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if influence is on the criteria, what about dikembe mutombo?
Michael Jordan
Muhammad Ali
Tiger Woods
Babe Ruth
Other (explain)
Faulty logic. Were you even alive when Ali was at his peak?
if influence is on the criteria, what about dikembe mutombo?
Look...we need to be sure what we're talking about here...
Americans or the world.
Americans, Ali...sure
World...no.
Ali was bigger outside of the US than inside.
Ali was bigger outside of the US than inside.
Ok...
have a few more drinks.
There was a point in time where Ali was the most famous person on the planet, let alone sports celebrity.
Read a book.
Not compared to Pele
Yes, even compared to Pele.
You can make a case for either, though.
I think if someone were to poll the world the vast majority would recognize Pele over Ali, Jordan, Beckham..etc...
I honestly think most Americans haven't an idea what soccer is to the world even though they know how much more popular it is globally.
I have only recently realized this in the past few years once I really go into the EPL.
And as for Tiger, once you leave America, UK and UAE his name drops off fast.
Ruth. He was a MEGA celebrity in an age where there was only radio and newspapers. Almost no one ever saw a baseball game. There was no TV, so if you didn't actually go to the stadium, you didn't see a game. He was still mobbed everywhere he went.
He also set the table for all that came after, being the first real sports mega-celebrity.
i know im gonna piss a lot of people off but i dont even know who pele is.
and i'd watch golf before some damn soccer game... give me tennis before soccer.
You can also find some on that very site, skynews, TSN , and 606 radio that say Pele.
check out "have your say" on BBC.com
look...there will never be a clear defined answer to this.
Naw no big deal. Soccer barely has roots here yet.i know im gonna piss a lot of people off but i dont even know who pele is.
and i'd watch golf before some damn soccer game... give me tennis before soccer.
Cricket is a niche sport "football alternative"
Most in America, say they would rather "Watch paint dry". I think because it is a low scoring game. Take away off sides, and add 3 points to 1, it might make it interesting game for the new world
Last edited by marini martini; 04-06-2008 at 11:40 PM.
Beno Udrih
I can't see it being one of the guys from so far back that they didn't get the media exposure guys like Jordan and Woods get now.
That link also has Sunil Gavaskar above Michael Jordan... Still, I don't have a problem believing that Ali was the biggest sports celebrity all time. He's certainly the greatest sportsman I ever saw.
It's gotta be close between Ali and Pele. I'd say Ali because he was a more polarizing figure, plus he made trips to China and India in his prime so everyone was pretty much aware of his existence on all reaches of the globe. Africa, Asia, Europe ... yeah, Ali pretty much had it all covered.
Although at Pele's height, he might have been more popular in sheer number of people who heard of him. Soccer is bigger than boxing and if you knew soccer, you knew Pele.
Maradona, even though he probably was close to Pele's equal, for some reason has never been close to as popular as Pele. In the US, a good percentage of people have heard of Pele. I'd say less than .0001% of people have heard of Maradona. The CoM didn't do its job, apparently . . .
With the way the NBA is globalizing, I wouldn't be surprised if the most popular athlete becomes a basketball player at some point in the next 50 years.
In my lifetime, and in the United States it's Jordan hands down. Outside of the US I have no idea
Ali.
Athlete wise I would go with Jordan or Tiger. But Popularity or Merchandise or BRANDING I would have to throw Dale Earnhardt Jr in there. You dont have to watch racing to know who he is and sales why he has surpassed Michael Jordan.
You are really gonna laugh on this one but there was a time in the mid 90's that the biggest profiting Athlete from Merchandise sales was...STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN. He too brought in more cash in sales than Jordan.
You know us rednecks, we are crazy!!!
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