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Who is the most famous sports person of all time?

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D

DarkJediKnight

Member
Muhammad Ali

This is not even a question. Everyone knows who he is.

It's like asking who's the greatest rock and roll personality ever - Elvis. No question.
 
E

Epsilon-delta

Banned
Moze said:
Still no mention of Tim Henman? Smh. What an awful thread this turned out to be.
Click to expand...

So you only created this thread in the hopes of reading answers that matches your opinions?

Just lock this thread already. You weren't interested in seeing answers that differ from your own.
 
M

Moze

Banned
hucast21 said:
So you only created this thread in the hopes of reading answers that matches your opinions?

Just lock this thread already. You weren't interested in seeing answers that differ from your own.
Click to expand...

I am interested to see any answers. I am just disappointed nobody mentioned Tim Henman.
 
S

Scipio

Member
The Americanism is real. Jordan? Space Jam was popular in Murica.

David Beckham.
You know him if you know anything about football.
You kniw him if you are female and were older than 10 a few years ago.

People are confusing this with BEST sportsman. Pele? Muhammad Ali. Nope. Nope.

By the way. US = 300 million, EU = 900 million
 
R

ruttyboy

Member
Moze said:
Still no mention of Tim Henman? Smh. What an awful thread this turned out to be.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, either Tim or Giant Haystacks, they're probably about the same fame level.

I'm assuming you are joking suggesting Tim Henman, otherwise God help you!
 
M

Moze

Banned
hucast21 said:
Disappointed that Henman is not mentioned with the likes of Jordan, Ali, Pele, or Messi/Ronaldo?

You can't be serious.
Click to expand...

Tim Henman is an international tennis superstar. 7 years after retirement, he is still a suggested result when i type 'Tim' into Google. Jordan is not a suggested result when i type 'Michael'. He had his own brand of tennis racket and still participates in the sport as a pundit. I am not saying he is the most famous, but he is top 5 at least. It is easy to mention somebody like Messi because he is the big footballer right now, but at the end of the day, Henman has been in the business for over 20 years and is still relevant on a mainstream level.
 
K

Kusagari

Member
Moze said:
Tim Henman is an international tennis superstar. 7 years after retirement, he is still a suggested result when i type 'Tim' into Google. Jordan is not a suggested result when i type 'Michael'. He had his own brand of tennis racket and still participates in the sport as a pundit. I am not saying he is the most famous, but he is top 5 at least. It is easy to mention somebody like Messi because he is the big footballer right now, but at the end of the day, Henman has been in the business for over 20 years and is still relevant on a mainstream level.
Click to expand...

I know more than 10 tennis players and none of them are Henman.

Never heard of him before.
 
M

massoluk

Banned
Random17 said:
Air Jordans would be outside of the reach of most developing world kids. You see these kids playing football in some of the poorest places in the world. They'll know who Ronaldo is. They come from countries that make up the vast majority of the population, and it's no surprise that the two most popular sports in these countries are football, and to a lesser extent, cricket..
Click to expand...

WTF is wrong with you guys. I was born in developing country, we did have NBA broadcasted and had sports newspapers.

It's the only sport league from US we followed, next to European football.
 
E

Epsilon-delta

Banned
Moze said:
Tim Henman is an international tennis superstar. 7 years after retirement, he is still a suggested result when i type 'Tim' into Google. Jordan is not a suggested result when i type 'Michael'. He had his own brand of tennis racket and still participates in the sport as a pundit. I am not saying he is the most famous, but he is top 5 at least. It is easy to mention somebody like Messi because he is the big footballer right now, but at the end of the day, Henman has been in the business for over 20 years and is still relevant on a mainstream level.
Click to expand...

Yup, you're either trolling or live in a bubble to prop up Henman and bring down Jordan based on Google results.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
GAF has spoken. Here is the list of answers so far:

Jordan 113
Ali 95
Pele 57
Beckham 23
Maradona 22
Tiger Woods 20
Ronaldo 14
Tyson 12
Messi 10
Schumacher 9
Gretzky 7
Babe Ruth 6
Tendulkar 6

Some answers I excluded which were ambiguous. Also excluded answers like "I'm American I dont know about any other sport so answer is Jordan lol"
 
E

Epsilon-delta

Banned
massoluk said:
WTF is wrong with you guys. I was born in developing country, we did have NBA broadcasted and had sports newspapers.

It's the only sport league from US we followed, next to European football.
Click to expand...

The World Cup thread showed me how some Euros dislike Americans with a passion, even though this forum is US centric.
 
Jezbollah

Jezbollah

Member
Heroman said:
In his time he was the biggest star in the world.
Click to expand...

Baseball would have been an extremely minority sport anywhere outside the world at that time, so I doubt that massively.

hucast21 said:
The World Cup thread showed me how some Euros dislike Americans with a passion, even though this forum is US centric.
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do about disliking Americans (but your own point kind of solidifies the reasons for any dislike, eh?) - It comes down to US sports being in a little world of their own. Mention "Sports" in the US and it's NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB and maybe NASCAR. Tennis, Boxing and Golf have their moments too. To be fair it's ignorance on both sides.
 
