To be clear - I agree that programming is hard (or else I'm REALLY stupid), but comparing programming ability to athletic ability always seemed wrong because the world needs WAY more programmers than it needs athletes. I'd guess that there are more professional programmers in the world than professional athletes of any kind. If the "market" for athletes were as broad as the market for programmers, you'd see a lot more comparatively mediocre athletes making a comfortable living at it.