Track and Field is the best sport there is

Thanks for the argument, con. You brought up several good points, but not ones that I cannot refute. First of all, I said the BOP was shared. It is more on me, as I have to prove that track is greater than all other sports, whilst you only have to prove that one sport is better than track. In this statement I was basically saying that although a burden of proof was on both of us, mine was greater. Sorry for the miscommunication. Secondly, that men's health article that you used did not even have the word athlete in its title, and Daniel Craig, an actor, was the first thing that appeared on the screen when I clicked the article. Numerous other actors appear in this list. Again, this is also a subjective list. Now I will provide you with numerous sources claiming Ashton Eaton as the world's greatest athlete. http://www.teamusa.org... http://espn.go.com... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com... http://www.cbssports.com... In fact, the title of world's greatest athlete is given to all Olympic decathlon winners, as they are recognized to be the world's greatest athlete, able to demonstrate all areas of fitness more than all competitors. This stems from when, at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, King Gustav V of Sweden said to Jim Thorpe, who won the decathlon, "You, sir, are the world's greatest athlete."" (http://en.wikipedia.org...) This shows that track and field was not obsolete once the Ancient Greek Olympics were over with. You also claim that my criticisms of your supposed "best athletes ever" lists were false. Yet you give no reason why they were false. I accurately stated that two of the sources were from the same site. You conceded this. While they may be different lists, they have the same sources for their information, and therefore the same subjectivity. I did not contradict myself, as I was merely stating that the bleacher report sources had slightly more credibility than the top tens source. This is not saying much, as the top tens source had no credibility whatsoever, about the same amount of credibility a high school election actually gives to who is actually qualified to lead the school, actually only testing which students are most well known. I think you realize this, as you did not argue for it. You also stated that only two track and field athletes appeared on those lists. However, Jim Thorpe, the number one athlete on one of your lists and in the top ten on another, WAS A TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE. I do agree that scientific studies are not readily available. However, based on the knowledge that we have, the only nonsubjective measures of an athlete's ability come from numbers. Ashton Eaton demonstrated his physical ability in a definitive way, putting up solid, non-debatable numbers. Until athletes from other sports can prove their athletic dominance, the decathlon will be the standard for best athlete in the world. The difference is that in basketball it is to see what team is better not athlete. Ok, maybe that's the design of basketball. However, this doesn't always work. Just look at March Madness, and the amount of upsets there are. The best team does not always come out on top. Therefore basketball is not a true test of personal or team skill. The controversy surrounding the MJ and Lebron controversy has actually gained basketball publicity and could be considered a positive part of the sport. When it comes to track you can't have friendly arguments with your friends about MJ vs Lebron, Brady vs Manning, or Ali vs Frasier. This takes away a huge entertainment aspect of any sport. This kind of controversy actually does occur in track. It just doesn't occur in the specific event that an athlete runs. For instance, Michael Johnson set the world record in the 400 meters in the 1990's. Donovan Bailey had won the 100 meters. Even though both men were undisputedly the fastest men in each of their races, a big dispute occurred over who was the "fastest man in the world." They eventually raced over it. Here's an article: http://si.com... So although track takes away much of the subjectivity of other sports and gives a better meaning to "the best", friendly debates are still possible. Next for popularity/appeal. USATF.org states track as the most popular sport in the world. http://www.usatf.org... Meanwhile, this article says it is the second most popular,behind soccer. http://www.post-gazette.com... It definitely is NOT obsolete, as you say. That is an unfounded and quite ignorant statement. In fact, track and field is a GROWING. In 2011-2012, boys track and field actually gained more participants than any other sport. As for the Olympics, here are a few more quotes, (I didn't use a track and field athlete's quote because I wanted to show the Olympics' appeal beyond track and field. "For me, by far, the Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world." -Andy Murray "It is the inspiration of the Olympic Games that drives people not only to compete but to improve, and to bring lasting spiritual and moral benefits to the athlete and inspiration to those lucky enough to witness the athletic dedication." R13; Herb Elliott You also misread my article about the Olympics. Track and Field, overall, was the third most-talked about event on Twitter. One medium. However, also on Twitter, its athletes were the most-talked about and its moments were considered the most important. It also had the most articles written about it in newspapers. Track does, in fact, contain the building blocks for all other sports. However, your baking powder analogy is false. Baking powder cannot stand on its own. Nobody just eats baking powder. However, people DO run track. It makes them better at other own sports as well. Numerous running backs and wide receivers in football run track as well. Tedd Ginn Jr., a wide receiver in the NFL, owns some Ohio high school track records. Bryshon Nellum played football and ran track at USC, and is now a professional track athlete. Track is the reason other sports exist. This argument should hold credit in this debate. Now for my last rebuttal. Look at the name of the debate. Track and field IS the best sport. "Is" is the present form of the English verb "be". Not the future form. Whether or not records will be impossible to beat is irrelevant, as they are not impossible to beat right now. Records seem to be irrelevant anyway, at least in the moment, according to the Olympic page I posted last round, where the top two most-discussed Olympic events were both wins by Usain Bolt, neither of which was a world record. In conclusion, the tradition of track and field allows it to be known as the best sport in the world. It attracts attention, showcases pure athletic ability in all five of the areas of physical fitness, cardiovascular and muscular endurance (distance) , cardiovascular and muscular strength (sprints and throws) , flexibility (jumps and hurdles), and body composition (just look at pictures of Olympic athletes) (http://www.vigoco.k12.in.us...) I realize I didn't group these areas in quite the same way as the website, but I wanted to demonstrate which areas of track and field related to which kind of fitness. Other sports may demonstrate athleticism, but not as purely as track and field. Track and field also best fits the definition of sport as defined in the first round. Sorry for the long argument. Thanks, and your turn.