Most Popular Athlete Ever?

[PuRock]

[quote name='Give it to Clutch Clayton' timestamp='1282148139' post='453682']
If you ask anyone to name a Basketball player the answer will be Michael Jordan 99.9999999999999999999% of the time.
[/quote]

Let me guess that the other .0000000000000000001 probably say Greg Kite.

[img]http://www.famousmormons.net/kite1.jpg[/img]

I guess a good argument could be made. That mustache was imposing.

[thewarden86]

[quote name='Malkavian Raven' timestamp='1282101041' post='453459']
Futbol: Pele
Baseball: Babe Ruth
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Hockey: Wayne Gretsky
Tennis: Andre Agassi
NASCAR: Jeff Gordon
Boxing: Muhammad Ali
MMA: Royce Gracie
Swimming: Michael Phelps
Football: Jerry Rice


[/quote]

Changed only a few and added Golf:

Futbol: Pele
Baseball: Babe Ruth
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Hockey: Wayne Gretsky
Tennis: [b]John McEnroe[/b]
NASCAR: [b]Dale Earnhardt[/b]
Boxing: Muhammad Ali
MMA: Royce Gracie
Swimming: Michael Phelps
Football: [b]Johnny Unitas[/b]
[b]Golfer:[/b] [b]Jack Nicklaus[/b]

[PuRock]

Short Track Skating: Apollo Ono.

[MsMarvel73]

[quote name='JEEPercreepermd' timestamp='1282094204' post='453399']
Although not THE most popular athlete ever I think Wayne Gretzky is right up there as well
[/quote]


You a hockey fan mentioning Gretzky but NOT Mr. Hockey? Ok sure...Gordie Howe is ancient history but any hockey fan who mentions Gretzky without Howe is committing sacrilege imo.

[MsMarvel73]

[quote name='H8R' timestamp='1282141905' post='453603']
I'd put Pete Sampras ahead of Federer.
[/quote]


And I'd put Andre Agassi ahead of Sampras. So there.

[DrMoonTooth]

[quote name='thewarden86' timestamp='1282159129' post='453800']
Changed only a few and added Golf:

Futbol: Pele
Baseball: Babe Ruth
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Hockey: Wayne Gretsky
Tennis: [b]John McEnroe[/b]
NASCAR: [b]Dale Earnhardt[/b]
Boxing: Muhammad Ali
MMA: Royce Gracie
Swimming: Michael Phelps
Football: [b]Johnny Unitas[/b]
[b]Golfer:[/b] [b]Jack Nicklaus[/b]
[/quote]
McEnroe? Haha...I'd put him as angriest player in their respective sport. I love watching him on Tennis Channel Classics, though.

[DrMoonTooth]

Don't forget! Table-tennis: Victor Barna (or Jan-Ove Waldner depending on your preference).

[K-Dog]

NASCAR: Richard Petty.

[thewarden86]

[quote name='K-Dog' timestamp='1282171506' post='453919']
NASCAR: Richard Petty.
[/quote]

Unfortunately, NASCAR wasn't as popular back then. Although, he deserves credit for it growing, for sure.

[Malkavian Raven]

Dirty Dale, honestly, didn't even come to mind. And no, I'm not a Gordon fan. I'm actually a Mark Martin fan. (One of these days Mark! One of these days!)

Not big on golfing, hence why it was left out of my list.

As for tennis; Sampras, maybe. You start talking tennis to someone who doesn't follow it; they'll know Agassi & Sampras -- you'd be lucky to find 1 out of a 10,000 people who know who Federer is.

On a side note; anyone catch the Brett Favre retirement speech in Sports Illustrated -- hilarious!

[K-Dog]

Hulk Hogan ???
Not in the top ten but top twenty maybe??

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='K-Dog' timestamp='1282179213' post='453955']
Hulk Hogan ???
Not in the top ten but top twenty maybe??
[/quote]

Hogan wasn't an athlete.

*Awaits outcry...

[thewarden86]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1282179342' post='453956']
Hogan wasn't an athlete.

*Awaits outcry...
[/quote]

pffffft, bwaaaaaa haaaa haaaaa!!!!