L

Lion Heart

Banned
Impossible to say but I'd argue one of the following:

Muhammad Ali
Michael Jordan
C. Ronaldo
Messi
Michael Schumacher
Tiger woods

My basis for argument is wherever you are in the world, if someone shoots a piece of garbage into the trash they would say "MJ!", or if they were speeding through traffic, someone would say "relax Schumacher" etc etc.

That's my hypothesis.
 
M

Mdot

Member
I'm surprised how many arguments against Jordan involve Space Jam. Like seriously? That's one of the most minor factors in his popularity.
 
F

FindMyFarms

Member
If our criteria for famous is "how many people know who you are" then jordan is the easy answer. Famous as a basketball player, but his brand brings him over the top. Everyone in europe knows who he is, china as well, and south america. North ameria doesnt need to be mentioned.
 
M

Moze

Banned
hucast21 said:
Yup, you're either trolling or live in a bubble to prop up Henman and bring down Jordan based on Google results.
Click to expand...

Maybe i am biased because i am British. What about Wayne Rooney? I am not sure how famous he is outside the UK.

Surprised nobody knows Tim Henman tbh.


RustyNails said:
GAF has spoken. Here is the list of answers so far:

Jordan 113
Ali 95
Pele 57
Beckham 23
Maradona 22
Tiger Woods 20
Ronaldo 14
Tyson 12
Messi 10
Schumacher 9
Gretzky 7
Babe Ruth 6
Tendulkar 6

Some answers I excluded which were ambiguous. Also excluded answers like "I'm American I dont know about any other sport so answer is Jordan lol"
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. I will add it to OP.

It's crazy to me that people think Jordan is the most famous sports person of all time. That is just incorrect.
 
D

dogstar

Banned
British (well English) football has a far greater ingress into the culture of other nations than any other sport... bizarre though it may be.

I hate footie too.

BTW that does not mean most played.
 
D

daviyoung

Banned
Moze said:
Maybe i am biased because i am British. What about Wayne Rooney? I am not sure how famous he is outside the UK.

Surprised nobody knows Tim Henman tbh.
Click to expand...

No-one gives a fuck about Henman or Rooney I'm afraid. No-one gave a fuck about Henman even when he was the only Brit in Wimbledon, he was always a bit of a joke character.

Lewis Hamilton may be a better example of modern British sportsmen.
 
M

Moze

Banned
daviyoung said:
No-one gives a fuck about Henman or Rooney I'm afraid. No-one gave a fuck about Henman even when he was the only Brit in Wimbledon, he was always a bit of a joke character.

Lewis Hamilton may be a better example of modern British sportsmen.
Click to expand...

Nobody knows about the captain of the most famous football club in the world? I can't imagine that is true.

I hate Lewis Hamilton tbh.

Mdot said:
What's the correct answer?
Click to expand...

Maradona
Woods
Ali
Tyson
Beckham
Henman (But apparently not)

Are all good answers imo. Does Tony Hawk Count?
 
S

StylusX

Member
Moze said:
Tim Henman is an international tennis superstar. 7 years after retirement, he is still a suggested result when i type 'Tim' into Google. Jordan is not a suggested result when i type 'Michael'. He had his own brand of tennis racket and still participates in the sport as a pundit. I am not saying he is the most famous, but he is top 5 at least. It is easy to mention somebody like Messi because he is the big footballer right now, but at the end of the day, Henman has been in the business for over 20 years and is still relevant on a mainstream level.
Click to expand...

HI Tim!
 
M

masud

Banned
Moze said:
Maybe i am biased because i am British. What about Wayne Rooney? I am not sure how famous he is outside the UK.

Surprised nobody knows Tim Henman tbh.




Thanks for this. I will add it to OP.

It's crazy to me that people think Jordan is the most famous sports person of all time. That is just incorrect.
Click to expand...

It's crazy to me that people think he isn't. I think it's a UK thing. Since basketball didn't catch on there at all maybe you guys weren't inundated with Jordan ads and marketing like the rest of the planet.
 
M

massoluk

Banned
Dan27 said:
It has nothing to do about disliking Americans (but your own point kind of solidifies the reasons for any dislike, eh?) - It comes down to US sports being in a little world of their own. Mention "Sports" in the US and it's NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB and maybe NASCAR. Tennis, Boxing and Golf have their moments too. To be fair it's ignorance on both sides.
Click to expand...

NBA is more successful internationally than NFL, NHL, MLS, MLB and NASCAR. Way more.
 
E

Epsilon-delta

Banned
Moze said:
It's crazy to me that people think Jordan is the most famous sports person of all time. That is just incorrect.
Click to expand...

How is it incorrect? The marketing machine behind Jordan's brand is known throughout the world. He hasn't played in 10 years and still makes the Top 3 for highest paid athletes per year, all being retired.

