GQ Presents: The Top 25 Coolest Athletes Of All Time

[youvalss]

Re: GQ Presents: The Top 25 Coolest Athletes Of All Time

Charles Barkley should be on that list. What is the definition of Cool nowadays anyway? It's almost as useless as saying someone is gangster. This list is horrible. Ali should be up top also.

Totally agree. I can't stand Barkley as an announcer or anything after his NBA career...but(!) as a player he was awesome! Really really cool!

[ImTellinTim]

Re: GQ Presents: The Top 25 Coolest Athletes Of All Time

You all can't hate on Bjorn Borg. That guy was huge in the 70's. He lived in a freaking penthouse in Monte Carlo and now owns a huge clothing label. I would trade places with Borg in a heartbeat.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: GQ Presents: The Top 25 Coolest Athletes Of All Time

Iverson's crossovers were cool and pretty much everybody that played basketball in middle school had to have his shoes. He was cool, but when it wasn't game time he seemed like a punk.

I agree that Jordan should be high on the list. His early campaigns, his brand, and hell he just looks like the epitome of cool playing golf and smoking cigs.

[AUChase]

Re: GQ Presents: The Top 25 Coolest Athletes Of All Time

After I saw that AI was in the Top 5, I decided not to read the rest.
The list lost all of it's credibility there

[VDusen04]

Re: GQ Presents: The Top 25 Coolest Athletes Of All Time

A completely subjective list so it's hard to disagree. I don't entirely know what they're going for when they say cool. I'm guessing it has to do with how athletes rolled in their prime and how revered they were as being legit. In that case, I'd have to think Allen Iverson would fit.

The idea behind Iverson at the turn of the century was that he was villainized for being what the system didn't want him to be. There was a point where a large, large, portion of NBA fans (particularly youngsters and teens) thought he was cool because he was who he wanted to be and he was unique in how he chose to go about his life. Certainly revered. He was cooler still because the older crowd did not like him.

Also, he did not introduce these accessories, but I surely think it can be argued that Iverson was largely responsible for cornrows and the full armsleeve blowing up like they did. He set trends. That's often a good way to measure how cool others intepret someone to be.

I think this list is for who was coolest at their peak. As such, the way we view Allen Iverson now is vastly different from how many viewed him in his youth and prime. There's a reason SLAM magazine threw him on the cover seemingly three times a year during those times. A magazine fixated on style and "street cred" was repeatedly going to the source.

[Jonesy]

Re: GQ Presents: The Top 25 Coolest Athletes Of All Time

A completely subjective list so it's hard to disagree. I don't entirely know what they're going for when they say cool. I'm guessing it has to do with how athletes rolled in their prime and how revered they were as being legit. In that case, I'd have to think Allen Iverson would fit.

The idea behind Iverson at the turn of the century was that he was villainized for being what the system didn't want him to be. There was a point where a large, large, portion of NBA fans (particularly youngsters and teens) thought he was cool because he was who he wanted to be and he was unique in how he chose to go about his life. Certainly revered. He was cooler still because the older crowd did not like him.

Also, he did not introduce these accessories, but I surely think it can be argued that Iverson was largely responsible for cornrows and the full armsleeve blowing up like they did. He set trends. That's often a good way to measure how cool others intepret someone to be.

I think this list is for who was coolest at their peak. As such, the way we view Allen Iverson now is vastly different from how many viewed him in his youth and prime. There's a reason SLAM magazine threw him on the cover seemingly three times a year during those times. A magazine fixated on style and "street cred" was repeatedly going to the source.

Great post man! Exactly what i was thinking on the topic only you put it into well constructed, meaningful sentences and paragraphs.

[djp73]

Re: GQ Presents: The Top 25 Coolest Athletes Of All Time

1. Jim mcmahon