Pele was far more famous and widely known. And it is between him and Ali. No contest.
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Who is the most famous sports person of all time?
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Pele was far more famous and widely known. And it is between him and Ali. No contest.
CortexVortex
Banned
Same here. Didn't know that was supposed to be Jordan.
The name is all over the products and the shoes are almost exclusively referred to as (Air) Jordans. Now you know.
As someone whose caught 2 of the 5 games played in London I disagree. Maybe not in your area or not in your circles but no where is a gross exaggeration.
air jordans for dogs
Member
David Beckham is for sure the most well known in the world, football is a way more popular sport than any of the american sports.
Soccer is for sure but I don't see how that's supposed to support your argument. Hell when I was in Asia and the middle east I rarely if ever saw western soccer players anywhere. Yet players like Kobe and MJ are worshipped like gods.
OK, thanks, I was just trying to illustrate that no matter how pervasive you think a brand is through your own experience, there's A LOT of people who are oblivious to it.
I mean, look at people suggesting Babe Ruth in this thread, I understand that to people in the US he's a legend, but for most people in the world literally their only exposure to him is through TV/Hollywood name dropping, often with little to no context, given that none is needed for a US audience. I mean, don't you have a chocolate bar called the same thing? It gets confusing.
Can't find any lists of adult participation that include basketball so not 100%, but there is stuff on those lists like bowls, and horse riding that presumably beat it. I mean being beaten by horse riding is pretty big, the resources to have access to a horse are way beyond a ball and a hoop.
Not in Indian subcontinent or middle East.
Don't Laugh
Banned
probably fernando torres, the greatest spanish footballer of our generation
It should have been clear that I wasn't referring to literally everybody. I think it's safe to say that the overwhelming majority knows who it is supposed to be and definitely everyone who has blown money on that brand does.
Similar situation with the NBA logo. I'm sure not everyone with a passing interest in basketball knows who the logo is, but every NBA fan knows it's Jerry West.
To suggest Babe Ruth is the most famous athlete in sports history is indeed ludicrous.
I'm not American btw.
I doubt that TBH. Well in Ali's case. He was everywhere on chat shows and culture. They're just famous faces but bland characters publicly.
The closest I can imagine globally to Ali is Pele but Ali's charm and speech too him to another level.
To date I objectively doubt another sports personality has matched his penetration culturally at its peak.Hell be never heard Messi speak and was barely aware of him until this Workd Cup.
Of course Ali being terrific at self promotion with the quick wit to make it work helped a lot.
OK, I was being literal for effect in my reply, but that's because when someone says 'everyone' that implies a very high percentage (>80%+?), I suspect the real percentage is waaaay lower.
Oh, can someone who is American clear up the whole sportsman/chocolate bar thing for me? ;-)
1st Course
Member
Not sure where you go in middle east but in egypt and dubai messi pepsi ads were everywhere.
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The Incarnation
Member
Carl Lewis was quite popular.
Also Rocky Balboa
Also Rocky Balboa
When I said Middle East I was referring to the part where I don't see Western soccer players.
As far as the rest of Asia; China, Japan and ROK have places I know personally are flooded with the western sneakerhead culture. There's a reason why those countries get exclusive colors.
BlitzerRadic
Member
I asked my friend who hates sports if he knows who the Jumpman is. He said it's Jordan. I asked him how did he know. He said because the word Jordan is there.
True Savior
Member
We need to talk about Diego Capel.
i'd suspect cr7. being the most visible player in the most popular sport at the time (relative to the past) where the world has its highest population and is the most connected and advertising and promotion and communication technology is at its peak. i haven't done any research but it's the safest bet for me.
This makes sense. Guy has the highest popularity on social media as well.
LizardKing
Member
Lol at Europeans berating Americans for their "ignorant" self-centered answers and then proceeding to suggest soccer players the vast majority of North America hasn't heard of. Even if it's true soccer is more popular than American team sports world wide, the correct answer is not one that ignores a continent.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
I'd say Jordan or Pele.
X
Xpike
Unconfirmed Member
last time i checked europe+asia+africa+south america+central america combined are bigger than the US and Canada, so yeah, the bigger star is one that's popular on those countries. So it's either CR7 or Messi.
speculawyer
Member
I think these are the best answers.
