Fitness Fail Friday: 50 Cent vs. Carl Lewis
To show you what not to do, each Friday STACK brings you a moment from the weight room or sports field gone horribly wrong.
If you use the Internet, you’ve surely already seen 50 Cent’s abominable first pitch at Tuesday’s Mets-Pirates game. If you use the Internet as much as we do, you’ve already seen it 47 times.
[youtube video=”83FHj53QBHY” /]The pitch is so bad, many people are claiming it’s the worst first pitch in history. To those people we say, “settle down.” Worst First Pitch Ever is a sacred honor that has long belonged to track and field legend Carl Lewis.
Although Lewis has faced many worthy challengers, including Carley Rae Jepsen, Baba Booey and all the Kardashians, he has firmly held onto his title for more than a decade.
But is it finally time to hand over the belt? We take a look at Fiddy’s case.
Point: 50 Cent’s pitch was really far away from the plate.
Really, really far away from the plate. Like halfway down the first base line. According to this handy chart from The Washington Post, it was actually the farthest away from the plate ever.
Counterpoint: 50 Cent is not one of the greatest athletes of all time.
If you were born after 1990, you may not realize that Carl Lewis is one of the greatest athletes ever. He has nine Olympic gold medals. He was drafted into both the NBA and NFL, even though he never played basketball or football in college. He was voted Sportsman of the Century in a century that included Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan.
You would think he could throw a baseball more than 20 feet.
Point:
.@50cent performs here on June 14. He looks like he could jack 20 HRs out of Citi Field with ease. pic.twitter.com/D1QFpoF6EE
— MLB (@MLB) May 27, 2014
Counterpoint:
[youtube video=”HJLvCM4j2mg” /]After he wins his third straight NBA title in a few weeks, imagine LeBron James stopping by a Miami Marlins game and singing something that sounds like that. The Internet would explode. And not like, “Haha, the Internet would blow up, wouldn’t that be funny.” So many people would watch the video at the same time that the Internet would literally stop working for good.
We are all fortunate that YouTube did not exist in 1993, because Sportsman of the Century Carl Lewis could have shut the whole thing down with that single performance.
Point: That last video has nothing to do with this argument.
Counterpoint: Yes it does.
You definitely get bonus points for delivering both the worst National Anthem and the worst first pitch. Carl Lewis is king of the pre-game.
Plus, his National Anthem performance revealed something interesting about Lewis. Notice the “Uh oh. I’ll make up for it now” after “the rockets’ red flare”? Then this after his first pitch:
Carl Lewis believes in second chances. Unlike 50 Cent, who owns his terrible pitch from the moment it leaves his hand, Lewis sincerely believes he can make things better by trying harder next time.
The Verdict:
You came close, Curtis James Jackson III, but sincere Sportsman of the Century Carl Lewis has you beat. Come back in a couple years after you botch a National Anthem.
Read more Fitness Fail Friday:
- This Exercise Has the Best Possible Ending
- The People of Planet Fitness
- The Worst First Day of CrossFit
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Fitness Fail Friday: 50 Cent vs. Carl Lewis
To show you what not to do, each Friday STACK brings you a moment from the weight room or sports field gone horribly wrong.
If you use the Internet, you’ve surely already seen 50 Cent’s abominable first pitch at Tuesday’s Mets-Pirates game. If you use the Internet as much as we do, you’ve already seen it 47 times.
[youtube video=”83FHj53QBHY” /]The pitch is so bad, many people are claiming it’s the worst first pitch in history. To those people we say, “settle down.” Worst First Pitch Ever is a sacred honor that has long belonged to track and field legend Carl Lewis.
Although Lewis has faced many worthy challengers, including Carley Rae Jepsen, Baba Booey and all the Kardashians, he has firmly held onto his title for more than a decade.
But is it finally time to hand over the belt? We take a look at Fiddy’s case.
Point: 50 Cent’s pitch was really far away from the plate.
Really, really far away from the plate. Like halfway down the first base line. According to this handy chart from The Washington Post, it was actually the farthest away from the plate ever.
Counterpoint: 50 Cent is not one of the greatest athletes of all time.
If you were born after 1990, you may not realize that Carl Lewis is one of the greatest athletes ever. He has nine Olympic gold medals. He was drafted into both the NBA and NFL, even though he never played basketball or football in college. He was voted Sportsman of the Century in a century that included Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan.
You would think he could throw a baseball more than 20 feet.
Point:
.@50cent performs here on June 14. He looks like he could jack 20 HRs out of Citi Field with ease. pic.twitter.com/D1QFpoF6EE
— MLB (@MLB) May 27, 2014
Counterpoint:
[youtube video=”HJLvCM4j2mg” /]After he wins his third straight NBA title in a few weeks, imagine LeBron James stopping by a Miami Marlins game and singing something that sounds like that. The Internet would explode. And not like, “Haha, the Internet would blow up, wouldn’t that be funny.” So many people would watch the video at the same time that the Internet would literally stop working for good.
We are all fortunate that YouTube did not exist in 1993, because Sportsman of the Century Carl Lewis could have shut the whole thing down with that single performance.
Point: That last video has nothing to do with this argument.
Counterpoint: Yes it does.
You definitely get bonus points for delivering both the worst National Anthem and the worst first pitch. Carl Lewis is king of the pre-game.
Plus, his National Anthem performance revealed something interesting about Lewis. Notice the “Uh oh. I’ll make up for it now” after “the rockets’ red flare”? Then this after his first pitch:
Carl Lewis believes in second chances. Unlike 50 Cent, who owns his terrible pitch from the moment it leaves his hand, Lewis sincerely believes he can make things better by trying harder next time.
The Verdict:
You came close, Curtis James Jackson III, but sincere Sportsman of the Century Carl Lewis has you beat. Come back in a couple years after you botch a National Anthem.
Read more Fitness Fail Friday:
- This Exercise Has the Best Possible Ending
- The People of Planet Fitness
- The Worst First Day of CrossFit