Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Sports Enthusiasts Debate Which Sport Requires The Most Skill

Make us preferred on Google

I don't know a ton about sports. When I played basketball as a youth they would constantly stop the game whenever the ball fell into my hands.

Why you ask?

I would just run with it. You catch and run in these sporty situations right?

Well apparently in basketball you also have to... dribble? With no bib.

Did you know that?

So that's an issue. Like, who made up these rules?

I have much respect for the people who master their craft as an athlete. I wouldn't know where to begin.


Which sport requires the most effort?

I say all of them.

Redditor staceelogreen wanted to hear from all the sports fanatics and follwers out there, so they asked:

"In your opinion, what sport requires the most skill and why?"

I also played baseball. The last time I played I was in the outfield (my usual haunt).

A home run I could've caught flew by me.

Why you ask?

I was watching the game that was happening on the other end of the field.

You see where my sports career stories are going, right?

Olympian

"Gymnastics and figure skating. Really anything that requires astronomical fitness while also being graceful and put together." ~ makeamessfoundation

Giphy

The League

"Champion's League/World Cup soccer (or football if you prefer). Reasons no other sport is anywhere close to the amount of competition."

"There are soccer obsessed players in basically every country in the entire world. Probably not even a tiny exaggeration to say that to reach the absolute peak you beat out at least 1-2 billion people, maybe even more."

Fore!

"Ignoring everything but individual skill golf can make a really big claim. The ball is tiny the distances are huge, the obstacles are many and it's so mentally challenging."

"Even the best players in the world play sub-par because of how mentally taxing it is to always be on. It's a sport where youth won't help you like it does in so many others."

"Watch any other sport (not Tony Romo though ) athletes try to play golf and you'll quickly realize that it's such a skill that you can't fake it with just athleticism."

"Nothing more frustrating than 5 putting because you're in your own head. It's like a sports game of 1 vs 100 every week."

o"Incredible that anyone ever wins multiple events." ~ Plinkostar

Checkmate

"It's not physical but I would say chess. For every one game a pro athlete has played of their sport, a pro chess player has played a hundred."

"Chess is probably 25% physical and 75% skill. I don't think any other sport can boast near those numbers." ~ DivergentGlory

Talent Required

"It depends on how you define skill. The most difficult sport to learn?"

"The biggest difference between an amateur and a top champion? The widest variety of talents required?" ~ ShinjukuAce

"Whatever variables/argument you wanna state! It was just a debate brought up at work and I said I'd throw it on reddit to see what others said haha." ~ staceelogreen

WIN!

"Wrestling/boxing/MMA... If you lose you get messed up." ~ TendiesForTheBoys

Giphy

I would kill to learn how to figure skate.

It's one of my favorite things to watch.

Boxing? MMA? No and NO! I abhor violence.

Why do people do those things?

Iced

"Ice hockey for sure." ~ POSITIVELY_ROMANTIC

"That was one of my answers with a coworker. Or figure skating."

"The element of ice throws such a high variable of skill in there. And I think ice skating is like gymnastics with a slippery floor haha." ~ staceelogreen

Giphy

Diversity

"The modern pentathlon requires the most diverse set of skills. Horsemanship. Fencing. Swimming. Running. Target shooting."

"All of that is done in a single day and the target shooting is done in stages interspersed along the 3200 meter cross country run. Your heart is pounding but you have to hold steady enough to fire a pistol accurately." ~ LordPimpernel

JUMP!

"Ski jumping isn't easy to learn, I heard, also Polo and horseback falconry seem somehow complicated at least."

"I myself know skiing pretty well (it is easier than it once was via the cravers but snowboarding is still easier to pick up in my exp), but ski jumping is again much more difficult." ~ hound-zone

Destruction

"Boxing. You're standing in a phone booth and trying to destroy the other person without getting lit up yourself."

"The amount of skill and fitness you need for this is insane. No reasonable person should embark on a boxing career."

"The most mentally and physically demanding sport other than mma in my opinion." ~ eo_tempore

Catch the Ball...

"I would say football, I played this sport in high school and there's so many little things that need to be worked on, perfected, practiced, and reviewed that if you see a guy doing something that looks impressive in the NFL you need to realize that he probably put thousands of hours into developing his skills."

"Just learning the proper way to carry the ball while running feels very challenging at the beginning." ~ LilAndre44

In the Hole

"Golf. Ratio of hole to non-hole area, and distances involved."

"Downhill mountain road skateboarding is insane.

"Top fuel dragsters. Everything Jerry Miculek does." ~ PropertyOfBarry

Giphy

I tried golf, but I like to sleep when I'm bored. I find it easier to sleep at home and not in the grass.

But to each their own.

That's why I was always meant to be Posh Spice.


Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Cher and Bob Mackie
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Cher Leads Poignant Tributes To Iconic Fashion Designer Bob Mackie After His Death At 87

On September 14, designer Bob Mackie passed away. While he did design clothing collections and accessories available to the masses, Mackie was best known as an icon who designed for icons.

Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler, Elton John, and Diana Ross were among the legendary names Mackie designed for.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Trump Epically Fact-Checked After Claiming More People Watched His GOP Midterm Convention Than NFL Opener

President Donald Trump was swiftly fact-checked after he claimed that his recent midterm convention "beat the NFL" in viewership, referring to the 2025-26 season kickoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

Trump spoke for nearly two hours that night, with his address airing live on Fox News as well as the Nielsen-rated cable networks Newsmax and NewsNation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kash Patel; Cory Booker
Win McNamee/Getty Images (left and right)

Cory Booker Compares 'Disgrace' Kash Patel To Failed Frat Boy In Epic Rant During Heated Senate Hearing

New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker lost his patience with FBI Director Kash Patel during his testimony in the Senate on Tuesday and called him a "disgrace" while also reserving other pointed criticism toward Republicans as a whole.

Booker accused Patel of overseeing the "generational destruction of the nation's premier law enforcement agency" during testimony in which Patel claimed there is "no credible information" to prove the late financer, sex trafficker, and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein trafficked victims to anyone other than himself.

Keep ReadingShow less
Katie Dippold at Apple TV's Primetime Emmy Party Red Carpet held at Nya Studios West.
JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images

Emmy-Winning 'Widow's Bay' Creator Went Viral Years Ago With Hilarious Halloween Photo—And Fans Are Obsessed

Forget lifting the curse on Widow’s Bay. After its night at the Emmys, Katie Dippold and company might want to keep whatever supernatural forces are working in their favor.

Apple TV’s horror-comedy premiered in April and stars Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, the mayor of a small island town off the coast of New England. Determined to transform Widow’s Bay into a tourist destination, Loftis presses ahead despite locals warning that its sleepy seaside charm comes with some decidedly sinister baggage.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; screenshot from 60 Minutes
Sean Rayford/Getty Images; 60 Minutes/CBS

'60 Minutes' Caught 'Pardon Brokers' Offering Trump Pardons To Felons For A Hefty Fee—And Gavin Newsom's Reaction Is All Of Us

Presidential pardoning power has been part of the United States government since the first president. While most pardons are vetted through the Department of Justice, there is no set process required.

Friends, political allies, and family members have been pardoned by past presidential administrations. Many pardons have been controversial.

Keep ReadingShow less