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Who is the most famous sports person of all time?
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DontBeThatGuy
Member
...the fuck?
Velcro Fly
Member
It's definitely a soccer player because of how popular it is worldwide
But I'll still say Michael Jordan
But I'll still say Michael Jordan
lol wat
The_Hitcher89
Member
Ronaldo the most famous of all time?
Nah. Maybe the most visually recognisable in football (along with Beckham, depressingly), but everyone has at least heard of Pele and Maradona I assume.
Nah. Maybe the most visually recognisable in football (along with Beckham, depressingly), but everyone has at least heard of Pele and Maradona I assume.
pulga
Banned
I'm not so sure. Most kids/teens today have no fucking clue who Pele and Maradona are, but I'd wager many of them do know Ronaldo, at least in passing. Older people interested in football of course know who the three of them are.
Electric_ Cthulhu
Member
The ignorance in this thread is like a bad joke.
Americans pretending they never heard of Maradona or Pele?
People from other parts of the world pretending they never heard of Michael Jordan?
Guys, please... If you don't watch sports, this probably isn't the topic for you.
This being said, my answer would probably be Jordan. I'm from Germany where football (soccer) is the most popular sport by far and even here everybody who's at least a tiny bit interested in sports knows who he is.
Americans pretending they never heard of Maradona or Pele?
People from other parts of the world pretending they never heard of Michael Jordan?
Guys, please... If you don't watch sports, this probably isn't the topic for you.
This being said, my answer would probably be Jordan. I'm from Germany where football (soccer) is the most popular sport by far and even here everybody who's at least a tiny bit interested in sports knows who he is.
Ali
Jordan
Tyson
Beckham
Woods
Then maybe Ronaldo (Christiano), I'd argue that some older players like Pele, Maradona, etc, aren't as well known anymore.
Like you know who all those top 5 are even if you don't watch the sports, they were or are on tv, movies, adverts (Becks is all over the bloody place in his underwear).
EDIT: Don't understand how anyone can say MJ isn't on the list, like I'm not sure I'd say any other Basketball players would be or will be anywhere near his level of notoriety. I mean c'mon, fuckin' Space Jam.
Jordan
Tyson
Beckham
Woods
Then maybe Ronaldo (Christiano), I'd argue that some older players like Pele, Maradona, etc, aren't as well known anymore.
Like you know who all those top 5 are even if you don't watch the sports, they were or are on tv, movies, adverts (Becks is all over the bloody place in his underwear).
EDIT: Don't understand how anyone can say MJ isn't on the list, like I'm not sure I'd say any other Basketball players would be or will be anywhere near his level of notoriety. I mean c'mon, fuckin' Space Jam.
It's only the second most popular and one of the fastest growing sports in popularity and organizations worldwide.
You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.
Sparkedglory
Member
WesternHeretic
Member
Have you watched the Olympics? Have you looked at China? Do you know there's a Euro League?
Are you under the impression people don't watch NBA in Asia? I didn't follow NBA, I knew who Jordan was, his name was on everyone's lip in my country.
I think Ali may have been a generation too late for me, but that didn't explain Pele. I knew Pele even though I was born more than a decade past his prime. I didn't know Ali
Sorry Americans, it's not Jordan. Much to my chagrin, it's most likely Beckham.
Basileus777
Member
You really should go and read about what sports people watch outside of your country. Somehow the Americans aren't even the most insular posters in this thread!
Him or Ali.
Un no, it's Jordan.
Jesus Christ. Beckham was not even in Maradonna league. Basketball isn't some uber-popular-only-in-selected-countries sports like Baseball and American Football, guys.
True Savior
Member
Michael Jordan. No doubt.
Active player , Cristiano Ronaldo and Lebron James.
Active player , Cristiano Ronaldo and Lebron James.
Sparkedglory
Member
Beckham is good, but he will never be as well known as Jordan.
Not really. He's not even in the same universe as someone like Ali, Jordan or even Beckham.
It's not about skills, it's about branding. Even Americans know who Beckham is.
Basileus777
Member
If we're including professional wrestlers, you'd probably have to start with the Rock thanks to his film career exposing him to international audiences.
The_Hitcher89
Member
Wrestling is a sport about as much as Serie A is.
True Savior
Member
I dont know if you're joking. Im not American. I dont know a single person who doesnt know who Jordan is.
Off course in 20 years that will be different.
Basketball -> America, China, Canada
Football -> Literally the rest of the world.
Call me when Beckham's weird logo is among the ten most recognizable logos.
The Jumpman is up there with the Nike swoosh.
The_Hitcher89
Member
I can't see Kobe being up there compared to Jordan for some reason. This is only from a UK standpoint though
Would OJ Simpson count?
Why would I joke? I have no horse in this race. I would honestly go for Beckham or Ali. The global audience for 'soccer' dwarves every other sport out there, it's not even close.
umm a bunch of F1 circuits are in Asia. Everyone knows who Schumacher is
Yeah, no one in Europe plays basketball. Lol.
You're clueless.
LOL, WTF. Do you really believe this?
I knew who OJ was because of the trial and movies, never even knew he played American Football for years.
Basileus777
Member
Well that's a far cry from your original post.
I was going on major consumption of the sport.
Also note how I didnt put America in the football camp, and it still comes out on top.
You, sir, severely undersell the popularity of NBA in global market.
Basileus777
Member
People weren't mocking you for thinking football is the most popular sport in the world, that's just a fact. It was this:
And this matters why exactly? Boxing isn't that popular compared to soccer either, yet nearly everyone in here mentions Ali.
These guys transcend their disciplines.
Ali on a human level, Jordan in regards to pop culture and business.
Not to mention that this is a huge backpedal from your first ridiculous statement.
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