LizardKing
Member
I addressed that in my original comment. There are other truly global sports you know.
The_Hitcher89
Member
Combined population of 350m
I think that could quite easily be negated by the dominance football has elsewhere.
The cultural influence of the US greatly exceeds its population.
Scully Scully Scoo
Member
not really. some sport stars are immortalised and become the figure heads for their sport ie.
muhammad ali is boxing
mj is basketball
bruce lee is karate
pele is football
what it would depend on probably is how popular the said sport is at the time. boxing is a global sport that everyone knows hence why i picked muhammad ali
I asked my friend too. He said it's Mario.
Oveja Negra
Member
Safest bet is...
All time: Pelé/Maradona/Ali. Those three are from the pre Internet era (ie infinitely less exposure) and even today whoever is a true sports fan know who they are.
Currently: Cristiano Ronaldo/Lionel Messi. Football is by a huge margin the most popular sport across the world, I just can't comprehend how anyone can even try to dismiss this to name some player for other much more unknown sport (again, in a global scale) like basketball, eggball or hell... even tennis.
Also, MEGALOL to anyone naming Jordan because the Nike clothing. By the very same logic, because of Converse, Chuck Taylor should be even more famous than Jordan, you can bet it's not the case.
All time: Pelé/Maradona/Ali. Those three are from the pre Internet era (ie infinitely less exposure) and even today whoever is a true sports fan know who they are.
Currently: Cristiano Ronaldo/Lionel Messi. Football is by a huge margin the most popular sport across the world, I just can't comprehend how anyone can even try to dismiss this to name some player for other much more unknown sport (again, in a global scale) like basketball, eggball or hell... even tennis.
Also, MEGALOL to anyone naming Jordan because the Nike clothing. By the very same logic, because of Converse, Chuck Taylor should be even more famous than Jordan, you can bet it's not the case.
not in this context
Of course. Are you telling me the NBA and the Dream Team are somehow American phenomena?
Why are people in this thread hell bent on embarrassing themselves?
KiwiLannister
Member
That logic on the last one.... I don't even....
Seems like a lot of football fans are doing what they're acusing the Americans of doing. Basketball is huge in Asia and it's big in Africa. It's well known in Europe and the rest of the world. It might be less popular than soccer in every country other parts of Asia/eastern Europe/USA, but that doesn't matter. If we define famous as most people know of them, then it is irrelevant relatively how much you know about them as long as you recognise their existence.
Pele and Ali are relatively unknown with a lot of very young people. Tyson might be more we known than Ali at the moment although not during their primes.
Yep.. this is 100% correct sir!
My kids have no clue who Jordan is (either of them) but they do know DB... and as a family we don't do football.
The_Hitcher89
Member
That has nothing to do with the point I made in the first place. The disproportionate cultural influence coming out of America is irrelevant. The population size isn't big enough to make an insurmountable dent in the fame of someone who is famous across the rest of the world in this imagined league table.
It has to be a footballer and therefore it is either Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
It's simple: adults know Pele, Maradona etc. but also know Messi and Ronaldo. Kids know Messi and Ronaldo but don't know the oldies.
If not those two then probably David Beckham, a lot of non-sports watchers and Americans know him too.
It's simple: adults know Pele, Maradona etc. but also know Messi and Ronaldo. Kids know Messi and Ronaldo but don't know the oldies.
If not those two then probably David Beckham, a lot of non-sports watchers and Americans know him too.
KiwiLannister
Member
Thing with football is it's fragmented. Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo, Beckham, Messi...
Basketball is just Jordan.
Jordan is bigger than basketball, I don't think I'd say the same for any of the football players.
Basketball is just Jordan.
Jordan is bigger than basketball, I don't think I'd say the same for any of the football players.
Sorry, dude. I think people vastly overestimate his popularity outside the US. I'm probably underestimating it, based on how popular basketball is becoming internationally. But he totally pales in comparison to Pele. For that matter I bet more people know who Beckham is than MJ.
Bluekaveli
Member
The Rock or Kirby Bryant
IAmRandom31
Banned
I would probably go with Michael Jordan
think he was known around the world
think he was known around the world
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