jpg.jpeg

http://www.cuppatea.org/juliuserving003.jpg

lex it is amazing and you must see it. i have a copy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367754/

one thing about it (besides how casual and informal the Slams were back then) is the reminder of what a stone-cold fox Navratilova was in those days

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/PA-9651883.jpg

I'm only a casual tennis fan, but from what I've seen of Serena, she hardly strikes me as a wallflower--"absolutely not to be messed with" would seem to fit her, too.

oh she's def not a wallflower but there's a point at which attention-seeking stops being cool - basically she comes across as very childish, bratty and also slightly dim. venus' permanently stoic demeanour = much more fierce, much more cool

Venus >>>>>>> Serena

lex it is amazing and you must see it. i have a copy.

i shall borrow!

suspect m-nav's left as long a trail of broken female hearts behind her as any player male athlete, too

a further argument in Dr. J's favor:
http://www.vanillaafro.com/images/larry-bird-2.jpg

(fear not, they eventually made up)
http://gamasutra.com/features/20070216/ervingandbird.jpg

Fair enough. And to be honest, it's not just my brain advocating for Serena here...

Dr. J. and Clyde Frazier were ultra-cool.

http://www.fuzzysignal.com/tennis/badhair/bjorn-borg.jpg

You have to spread it around on a list of 25, but some really cool baseball players who aren't there: Goose Gossage, Oscar Gamble, Jim Bouton, John Kruk, Ozzie Smith...I'm trying to get ready for my day and rushing, but there are so many.

I know that sleeping with the population of a small country is probably not considered cool anymore, but Wilt Chamberlain would have been automatic for this list at one time.

If this was UK GQ:

James Hunt
George Best
Alex Higgins
...

imho...........

http://njmg.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/08/29/juan_riquelme_1_the_associated_pres.jpg

http://www.pacquiao-margarito.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Pacquiao-Money.jpg

http://static.sky.it/static/images/sezioni/sport/aprile_09/balotelli_mourinho_inter.jpg

this clip from "The French" makes a strong case for Ilie Nastase

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vPWLylD7Yg

http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/25141/albert-haynesworth.jpg

and of course

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w23/lalaagirl/deuceandEJ.jpg

shit Pacquiao isn't on the list, SB GQ

If this was UK GQ:

James Hunt
George Best
Alex Higgins
...

Beckham, durr.

http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/8900000/Fedor-Emelianenko-vs-Brett-Rogers-mma-8980750-400-600.jpg

http://www.alghrafa.net/uploads/30de1f5a65.jpg

each and every football player should be vetoed for a UK list - none of the ones that have achieved any prominence are remotely cool, they're all lads-writ-large

lewis hamilton, tho!

http://urbanislandz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/usain-bolt-asafa-powell.jpg

Difficult to take seriously any list without Usain on it.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Content/Image/02-22-2008/Joe-Louis.jpg

how the living fuck wasn't he included even by gq's retarded criteria

jack johnson over ali imo

xxpost oh shit good call

was just about to say if the Johnson Titanic story is true then that is all time

lewis hamilton, tho!

Bollox, he's about as cool as my bank manager (if I knew who my bank manager was)

There's nothing remotely cool about Lewis Hamilton, and "he's fucking Nicole Scherzinger" is not an acceptable retort.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjOb6OA3SVo

Racing drivers are almost as boring as golfers as a rule

lewis hamilton is fit, and nicole scherzinger is cool

Pretty clearly the list was drawn from a pool starting--well, however far back Pele goes. I think he's the earliest guy there. So I imagine Louis was too early. If you go back farther, Ruth would be automatic.

being a tax dodging minimal talent personalitiless cunt is kind of disqualifying

ted turner's my fav dude on this list btw, totally belongs too

are there any formula one drivers who aren't shit for brains LADS or dead eyed psychos

for Hamilton.

wasn't Babe Ruth a comedy wife-beating hick?

http://storage.imageloop.com/content/a013e93d-580b-1b8a-b026-0015c5fcf618/rw506h380

rip

Nakhchivan would you please post names along with all these pictures.

wasn't Babe Ruth a comedy wife-beating hick?

For people who caricature him, yes.

ah k well apart from the first lot who are all from the poll

juan roman riquelme, manny pacquiao, mario balotelli, albert haynesworth, fedor emilianenko, andrei arshavin, joe louis

& ayrton senna

senna the coolest f1 driver

Or Ayr toon centre as Bobby Gillespie knows him

lol

Thank you!

