Tiger Woods turns 30 on Dec. 30, sparking this delicious debate topic for sports fans of all ages: Has any athlete ever had a decade like Tiger did in his 20s? There is no wrong answer, but there sure are plenty of right ones.

MSNBC.com has selected the best athlete for each of five decades of serious competition: teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s. Obviously the 20s and 30s were the most difficult, because those generally are an athlete’s prime years.

Although we pride ourselves on our credibility, we don’t expect you to agree with some of our choices. After all, we understand how you wonder why Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Babe Ruth or Jim Brown — perhaps the single best performers of all time in their respective sports — didn’t win a category. The competition was stiff, and some athletes were “penalized” for spreading their peak years across more than one decade. So bring on your complaints and your own votes. We can all agree to disagree on this one!

Get started with the teens!

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