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ESPN's Ultimate Degree of Difficulty Rankings

First off, skaters have said a million times, Skateboarding is NOT a sport. It's a culture, a way of life and a part of anyone who loves to ride. Despite this, ESPN has assembled a panel of experts (those duped into this task) to rank the degree of difficulty of 60 sports. Boxing leads and fishing is dead last. That alone should tell you something about this list.

Highlighted in red, you will see that overall, skateboarding came in at #37. But what does that mean? It means skateboarding is counter-culture and sports are for idiots (these are the same guys that sit drunk in front of the big game on TV trying to remember why they were cut from their high school football team).

Remember the film with the famous exclamation, "Thirty-seven!!"?
Check out Kevin Smith's flick, Clerks in which Dante is outraged that his girlfriend had sucked 37 dicks. Classic flick. If you don't own it, go rent it.

Just look at some of the alleged sports that received higher rankings than skateboarding. Next time you encounter a jock, just remember how ignorant many of them can be.

Degree of Difficulty: Sport Rankings
SPORT END STR PWR SPD AGI FLX NER DUR HAN ANA TOTAL RANK
Boxing 8.63 8.13 8.63 6.38 6.25 4.38 8.88 8.50 7.00 5.63 72.375 1
Ice Hockey 7.25 7.13 7.88 7.75 7.63 4.88 6.00 8.25 7.50 7.50 71.750 2
Football 5.38 8.63 8.13 7.13 6.38 4.38 7.25 8.50 5.50 7.13 68.375 3
Basketball 7.38 6.25 6.50 7.25 8.13 5.63 4.13 7.75 7.50 7.38 67.875 4
Wrestling 6.63 8.38 7.13 5.13 6.38 7.50 5.00 6.75 4.25 6.38 63.500 5
Martial Arts 5.00 5.88 7.75 6.38 6.00 7.00 6.63 5.88 6.00 6.88 63.375 6
Tennis 7.25 5.13 7.13 6.75 7.75 5.63 3.00 5.00 8.38 6.75 62.750 7
Gymnastics 5.38 6.13 6.63 5.00 6.38 10.00 7.50 6.88 4.50 4.13 62.500 8
Baseball/Softball 4.63 5.75 7.63 6.50 6.75 4.75 5.13 5.63 9.25 6.25 62.250 9
Soccer 7.75 4.50 5.13 7.25 8.25 4.75 3.63 6.25 6.50 7.50 61.500 10
Skiing: Alpine 5.13 5.25 6.00 7.38 6.13 5.63 8.38 6.00 5.13 5.63 60.625 11
Water Polo 7.88 6.63 6.88 5.38 6.38 5.00 4.25 6.38 6.25 5.63 60.625 11
Rugby 6.75 7.00 6.38 5.88 6.00 4.13 6.50 7.88 4.38 5.63 60.500 13
Lacrosse 6.63 5.13 5.75 7.00 6.63 4.75 4.38 6.13 7.13 6.88 60.375 14
Rodeo: Steer Wrestling 4.00 7.00 7.88 3.88 4.88 5.00 7.88 6.88 5.13 4.00 56.500 15
Track and Field: Pole Vault 3.38 6.88 7.25 6.13 5.38 7.00 6.63 4.25 5.25 3.75 55.875 16
Field Hockey 6.75 4.50 5.38 6.00 5.75 4.63 3.75 5.00 6.63 6.50 54.875 17
Speed Skating 7.63 7.25 7.38 8.88 4.00 4.25 4.50 4.63 2.88 3.50 54.875 17
Figure Skating 6.38 5.25 6.63 5.13 6.88 8.25 4.88 4.00 3.13 4.25 54.750 19
Cycling: Distance 9.63 6.38 6.25 5.13 3.75 2.63 5.88 6.88 3.00 4.88 54.375 20
Volleyball 5.13 4.88 6.63 5.00 7.00 5.13 2.88 4.63 7.25 5.88 54.375 20
Racquetball/Squash 6.13 3.75 5.00 5.50 7.25 5.88 2.38 2.88 8.38 6.50 53.625 22
Surfing 4.63 5.00 4.13 4.25 6.63 5.50 8.25 5.50 4.38 4.88 53.125 23
Fencing 4.63 3.75 4.25 5.13 6.13 5.63 4.88 4.25 7.25 6.88 52.750 24
