Most popular sportsman.

ecantona7 said:
that's not good enough, as of this moment your are no longer icelandic. Considering the sports you like, you are now a yank :p
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:eek:

Ahh, I like the American sports, they are entertaining when you get used to the timeouts. Watch football the most though and Manchester United are number one, that helps my case a little. I only play basketball and football so I'm only half yank when it comes to playing ;)

Handball is supposed to be the Icelandic national sport and I hate it...



ALX8725 said:
Many of the names you listed aren't even popular players, they are incredible talents but some of them are so hated. (Vince Carter, he's not even an incredible talent anymore)

D.Wade's team is the equivalent of a regulated Prem team so no one hears about Wade that much at the moment.

Jason Kidd is well past his prime, and he beats his wife.

Everyone hates Tim Duncan with the similar ABU mentality. He has just won it too many times and is too good, but not very "fun" to watch.

No one even likes Tmac as much as they used to. He is considered "soft" and he is always either injured or plays with no-heart.

I could go on...

Since you listed Michael Jordan, you HAVE to mention:

Magic Johson
Larry Bird
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Charles Barkley
Gary Payton
Penny Hardaway
Hakeem Olaujawon
John Stockton
Karl Malone
there's just too many from that era that are more popular than the ones you listed from our current era.

And just to set the record straight, Lebron is NOT the most popular. He is the ONE of the most widely known, and is a godly basketball talent, but by no means is he one of the most popular basketball players.

Most popular basketball players TODAY, in this order:
1. Iverson
2. Kobe
3. And at this current moment, probably Chris Paul or Kevin Garnett.

here's a few others that are somewhat more popular than many of the "superstar" names you supplied:
Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Amare Stoudamire, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas, Rasheed Wallace, Dwight Howard
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I only listed Michael Jordan because he tops the jersey sales. I was just posting a list of the top selling jerseys from the past 10 years to show that Yao wasn't on the list. I was just making a point that Yao isn't really as popular as some people think.

The reason you have to mention names like Davis, Arenas, etc. is that essentially there are basketball fans that choose the All-Star teams. When I say fans, I mean people who watch regularly and follow the league closely. I wasn't really saying these players where superstars but among NBA fans these guys will get a lot of votes for the All-Star game. That is why I don't think the All-Star vote is the most accurate way to calculate fame. Golden State Warriors fans are bound to choose Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson and thus skewing the actual vote. Also when you put Iverson, Kobe, Nash, Paul and McGrady head to head, everyone is bound to get some votes.

Iverson is probably the overall most popular basketball player followed by Kobe (as you could see I always named them number one and two). I don't really know how big LeBron is around the world, he really doesn't seem to have the same global attraction as Iverson and Kobe. But the NBA keeps trying to pimp him out though instead of working with what they already have.
 
mustaine said:
:eek:

Ahh, I like the American sports, they are entertaining when you get used to the timeouts. Watch football the most though and Manchester United are number one, that helps my case a little. I only play basketball and football so I'm only half yank when it comes to playing ;)

Handball is supposed to be the Icelandic national sport and I hate it...





I only listed Michael Jordan because he tops the jersey sales. I was just posting a list of the top selling jerseys from the past 10 years to show that Yao wasn't on the list. I was just making a point that Yao isn't really as popular as some people think.

The reason you have to mention names like Davis, Arenas, etc. is that essentially there are basketball fans that choose the All-Star teams. When I say fans, I mean people who watch regularly and follow the league closely. I wasn't really saying these players where superstars but among NBA fans these guys will get a lot of votes for the All-Star game. That is why I don't think the All-Star vote is the most accurate way to calculate fame. Golden State Warriors fans are bound to choose Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson and thus skewing the actual vote. Also when you put Iverson, Kobe, Nash, Paul and McGrady head to head, everyone is bound to get some votes.

Iverson is probably the overall most popular basketball player followed by Kobe (as you could see I always named them number one and two). I don't really know how big LeBron is around the world, he really doesn't seem to have the same global attraction as Iverson and Kobe. But the NBA keeps trying to pimp him out though instead of working with what they already have.
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You're not from the U.S. so I guess you don't know much about what goes on outside the game itself, but jersey sales and all star voting is a joke... much like the FIFA World Player of the Year award voting.