You think it's just only Americans buying his shoes/clothing?

The man transcends basketball and is widely known regardless of ethnicity, social class, or age. The Jumpman logo is just as synomous with Nike as the swoosh.
 
M

MBR

Banned
Yeah, saying Henman is top-5 famous is probably like if I would say that Björn Borg is that high up too. He's really famous still here in Sweden, and it feels like he could be recognized internationally too, but I really have no idea.
 
C

ccbfan

Member
The real answer is someone that transcended his sport.

Whether that disqualifies you or not is the question.

It doesn't matter how popular football is but if you're only known in the football circle then you're not that popular. So sorry Messi and Maradona.

Pele has a reach further reaching than those two but its still not enough and his reach has basically been gone in the last couple of decades so the younger generation have no idea who he is.

Ali if it was 20 years ago but his brand have been missing for years and most of the young people have no freakin clue who he is.

Ronaldo
Beckham
Jordan

are the only possible answers.

Jordan basically has his own sub culture in sportswear. People from all over the world young and old wants his shoes.

Beckham was easily the most popular soccer player during his prime. Now he's a popular ambassador of the game and model. Huge female fanbase.

Ronaldo is basically Beckham 2.
 
M

Mdot

Member
Moze said:
Maradona
Woods
Ali
Tyson
Beckham
Henman (But apparently not)

Are all good answers imo. Does Tony Hawk Count?
Click to expand...

See, I would assume Jordan because basketball is a popular sport worldwide and he's the best known in that sport.

For soccer, would you think that Messi or Ronaldo would eclipse Maradona or Beckham at some point? Personally, I would have thought Pele above all other soccer players, too.

My own list:

Jordan
Ali
Pele

Tiger is a sleeper for sure, but I would think his lack of play outside of the PGA Tour may curb his popularity.

Also, Usain Bolt might crack the top 10.
 
M

Moze

Banned
hucast21 said:
How is it incorrect? The marketing machine behind Jordan's brand is known throughout the world. He hasn't played in 10 years and still makes the Top 3 for highest paid athletes per year, all being retired.

You think it's just only Americans buying his shoes/clothing?

The man transcends basketball and is widely known regardless of ethnicity, social class, or age. The Jumpman logo is just as synomous with Nike as the swoosh.
Click to expand...

Does the Adidas Stan Smith shoe being one of the best selling of all time make Stan Smith a top 3 famous sports person of all time? Does anybody in this thread even know who Stan Smith is? People who buy Jordan shoes really do not care about Jordan. Jordan is just a puppet for Nike and their amazing advertising.

Mdot said:
See, I would assume Jordan because basketball is a popular sport worldwide and he's the best known in that sport.

For soccer, would you think that Messi or Ronaldo would eclipse Maradona or Beckham at some point? Personally, I would have thought Pele above all other soccer players, too.

My own list:

Jordan
Ali
Pele

Tiger is a sleeper for sure, but I would think his lack of play outside of the PGA Tour may curb his popularity.

Also, Usain Bolt might crack the top 10.
Click to expand...

Basketball isn't really that popular worldwide. It is absolutely no where near football as far as popularity goes worldwide.

I can't imagine any player will ever be as iconic as Maradona. Pele is a myth.

Bolt is huge in the UK, but i wasn't sure how well known he is worldwide.
 
P

PassiveObserver

Member
Why OP gotta ask this question if he isn't going to acknowledge the non-Commonwealth world at large? Like, he's getting incredulous over Michael Jordan > Tim Henman (who I've never heard of)?

ccbfan said:
Ronaldo is basically Beckham 2.
Click to expand...

The thing about Ronaldo is I don't know which one you're referring to.
 
E

Epsilon-delta

Banned
Moze said:
Does the Adidas Stan Smith shoe being one of the best selling of all time make Stan Smith a top 3 famous sports person of all time? Does anybody in this thread even know who Stan Smith is? People who buy Jordan shoes really do not care about Jordan. Jordan is just a puppet for Nike and their amazing advertising.
Click to expand...

But they know of Jordan, that's the point of being famous. Keep on digging your hole I guess.
 
R

Ryce

Member
Moze said:
Maradona
Woods
Ali
Tyson
Beckham
Henman (But apparently not)

Are all good answers imo.
Click to expand...
I legitimately can't wrap my head around the fact that you think Tim Henman belongs anywhere near that list. Who in their right mind would consider him the most famous tennis player in the world, let alone the most famous athlete in the world? I know absolutely nothing about tennis, but I've at least heard of people like Sampras, Federer, Nadal, McEnroe, and Agassi. Tim Henman is a complete unknown to the mainstream.
 
M

massoluk

Banned
Moze said:
Basketball isn't really that popular worldwide. It is absolutely no where near football as far as popularity goes worldwide.
Click to expand...

NO SPORT is nearly as popular as football, but basketball is popular worldwide. You're setting some weird standard.
 
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