The Hardest Sports

ESPN have a chart of the most difficult sports. It's always struck me as very American to need to make charts of this kind.

Number 1 is boxing and right down at the bottom is fishing, which sounds about right to me. Everything else is probably debatable.

The top fifteen contains one or two oddities:

Boxing
Ice Hockey
Football
Basketball
Wrestling
Martial Arts
Tennis
Gymnastics
Baseball/Softball
Soccer
Skiing: Alpine
Water Polo
Rugby
Lacrosse
Rodeo: Steer Wrestling

What I don't get here is how a panel of "expert" judges managed to see so much difference in the disciplines needed for rugby and American football that they're in completely different places, but the oddest thing is that they've bothered at all really.

The criteria they use are:

ENDURANCE: The ability to continue to perform a skill or action for long periods of time. Example: Lance Armstrong
STRENGTH: The ability to produce force. Example: NFL linebackers.
POWER: The ability to produce strength in the shortest possible time. Example: Barry Bonds.
SPEED: The ability to move quickly. Example: Marion Jones, Maurice Green.
AGILITY: The ability to change direction quickly. Example: Derek Jeter, Mia Hamm.
FLEXIBILITY: The ability to stretch the joints across a large range of motion. Example: Gymnasts, divers.
NERVE: The ability to overcome fear. Example: High-board divers, race-car drivers, ski jumpers.
DURABILITY: The ability to withstand physical punishment over a long period of time. Example: NBA/NHL players.
HAND-EYE COORDINATION: The ability to react quickly to sensory perception. Example: A hitter reacting to a breaking pitch; a drag racer timing acceleration to the green light.
ANALYTIC APTITUDE: The ability to evaluate and react appropriately to strategic situations. Example: Joe Montana reading a defense; basketball point guard on a fast break.

I particularly like here how quite a lot of the examples leave me more mystified than the descriptions.