90% of people who purchase jerseys are children and you won't find many jerseys of players like Baron Davis or Gilbert Arenas in cities other than the cities these players play for. It's become a fashion statement to wear jerseys of players that have "street-credibility" and it's the same about the MJ thing, it's considered stylish now to have an MJ jersey, so I can see how MJ jerseys sales are high.

All star voting is a joke in the U.S. The people who vote for the all star games are not fans that follow the league objectively and closely. Casual fans and trend-followers vote for all-stars. There so much wrong with all star voting I don't even know where to start. Mark Cuban somehow rigs these ballots so that his three top players always get a massive amount of unwarranted votes. That is just one example of how all star voting is pathetic. A lot of the time players get voted on to all star teams simply because of past accomplishments, regardless of what how they perform during the current season.

People who watch the game regularly and love it as a whole, love players like Baron Davis/Stephen Jackson/Rasheed Wallace/Gilbert Arenas.... not so much because of their talent, but their characters and personalities, what these players do off the court, etc.
 
ALX8725 said:
You're not from the U.S. so I guess you don't know much about what goes on outside the game itself, but jersey sales and all star voting is a joke... much like the FIFA World Player of the Year award voting.

90% of people who purchase jerseys are children and you won't find many jerseys of players like Baron Davis or Gilbert Arenas in cities other than the cities these players play for. It's become a fashion statement to wear jerseys of players that have "street-credibility" and it's the same about the MJ thing, it's considered stylish now to have an MJ jersey, so I can see how MJ jerseys sales are high.

All star voting is a joke in the U.S. The people who vote for the all star games are not fans that follow the league objectively and closely. Casual fans and trend-followers vote for all-stars. There so much wrong with all star voting I don't even know where to start. Mark Cuban somehow rigs these ballots so that his three top players always get a massive amount of unwarranted votes. That is just one example of how all star voting is pathetic. A lot of the time players get voted on to all star teams simply because of past accomplishments, regardless of what how they perform during the current season.

People who watch the game regularly and love it as a whole, love players like Baron Davis/Stephen Jackson/Rasheed Wallace/Gilbert Arenas.... not so much because of their talent, but their characters and personalities, what these players do off the court, etc.
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Yeah, I understand what you're saying... I actaully wrote a long post on the last page about the All-Star vote. I really don't like it and never have.
 
ALX8725 said:
The most popular basketball player is Iverson. There is not a single NBA fan that does NOT like Iverson. He is admired, feared, and respected by all. There may be some that are indifferent, but NO ONE dislikes Iverson.

You can't say the same about Kobe or Lebron.
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I dislike AI. Never have liked him. I respect his game though. Think it had much to do with his 15-20 man posse that followed him everywhere and his off-court issues, though to his credit he has cleaned up his act of late.
 
You'd probably be wrong to count out the wrestling heavy weights like The Undertaker or John Cena etc when considering world famous sportsmen.

The Rock, for instance, was probably more popular/wel known than almost everyone named in this thread when he was still wrestling.
 
MrMarcello said:
I just don't get why golfers are popular. It's fecking golf.
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Me too, hate golfers. As for Tiger Woods, why do people like him so much?
He throws a hissy fit every time something doesn't go his way.
 
Wrestling's not a sport.

And no The Rock was never more popular than Michael Jordan, Beckham or Tendulkar.
 
Psmith said:
Wrestling's not a sport.

And no The Rock was never more popular than Michael Jordan, Beckham or Tendulkar.
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Wrestling is a sport. And obviously Jordan was different level, but i'm sure he was at least nearly as well known as the other two, even if nobody cared much. I'm sure many youth in most countries, regardless of what their national sports were, knew who The Rock was.
 
kanchelskis14 said:
Wrestling is a sport. And obviously Jordan was different level, but i'm sure he was at least nearly as well known as the other two, even if nobody cared much. I'm sure many youth in most countries, regardless of what their national sports were, knew who The Rock was.
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:lol:

Get a grip. WWE Wrestling is not a sport.

