When I saw that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GQ\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was publishing an article proclaiming the \u00e2\u20ac\u015325 Coolest Athletes of All Time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I knew two guys would top the list: Joe Namath and Mario Andretti.\u00c2\u00a0 Putting Namath on a list of cool athletes is like putting Bill Gates on a roster of rich people. \u00c2\u00a0It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just instant.\u00c2\u00a0 No thought required.\u00c2\u00a0 The same with Andretti, who was as smooth and cool\u00c2\u00a0 – and talented \u00e2\u20ac\u201c behind the wheel as Namath was under center and in the limelight.<\/p>\n
Namath hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t played football in nearly 35 years and the only driving Andretti does these days is to the grocery store \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure he does it well.\u00c2\u00a0 So the sports world needs a new generation of cool.\u00c2\u00a0 It also needs more cool baseball players.\u00c2\u00a0 As certain as I was that Namath and Andretti would make the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GQ\u00e2\u20ac\u009d roster of cool I was just as confident the list would be largely vacant of baseball players and, regrettably, I was right.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153GQ\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 25 coolest includes a grand total of two baseball players and only one of them is currently playing.\u00c2\u00a0 OK, maybe two and-a-half baseball players.\u00c2\u00a0 They are: Bob Gibson, Tim Lincecum and Bo Jackson.<\/p>\n
Basketball topped the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GQ\u00e2\u20ac\u009d list with five players \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Allen Iverson, Clyde Frazier, Pete Maravich, Julius Erving and Michael Jordan.\u00c2\u00a0 Football comes in second with Namath, Tom Brady, Ken Stabler and Jim Brown.\u00c2\u00a0 Tennis, golf and soccer each have two on the list.\u00c2\u00a0 Why isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t baseball cool? Why aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t baseball players hip and rad?\u00c2\u00a0 Do the kids even use those terms even more?\u00c2\u00a0 Does \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GQ?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
There are more cool players in baseball today than just Lincecum.\u00c2\u00a0 Look no further than the roster of Lincecum\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World Series champion San Francisco Giants to find Brian Wilson, he of the freaky black beard and strange ways.\u00c2\u00a0 As last week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sports Illustrated\u00e2\u20ac\u009d put it, Wilson is about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153three quarters nuts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which, when combined with being one of the best relievers in baseball, has to make you pretty cool.<\/p>\n
Sticking with guys with beards, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s consider outfielder Jayson Werth.\u00c2\u00a0 Werth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beard has its own Twitter account (not set up by him) and Werth has been quoted as saying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy to be ignored.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cool.\u00c2\u00a0 Werth recently bolted the perennially powerful Philadelphia Phillies for the always-awful Washington Nationals.\u00c2\u00a0 Is that cool?\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bold (and worth about $126 million) and if Werth can help turn the Nats around he might qualify as one of the coolest guys around.<\/p>\n
Does the American League have any cool guys?\u00c2\u00a0 How about a vote for Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo?\u00c2\u00a0 Choo has hit .300, exactly .300, the last two seasons and hit .309 in 2008.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also crafty.\u00c2\u00a0 Choo led his native South Korea to a championship in the Asian Games last fall thus installing pride in his nation and allowing him to avoid military service.\u00c2\u00a0 Is it cool to get out of the army?\u00c2\u00a0 No.\u00c2\u00a0 If some have to serve, all should have to serve.\u00c2\u00a0 But one less guy with a gun is pretty cool.<\/p>\n
Does baseball have to work harder to promote its cool players?\u00c2\u00a0 Or does the game itself have to get cooler?\u00c2\u00a0 Or does it really matter what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GQ\u00e2\u20ac\u009d thinks?\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe one way baseball can increase its cool factor is by emphasizing how hard the game really is.\u00c2\u00a0 Does Fox Sports have the technology to put a camera in a baseball so fans can appreciate just how fast it moves?\u00c2\u00a0 Let fans rediscover baseball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s greatness and create more coolness.<\/p>\n
How about more double-headers so the season can end before November and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to go head-to-head with the NFL for two months?\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe the games, especially the postseason, should start earlier as well so fans \u00e2\u20ac\u201c especially kids \u00e2\u20ac\u201c can actually watch them and still get a decent night\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sleep.\u00c2\u00a0 Make ballparks bigger because doubles and triples are cooler than home runs.\u00c2\u00a0 Serve Coca-Cola at every ballpark.\u00c2\u00a0 Cherry Coke, too.<\/p>\n
None of these things sound Fonzie-like but they might be a start.\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re entombed right now in winter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cold but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never too early to think of summer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When I saw that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GQ\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was publishing an article proclaiming the \u00e2\u20ac\u015325 Coolest Athletes of All Time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I knew two guys would top the list: Joe Namath and Mario Andretti.\u00c2\u00a0 Putting Namath on a list of cool athletes is like putting Bill Gates on a roster of rich people. \u00c2\u00a0It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just instant.\u00c2\u00a0 No thought required.\u00c2\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":768,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13173,1804,11619,13174,13176,4399,13178,13171,7790,13175,13170,2697,13172,3146,61,13177,13180,2891,11388,2087],"class_list":["post-12042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-allen-iverson","tag-baseball-players","tag-bill-gates","tag-black-beard","tag-bo-jackson","tag-bob-gibson","tag-jim-brown","tag-joe-namath","tag-julius-erving","tag-ken-stabler","tag-mario-andretti","tag-michael-jordan","tag-pete-maravich","tag-s-sports","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-strange-ways","tag-three-quarters","tag-tim-lincecum","tag-tom-brady","tag-world-series-champion"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t