It all depends on how you define genius.

Beckham and Co. are not what are traditionally thought to be as genius as they are not academics.

However their brains must have something special to enable them to work out how to kick a ball in a particular to make it swerve in flight etc. in an instant.

In the broader sense that could be regarded as genius.

I must say though it is an overused word generally.

Footballers are over paid, over loved, slime bags who still raked in their exorbitant fees while everyone else suffered during the "recession" and despite many of them raking in over £100,000 a week all we really care about is a politician claiming .49p for a sink plug or bankers who get rewarded in high bonuses for making hundreds of millions in taxes through their actions.... yet did anyone say a word about these prima donna pricks and their blood sucking tactics on football clubs? Nope... like sheep you all pay your Sky subscriptions, buy your season tickets and soak up the merchandising, all the while telling yourselves that you are your own people...

Anyway... where were we?

So would you describe a ballerina or athlete or swimmer as a genius?
No you would not.
A footballer has ball skills i.e. is agile or any one of a hundred other words but not a genius.

All of which brings back to question (not the thread, but the question)
What to our collective minds constitutes a genius?

Crikey... I actually totally agree with Matt

Albert Einstein... Leonardo da Vinci... Rainman

Now Matt, don't hold back. Tell us what you really think.

To me, genius isn't anything to do with how well you do anything. It's all about making connections that no-one else has seen, going mentally where no-one has gone before.

According to one of the definitions from wikipedia I am one . If I am then I know an awful lot of others who are too.

I didn't say I believed they were, I just pointed out some people might.

However you cannot compare their skills with those you listed as its not about physical agility but a mental process making a ball move as you want in the air.

I personally relate genius to intellectual capacity, although some definitions of genius include natural ability and many people see it like that.

I don't see brilliant acting as genius but many do.

What's the IQ threshold for the mouth breathing pondlife?

Was watching Soccer AM on sky and a Forest Fan, who was a builder, rang in and said he had laid a Forest Flag in the foundations of Pride Park!! There is a wonderful statue of Cloughie and Taylor now at Pride Park the fans petitioned for one to be built and they named the stretch of A52 from Derby to Nottingham Brian Clough Way

I like the definition there that said

'Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.'

I plead not guilty to all three charges, m'lud. Not even a big TV fan, but freesat/freeserve does everything I need and more!

I'm not part of " all "