And no, other than rich people, no one knows about The Rock in third world countries.
 
kanchelskis14 said:
Wrestling is a sport. And obviously Jordan was different level, but i'm sure he was at least nearly as well known as the other two, even if nobody cared much. I'm sure many youth in most countries, regardless of what their national sports were, knew who The Rock was.
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Wrestling maybe as in the type they play in the Olympics.

WWE/WWF is not a sport, clearly, unless you're 12.
 
Psmith said:
Wrestling maybe as in the type they play in the Olympics.

WWE/WWF is not a sport, clearly, unless you're 12.
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If it is defined as a sport, then it is, whether it's a 'cool sport' to you or not, doesn't change that. Wrestling is known as 'Sports Entertainment' as far i am aware, and whether or not you or i have outgrown wrestling changes nothing.
 
kanchelskis14 said:
Wrestling is a sport. And obviously Jordan was different level, but i'm sure he was at least nearly as well known as the other two, even if nobody cared much. I'm sure many youth in most countries, regardless of what their national sports were, knew who The Rock was.
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Wrestling is a sport in the same way theatre/drama is a sport.
 
crappycraperson said:
:lol:

Get a grip. WWE Wrestling is not a sport.

And no, other than rich people, no one knows about The Rock in third world countries.
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Well perhaps. I've lived in Nigeria mind, where i don't think anyone really knew Tendulkar, given cricket is irrelevant there, but most kids knew The Rock that's all.

Whatever anyway.
 
They don`t compete in Wrestling. They act. Though they are often well trained athletes, it`s still not a sport. As long as there is no competition there is no sport, IMO.
 
kanchelskis14 said:
Well perhaps. I've lived in Nigeria mind, where i don't think anyone really knew Tendulkar, given cricket is irrelevant there, but most kids knew The Rock that's all.

Whatever anyway.
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Just to clarify mate.

Wrestling is theatre, not sport.


hope this helps.
 
kanchelskis14 said:
If it is defined as a sport, then it is, whether it's a 'cool sport' to you or not, doesn't change that. Wrestling is known as 'Sports Entertainment' as far i am aware, and whether or not you or i have outgrown wrestling changes nothing.
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:lol:

It's not even close to a sport. Sorry to break it you, but it's all planned.

'Sports Entertaintment' is what they describe themselves. They're not going to call themselves 'Men in minimal clothing groping each other as part of a planned script to entertain children and Yanks.', are they?
 
The Rock is not more universally known than Jordan or Ali or Woods or Beckham... the list goes on. And if The Rock gained more noteriety it was by his crossover to Hollywood more than his wrestling career.
 
I don't even know who Wilkinson and Flintoff are, to be honest. I wouldn't even know it were them if they were passing by on the street.
 
Sarni said:
I don't even know who Wilkinson and Flintoff are, to be honest. I wouldn't even know it were them if they were passing by on the street.
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Yes but they are probably the most famous from their sports (although I've been corrected that Tendulkar is the most famous cricketer) regardless of whether you've heard of them or not. Where are you from?
 
Psmith said:
But 1 billion plus do.
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The population of India and some Brits? Cricket is much like American sports (save basketball) - not globally recognized. So being known by a large population in one nation is not global. I've never heard of this Tendulkar. I have heard of just about any football player, golfer, basketball player, etc. If one billion know this Tendulkar you referenced then 4 out of 5 would never have heard of him. Just about every human being above the age of 12 has heard of Ronaldhino, both Ronaldos, Beckham, etc.
 
MrMarcello said:
The population of India and some Brits? Cricket is much like American sports (save basketball) - not globally recognized. So being known by a large population in one nation is not global. I've never heard of this Tendulkar. I have heard of just about any football player, golfer, basketball player, etc. If one billion know this Tendulkar you referenced then 4 out of 5 would never have heard of him. Just about every human being above the age of 12 has heard of Ronaldhino, both Ronaldos, Beckham, etc.
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Above 80% of population of India and China don't know a single name of any footballer. That's more than one third of world population right there.
 