UP TOP!

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='thewarden86' timestamp='1282179413' post='453958']
pffffft, bwaaaaaa haaaa haaaaa!!!!

UP TOP!
[/quote]

Wooo!

[H8R]

Head to head, Sampras was better then Andre. Sampras beat Andre 20 times out of 34. Sampras held the number one rank for 286 weeks, Andre just over 100.... That tells me Pete was better.

[DrMoonTooth]

[quote name='Malkavian Raven' timestamp='1282172342' post='453925']
Dirty Dale, honestly, didn't even come to mind. And no, I'm not a Gordon fan. I'm actually a Mark Martin fan. (One of these days Mark! One of these days!)

Not big on golfing, hence why it was left out of my list.

As for tennis; Sampras, maybe. You start talking tennis to someone who doesn't follow it; they'll know Agassi & Sampras -- [b]you'd be lucky to find 1 out of a 10,000 people who know who Federer is.[/b]
On a side note; anyone catch the Brett Favre retirement speech in Sports Illustrated -- hilarious!
[/quote]
Seriously??? In my opinion that couldn't be farther from the truth. Federer is going to be remembered (when it's all said and done) as the greatest player of all time, and everyone remembers the GOAT. We are talking global popularity here...obviously if we were strictly speaking American tennis, it would be completely different. Not to mention he was able to reclaim the #1 ranking after losing it.

[DrMoonTooth]

[quote name='H8R' timestamp='1282180609' post='453971']
Head to head, Sampras was better then Andre. Sampras beat Andre 20 times out of 34. Sampras held the number one rank for 286 weeks, Andre just over 100.... That tells me Pete was better.
[/quote]
Federer is better than both in my opinion. Federer has held the number one ranking for 285 weeks (so far...one week behind Sampras), but Federer has more grand slam titles (16 to Sampras' 14). Sampras also never won the French Open, while Federer has won all four grand slams at least once. Federer also had appeared in an unheard of 22 career grand slam finals and holds the unprecedented record of appearing in 23 consecutive semi-finals or better at the four grand slam tournaments. Federer also has an Olympic gold medal in doubles to his name (I don't believe Sampras has any Olympic medals). Sampras had a fifteen year career...Roger is in his 13th year as a professional, so the "Brett favre" excuse doesn't count, either .

Finally (if these still matter), Federer leads Sampras head-to-head 1-0. The only time they played, Federer stunned Sampras on his favorite surface in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. You can't really compare this though since Sampras retired from the game merely a year later, but I thought I'd post it because it related to your argument. Federer also leads Agassi 8-3 all-time, winning the last eight encounters.

[H8R]

You're forgetting the TALENT level of tennis, Now versus then. Both at the top of their game, Pete win IMO. You have to admit that there are FAR less quality mens tennis Players now.

[BrownsFan]

[quote name='DrMoonTooth' timestamp='1282185700' post='454026']
Seriously??? In my opinion that couldn't be farther from the truth. Federer is going to be remembered (when it's all said and done) as the greatest player of all time, and everyone remembers the GOAT. We are talking global popularity here...obviously if we were strictly speaking American tennis, it would be completely different. Not to mention he was able to reclaim the #1 ranking after losing it.
[/quote]

Federer is going to be remembered as the best tennis player of all-time to those that really know tennis but tennis is dead right now in the USA with the exception of the Williams sisters and even they are getting "old" by tennis standards.

As another poster mentioned below you'd be hard pressed to find a non-sports fan who can tell you who Roger Federer is.. a lot more people can tell you who Sampras/Agassi are.

[DrMoonTooth]

[quote name='BrownsFan' timestamp='1282223019' post='454123']
Federer is going to be remembered as the best tennis player of all-time to those that really know tennis but tennis is dead right now in the USA with the exception of the Williams sisters and even they are getting "old" by tennis standards.

As another poster mentioned below you'd be hard pressed to find a non-sports fan who can tell you who Roger Federer is.. a lot more people can tell you who Sampras/Agassi are.
[/quote]
But the thread is entitled, "Most Popular Athlete Ever". Now we're getting into that topic in respective sports. In America, OF COURSE everyone is going to lean towards knowing Sampras and Agassi...they're both American! Duh!!! Globally, I guarantee the tables are turned 180 degrees.