Skiing: Freestyle 4.13 5.13 4.88 5.13 6.63 6.88 6.63 5.13 4.13 3.88 52.500 25
Team Handball 4.88 3.88 5.38 5.50 6.00 4.50 3.00 3.88 7.88 5.88 50.750 26
Cycling: Sprints 4.25 6.13 7.88 7.50 4.00 2.88 4.75 4.50 3.63 4.50 50.000 27
Bobsledding/Luge 3.50 5.50 6.50 6.75 4.13 3.25 7.75 3.50 4.13 4.25 49.250 28
Ski Jumping 3.50 4.50 5.75 4.63 4.00 5.00 9.00 4.63 4.38 3.50 48.875 29
Badminton 5.25 3.25 4.00 5.63 7.38 5.25 1.25 2.63 7.25 6.13 48.000 30
Skiing: Nordic 9.00 5.75 4.38 5.13 4.00 4.00 2.75 5.50 3.63 3.88 48.000 30
Auto Racing 5.88 3.50 2.63 1.63 2.75 1.75 9.88 4.38 8.00 7.50 47.875 32
Track and Field: High Jump 3.00 6.00 7.00 6.13 5.63 6.63 3.50 3.50 3.50 2.88 47.750 33
Track and Field: Long, Triple jumps 4.00 5.63 7.13 6.75 5.00 5.75 2.75 3.25 4.00 3.13 47.375 34
Diving 2.88 5.13 4.63 3.00 3.50 8.50 8.38 5.00 3.00 3.00 47.000 35
Swimming (all strokes): Distance 9.25 5.25 4.63 5.50 3.63 5.50 2.63 4.63 2.88 3.00 46.875 36
Skateboarding 4.13 3.75 3.75 4.13 6.13 5.13 6.50 5.25 4.88 3.13 46.750 37
Track and Field: Sprints 3.50 5.13 7.25 9.88 4.63 5.13 2.00 4.13 2.63 2.38 46.625 38
Rowing 8.13 7.75 7.13 4.00 2.50 4.00 1.75 4.38 2.88 3.63 46.125 39
Rodeo: Calf Roping 3.13 5.38 5.00 4.25 5.63 3.88 4.88 3.75 6.38 3.75 46.000 40
Track and Field: Distance 9.63 5.25 3.75 6.00 3.25 4.38 2.00 5.75 1.88 4.13 46.000 40
Rodeo: Bull/Bareback/Bronc Riding 3.25 5.38 4.00 1.75 3.63 4.25 9.50 7.38 3.63 3.13 45.875 42
Track and Field: Middle Distance 6.00 5.13 5.13 7.75 4.00 4.88 2.00 4.75 2.13 3.75 45.500 43
Weight-Lifting 4.13 9.25 9.75 2.63 2.50 3.38 4.00 4.75 2.25 2.38 45.000 44
Swimming (all strokes): Sprints 4.13 5.25 6.25 7.88 3.63 5.50 2.50 3.25 2.75 3.00 44.125 45
Water Skiing 4.63 5.00 4.50 3.00 4.25 4.75 5.88 4.63 4.13 3.25 44.000 46
Table Tennis 3.50 2.50 4.63 4.13 5.88 4.25 1.38 1.88 8.88 6.00 43.000 47
Track and Field: Weights 3.25 7.88 9.13 3.00 3.13 3.00 2.25 3.63 4.00 2.88 42.125 48
Canoe/Kayak 6.75 5.25 5.63 3.50 2.75 3.88 3.63 3.25 3.13 4.25 42.000 49
Horse Racing 4.00 3.88 2.88 1.38 2.88 3.75 8.00 4.50 3.88 6.50 41.625 50
Golf 3.25 3.88 6.13 1.63 1.75 4.00 2.50 2.38 6.00 6.38 37.875 51
Cheerleading 3.63 3.63 3.38 2.25 4.13 7.50 3.63 3.38 2.50 2.25 36.250 52
Roller Skating 4.75 3.38 4.00 5.13 4.00 3.50 2.63 3.38 2.88 2.63 36.250 52
Equestrian 3.38 3.25 1.75 1.25 2.50 2.88 6.00 2.75 2.88 5.13 31.750 54
Archery 2.88 4.50 3.13 1.13 1.63 2.63 2.75 2.13 6.63 3.25 30.625 55
Curling 2.25 2.63 2.50 1.50 2.25 2.63 1.75 1.50 4.88 5.63 27.500 56
Bowling 2.25 2.75 3.38 1.00 1.88 2.38 1.63 1.25 4.75 4.13 25.375 57
Shooting 2.25 2.50 1.38 0.88 1.13 1.75 2.38 1.88 6.75 4.00 24.875 58
Billiards 1.00 1.00 1.75 0.75 1.00 2.63 1.63 0.75 5.25 5.75 21.500 59
Fishing 1.38 1.63 1.25 0.63 1.50 1.13 0.88 0.88 2.38 2.88 14.500 60

Key:

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.

To stay apprised of future updates to this nonsense, you can track and sort it on ESPN's web site.

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