And Sachin is well known in Aus, Pak, SRL, Bangladesh, UK, WI, SA, Zimbawe, Kenya, Malaysia, Sinagapore other than India.
 
I_live_cement said:
Forgot about that, although I'm pretty sure Tiger Woods and David Beckham are known both in and outside of India whereas Sachin is only well known in India and it's surrounding countries. Close one though.
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Well, considering we make up a huge part of the world population, I'd say he's quite easily the most popular sporstperson alive.
 
kanchelskis14 said:
You'd probably be wrong to count out the wrestling heavy weights like The Undertaker or John Cena etc when considering world famous sportsmen.

The Rock, for instance, was probably more popular/wel known than almost everyone named in this thread when he was still wrestling.
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:lol:
 
kanchelskis14 said:
Wrestling is a sport. And obviously Jordan was different level, but i'm sure he was at least nearly as well known as the other two, even if nobody cared much. I'm sure many youth in most countries, regardless of what their national sports were, knew who The Rock was.
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:lol:
 
kanchelskis14 said:
If it is defined as a sport, then it is, whether it's a 'cool sport' to you or not, doesn't change that. Wrestling is known as 'Sports Entertainment' as far i am aware, and whether or not you or i have outgrown wrestling changes nothing.
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:lol:
 
MrMarcello said:
The population of India and some Brits? Cricket is much like American sports (save basketball) - not globally recognized. So being known by a large population in one nation is not global. I've never heard of this Tendulkar. I have heard of just about any football player, golfer, basketball player, etc. If one billion know this Tendulkar you referenced then 4 out of 5 would never have heard of him. Just about every human being above the age of 12 has heard of Ronaldhino, both Ronaldos, Beckham, etc.
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Most of UK would know tendulkar
Whole of australia

And large chunks of US and Canada as well

I can tell you this more people in US and Canada know Tendulkar
than anyone in India,Pakistan,Srilanka would know Favre, Alex rodriguez or even Shaq for that matter
 
Basketball - Michael Jordan pure class, the NBA went to shit after he retired


and come on he was in space jam for christs sake
 
I_live_cement said:
Yes but they are probably the most famous from their sports (although I've been corrected that Tendulkar is the most famous cricketer) regardless of whether you've heard of them or not. Where are you from?
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Poland.

Actually I know all these American sports stars only because I've been to the USA a couple of times, I wouldn't have known of any of them except basketball players had I never been there.

jatin said:
you are a waste of life
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Because I don't follow cricket? I couldn't even if I wanted, there is no coverage of this whatsoever here and I don't there's a single person in Poland who has a clue. I don't even know the rules and what it is about.

We've got a ski jumper who is popular here, I bet you didn't even hear about him. That doesn't prevent millions of Poles from worshipping him.

Yet I'm a feckin waste of life because I don't know what cricket is about.

crappycraperson said:
And Sachin is well known in Aus, Pak, SRL, Bangladesh, UK, WI, SA, Zimbawe, Kenya, Malaysia, Sinagapore other than India.
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My point exactly.

Today is the first time ever I've heard the name of Sachin Tendulkar. Seriously.
 
jatin said:
Most of UK would know tendulkar
Whole of australia

And large chunks of US and Canada as well

I can tell you this more people in US and Canada know Tendulkar
than anyone in India,Pakistan,Srilanka would know Favre, Alex rodriguez or even Shaq for that matter
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WTF? I don't know a single person in the US that follows cricket. And I never once argued for Favre or ARod - those sports are largely unrecognized globally. I really don't know any nation in the wester Hemisphere that follow cricket but then again I think it's a shit sport and I don't follow it so I don't know much about its following. Football is played in every nation around the world so obviously a footballer is going to be more recognized than any other club/team sports person.

The most recognized individual is probably the Pope. Or Pres Bush or Bin Laden (not necessarily for good reasons either).
 
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