[Wacko4Zacko]

Michael Jordan, not even a question.

[DrMoonTooth]

[quote name='H8R' timestamp='1282218544' post='454104']
You're forgetting the TALENT level of tennis, Now versus then. Both at the top of their game, Pete win IMO. You have to admit that there are FAR less quality mens tennis Players now.
[/quote]
I don't think there is a big enough difference to use it as an argument. If Nadal was out of the picture, Federer would likely have 4 more French Open titles (he had lost to him 3 times in the finals and once in the semis). That's not even including the Wimbledon final two years ago where Nadal defeated Federer. I think Sampras and Federer both had their fair share of competition in their days, and both were good enough to still stay at the top longer than any one else in the game. But, it's still no contest. You're arguing now that Sampras was the greater player, which Sampras himself said isn't the case. I can provide that link if you'd like.

[Wacko4Zacko]

ALTHOUGH Brett Favre has become a favorite topic nowadays. lol

[ROH522155]

[quote name='thewarden86' timestamp='1282093914' post='453396']
You obviously didn't see Pe'le' listed.
[/quote]

Soccer....not a fan

[K-Dog]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1282179342' post='453956']
Hogan wasn't an athlete.

*Awaits outcry...
[/quote]


heck of a lot more of an athlete than I am.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='K-Dog' timestamp='1282257756' post='454492']
heck of a lot more of an athlete than I am.
[/quote]

I'm sure you could pull off his "patented" leg drop.

[BrownsFan]

[quote name='DrMoonTooth' timestamp='1282241993' post='454301']
But the thread is entitled, "Most Popular Athlete Ever". Now we're getting into that topic in respective sports. In America, OF COURSE everyone is going to lean towards knowing Sampras and Agassi...they're both American! Duh!!! Globally, I guarantee the tables are turned 180 degrees.
[/quote]

Fair enough I'll give you that. I still don't think Federer is the most "popular" tennis player globally. And if he is it is probably by a margin of 12-10.

[PuRock]

How can you forget about these great athletes and sports? All the information provided below is true and the sports are real.

Wife Carrying - Margo Uusorg (7 time world champion)

[img]http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/LIVING/06/29/floss.masters/art.masters.afp.gi.jpg[/img]

Bog Snorkeling - Philip John (3 time world champ - some say he would have won in 2001 if the event wasn't canceled due to foot and mouth disease)

[img]http://www.uv-sport.dk/artikler/Sjove%20artikler/Odd%20games/10%20Most%20Bizarre%20Sports-filer/image006.jpg[/img]

Toe Wrestling - Alan "Nasty" Nash

[img]http://www.ooh.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/toes-e1275657082959.jpg[/img]

[DrMoonTooth]

[quote name='BrownsFan' timestamp='1282308191' post='454706']
Fair enough I'll give you that. I still don't think Federer is the most "popular" tennis player globally. And if he is it is probably by a margin of 12-10.
[/quote]
If you're speaking about right now, then Nadal possibly takes the cake...but I think when everyone's career is said and done, it will still be Federer. You can't go wrong with the GOAT.

[DrMoonTooth]

[quote name='PuRock' timestamp='1282312191' post='454717']
How can you forget about these great athletes and sports? All the information provided below is true and the sports are real.

Wife Carrying - Margo Uusorg (7 time world champion)

[img]http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/LIVING/06/29/floss.masters/art.masters.afp.gi.jpg[/img]

Bog Snorkeling - Philip John (3 time world champ - some say he would have won in 2001 if the event wasn't canceled due to foot and mouth disease)

[img]http://www.uv-sport.dk/artikler/Sjove%20artikler/Odd%20games/10%20Most%20Bizarre%20Sports-filer/image006.jpg[/img]

Toe Wrestling - Alan "Nasty" Nash

[img]http://www.ooh.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/toes-e1275657082959.jpg[/img]
[/quote]
I wonder when a person realizes that toe wrestling is their calling...?