Fedor is no longer cool, though.

ya well hopefully he beats up a few more ppl before he retires and then is cool

cain velazquez would qualify if he didn't have retarded tattoos

i think u have to use a p random notion of cool, else u end up with just accomplished handsome jock morons

who r the coolest nfl players? afaict defensive ends, psycho linebackers and jinking wide receivers are cooler than qbs/rbs

The NFL isn't really a place for 'cool' athletes, which is what makes it great in a way

ya it's like how celebrations in the nfl are always very stereotyped and gestural, cuz there's not a lot u can convey when u are covered in padding and a helmet w/ facemask

http://www.our2030.com/upload/2009/12/27/091227013517987714747.jpg

i suppose in lieu of normal ~cool~ qualities, i'd value smarts/ferocity/insouciant violence i guess

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u143/diego_07_2007/schulke-flip-muhammad-ali-8401036.jpg?t=1192636611

i voted for Turk.

The only guy I'd never heard of on this list was Kelly Slater. There were a couple of surfers I knew in the early '70s, but that's it. Except for Jeff Spicoli.

http://verdepr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/GLEN-PLAKE-glenplake.net.jpg

http://www.our2030.com/upload/2009/12/27/091227013517987714747.jpg

C'mon, that's a shop. Everyone knows he's actually at a bowling alley!

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3089/10d6vs3.jpg

http://manutd.theoffside.com/files/2008/07/bond.jpg

he looks so like an old mate of mine when he's got a fag hanging out of his mouth. also WS

Dude is cool

I know he's a monstrous gallic wazcock and all, but I sure as shit would have voted Cantona here if I could.

Is Julius Irving ...Julius Erving's accountant?

He looks like he's just finished painting his masterpiece and is about to celebrate with a cheeky absinthe and some Proust.

(xpost Cantona is obviously cooler than Pele, that's a no-brainer)

A list without Dick "Night Train" Lane is not a list of the coolest athletes.

Also Allen Iverson is not cool.

Tom Brady????????!

Also Arnold Palmer not cool for doing those lame ass Hertz spots with OJ.

http://bp2.blogger.com/_TwAbZhMGVEw/RxOtFa-ov0I/AAAAAAAAB8E/G7oFIj42JBo/s320/dereksanderson.jpg

trying to work out if Trevino is cooler than Arnold Palmer and imo hell yes

Dock Ellis been mentioned yet?

Dock was on GQ's list of "25 Athletes Most Likely to Own a Copy of The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus."

I'm not really clear whether you're meant to just stop paying attention after they retire or what - Frazier of these dudes feels like the coolest *now* because he has 41 broadcasts a year just of him using long words very slowly and laughing at his own jokes which is awesome obviously, but plenty of these people were cooler as athletes?

i prefer that over just throwing a guy like Jordan on there cuz he was Jordan - he's a very bland guy, he's only cool because he's Jordan not because of any innate coolness

here's a great article about kelly slater by cintra wilson (that i remember from 11 years ago (!!!!)) that makes a strong case for his coolness - http://www.salon.com/people/col/cintra/2000/01/20/pipeline

Agree totally about Jordan. Amazing player, but not anyone I've ever thought of as especially cool. For me, sometimes cool = weird and flaky.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/3696701066_6420646409.jpg

this list is bullshit

http://blog.eastbay.com/shoes/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ichiro-suzuki-oakley.jpg

I vote Turk Sanderson.

omar otm

jordan has made some cool fucking trainers

Turk tried to bang my friends mom back in the day.

go to 2:15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKVIOAa7TBQ

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

voted ashe

was v.tempted to vote tom brady purely because he's hott, in protest at this terrible list

was he hottter with the bieber hair of the james murphy hair tho?

i was pretty pissed when i bought this issue cuz pretty much zero of these athletes are cool

i mean, tom brady? he's such a tool. he is just attractive w/ a good stylist

also i know it's GQ whatever whatever but seriously flojo & serena/venus are cooler than just about every athlete on this list

seriously ted turner & ken stabler, just absurd

i'm voting DR. J

this list bugs me--there is nothing cool about athletes--being an athlete means working hard and really caring about stuff, aka the opposite of cool

so you're voting for george best then

ted turner is cool as hell

being an athlete means working hard and really caring about stuff, aka the opposite of cool

the opposite of working hard and really caring about stuff = being a slob = the opposite of cool

yeah even those apparently insouciant young gunslinger's from The World's Coolest Band, The Strokes, actually practice really hard

no keith miller no credibility

being an athlete means working hard and really caring about stuff

any athlete who does this but makes it seem like it hasn't taken them much effort, has a distinctive and unconventional style in the process and retains a strong sense of 'would drink with you' works for me re coolness

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.