The Art Of The Dive: 7 Superstar Floppers Across Sports
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Origins Of The Dive
The Greek poet Homer for-told in his classic pieces of literature the birth of the first flop. As the legend goes, during the first ever pickup football game atop of Mt.Olympus the dive was born. The titan Prometheus was one on one with a defender and instead of using skill or speed to score, he instead used foresight, throwing his hands into the air as if being shot, thus gaining a free penalty kick. He unfortunately missed it and the Titans would lose, however the knowledge of this as a vital tool in sports that can ultimately decide outcomes was realized.
This artful act of the dive has been passed on through the centuries, now being used by some of the worlds greatest athletes. While yes it is easy to single out specific sports such as basketball or football, there are other offenders in sports that aren’t often associated with flopping. Here is a list of seven infamous divers across some of the worlds most popular team sports.
7). Ryan Kesler
Kesler starts out list for a number or reasons. First of all he isn’t necessarily a superstar in the NHL, and thus can’t springboard over some of the much more famous athletes on this list. Of course Kesler is no scrub, posting quite impressive numbers for the Vancouver Canucks, with a career high 41 goals in the 2010–2011 season. While it could be argued the likes of P.K Suban or even Sydney Crosby should take his place on this list, as they are much more predominant figures in their sport, Keslers antics have garnered more attention.
Ryan Kessler’s dives were quite impactful in the sense that he became a topic of concern during a rules summit held by the league in the August of 2012. He was one of three players to be singled out by league coaches, players and executives, highlighting the concern of “embellishment”…
