Most Iowans don't think they have what it takes to become a professional athlete!

Many kids who grow up playing sports hope to one day make it to the "big leagues." Becoming a professional athlete is a dream for millions of kids and teenagers around the country and throughout the state of Iowa. Not only do you get to make life-changing money that (hopefully) can help your family forever, you get to play a sport for a living.

How incredible would that be? You never have to know what it's like to punch a clock and force yourself into work every day. You get to play a game, that you love, and make an incredible living. What a fantastic dream.

Reality

Most athletes reach a certain point in their sports career where they've played their last game and are okay with that. For some people, competitive sports ends when they finish high school. They take their final at-bat or they play their last snap when they're a senior. A select few athletes are lucky to play at some type of collegiate level. They won't finish their playing career until they are 20, 21, or 22 years old.

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Fewer than 2% of NCAA athletes go on to play professional sports. Some athletes accept this reality and move on with their lives. Then you have people like me who are still convinced they could win a gold medal in curling.

I'm not saying anyone should necessarily give up on their dreams but at some point, you have to realize that you aren't going to be able to dunk on someone like Lebron James. You can't throw a 96 mph fastball, and your 5'9, 165-pound frame isn't built for the NFL. There are tons of average joes who are convinced if they get a shot, they could make it to professional sports.

How confident are Iowans that they could accomplish various feats at a professional sports level? Noy very.

Iowans Going Pro?

Solitaire Bliss conducted a study on how many Americans think they could accomplish various athletic feats in professional sports. Could you catch a pass in the NFL, could you drive a NASCAR racing lap without crashing, could you land 1 punch in a Boxing match, could you make 1 basket in the NBA?

Through all of the responses, they discovered which states are the most confident they could be a professional athlete and Iowa is not very high on the list! Iowa is one of the least confident states in the country in making it pro.

Iowa ranked as the 43rd most confident state that could become a professional athlete. Some people might say that Iowa needs to be more confident and believe in their abilities while others would say Iowa is extremely realistic and the chances of going pro are almost impossible.

Athletic Feats

Here would be a giant red flag for myself and tons of fellow Americans. I am 100% convinced that I could hit a bucket in an NBA game. If I stand in the corner all game, I will eventually get an open look, and I'm confident enough in my jump shot to make 1 basket. There are tons of other delusional average joes like me around the country. 17% of people think they could make a shot in the NBA.

How many of these athletic feats do you really think you could acheive?

According to the study from Solitaire Bliss, driving a racing lap without crashing is the number 1 athletic acheivement average americans think they can acomplish. In my opinion...100% of people who have their license should be able to do this.

You don't have to finish in the top 5, set a record lap time, or even drive fast. You simply have to not crash. Everyone could do this.

*Here is my second Red Flag if we're keeping track.*

Let us know in the comments, which of these athletic feats do you think you can realistically do!

Personally, I count 8 that I think I can do with a little bit of luck. Anything involving a professional fighter, I'm screwed. I played baseball until I was 18 years old and was the captain of my high school baseball team. I know how hard that sport is and how good the pros are so anything involving baseball, I probably can't do. Anything that involves winning or actually being "good" at the sport, I'm out.

Any of these feats that involve a little bit of luck, count me in. There's no way I can't throw a 5 yard pass to a running back behind the line of scrimage in football or catch a screen pass from an NFL QB and then just take a knee. Anyone could block 1 NHL shot by simply getting lucky and being in the way. It doesnt say "block every NHL shot." It just say 1 shot. You've got that in the bag.

*I think that would be red flag number 3* 

Maybe it'll be best to leave the professional sports dreams to these incredible athletes instead..