I got into a debate with a friend the other day about what is the hardest sport to play. He tried to argue with me that baseball is the hardest sport.
I would never presume to say that any sport is easy to play at the professional level, but I had to disagree. I think baseball is much harder than it looks, but the hardest? I don't think so.
Some would say football. But is it really? Yeah, the guys slam into each other and it takes a certain fitness level to play certain positions. But it's really all about running, catching and throwing. The skill level required isn't as high as other sports. You have to be tough, but I don't think it's the hardest.
Soccer is hard because you have to be jogging, sprinting and engaged in a game for 90+ minutes. That level of physical fitness is unmatched in other sports. But it's not the hardest.
Tennis takes a lot of talent, but it's a one-on-one game. I think that takes it out of contention.
Golfing and bowling are less sports and more talents in my opinion. Talents I do not possess, so I have a ton of respect for those that do it well. But not hard.
I think the award has to go to hockey players. They have to take vicious hits that are probably harder than what most football players experience. They have to follow a puck about the size of a baseball as it flies across the ice at high speeds. They have to hit the puck with their stick and get it into a small goal that's almost entirely filled with a giant goalie. Oh...and they have to do it all while on skates.
Every professional athlete deserves respect for progressing to that level. But hockey players are the toughest. What do you think?