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ESPN's famous athelete in the world list (1 Viewer)

I dont regularly watch ESPN anymore. That being said, I dont know half of the top 20. The list is flawed anyways. No way five NFL players are more famous than Brady. 

 
Using Twitter/Insta/facebook followers and Google searches is probably a legit methodology, but surely underrepresents kids in the favelas and slums of Brazil and Argentina, much of Africa, Asia and other parts of the world where sports like tennis, car racing, golf and the US-centric sports are largely unknown, but the soccer stars are still famous.

 
Cjw_55106 said:
I dont regularly watch ESPN anymore. That being said, I dont know half of the top 20. The list is flawed anyways. No way five NFL players are more famous than Brady. 
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Let alone Connor McGregor being way ahead of brady?

Andy Dalton made the list? LOL

 
I don't watch soccer or motorsports either, but to not know 10 out of the top 20 you'd really have to have your head in the sand.

I've never heard of #8, 9, 12, 14, and 19.

 
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EYLive said:
I don't watch soccer or motorsports either, but to not know 10 out of the top 20 you'd really have to have your head in the sand.

I've never heard of #8, 9, 12, 14, and 19.
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I exaggerated a bit . I didnt know 6 of the top 20. 

 
Any list that doesn't have Michael Jordan (even 15 years after retirement) at number 1 (or at the minimum top 3) is severely flawed and I stop right there. 

To this day, still prob one of the most recognizable names when discussing sports.

 
I knew all but the two Cricket guys - assumed they were Cricket players, and the skateboarder.

I'd argue there are more world famous Formula 1 drivers - Lewis Hamilton comes to mind.

 
Cjw_55106 said:
I dont regularly watch ESPN anymore. That being said, I dont know half of the top 20. The list is flawed anyways. No way five NFL players are more famous than Brady. 
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Agreed and having Cam Newton above Brady and Peyton Manning is crazy talk.

 
never heard of

4. Neymar

8. Virat Kohli

9. James Rodriguez

12. Gareth Bale

14. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

19. Mesut Ozil

and pretty much any other soccer guy outside the top 20

also 83. Billy Horschel...WTF is he doing on the list?

 
EYLive said:
I don't watch soccer or motorsports either, but to not know 10 out of the top 20 you'd really have to have your head in the sand.

I've never heard of #8, 9, 12, 14, and 19.
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:thumbup:  Looks like I made the cut!  I didn't know 9 out of the top 20... 

 
fantasycurse42 said:
Any list that doesn't have Michael Jordan (even 15 years after retirement) at number 1 (or at the minimum top 3) is severely flawed and I stop right there. 

To this day, still prob one of the most recognizable names when discussing sports.
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I did not read the fine print but it seems to be mostly all active athletes, else Jordan, Pele, and Ali would all be in the discussion.

 
NewlyRetired said:
shocking this one especially if you know who Rooney and Suarez are.   He is on the front page of ESPN.com almost every week it seems
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I don't know who Suarez is either...I was only going top 20

don't think I've visited ESPN.com in several years...and only then would have been due to some lame work fantasy football league

 
Dan Lambskin said:
I don't know who Suarez is either...I was only going top 20

don't think I've visited ESPN.com in several years...and only then would have been due to some lame work fantasy football league
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I was just using ESPN.com as an example of all the sports sites he shows up on non stop.  It is not like the cricket guys where maybe once a year they get some mainstream press.

You are right about Suarez, he was 22 on this list.

 
NewlyRetired said:
fantasycurse42 said:
Any list that doesn't have Michael Jordan (even 15 years after retirement) at number 1 (or at the minimum top 3) is severely flawed and I stop right there. 

To this day, still prob one of the most recognizable names when discussing sports.
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I did not read the fine print but it seems to be mostly all active athletes, else Jordan, Pele, and Ali would all be in the discussion.
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somebody above mentioned google-search/tweets, etc driving this list... not sure how relevant MJ is in that world. or any current world, other than "who's the greatest" sports nostalgia. or maybe hanes ads. 

eta:

from the epsn thing:

a formula that combines salary and endorsements with social media following and Google search popularity

 
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I found this about who was considered in the algorithm.  It was only recently retired players

==================================================

Recently retired stars Kobe Bryant, Marshawn Lynch and Peyton Manning were included on the list because they played in 2015 and/or 2016.

 
falcao and lampard seem odd to me, given their lack of relevance or appearances playing their sport for a while.

 
I recognized 13 of the top 20 names. If I limit it to picture only I would only have been able to name 7 of the 20.

 
Ok, so maybe world wide Durant (#6) and Kobe (#11) are more popular than Steph Curry (#34), but Carmelo (#29) / Derrick Rose (#30) / Dwayne Wade (#33)  ahead of him?  I don't think so.    I have no way to judge whether a cricket star or rugby player is as popular as an NBA star but there is no way Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose are more popular or well known than Steph Curry anywhere in the world.

 
NewlyRetired said:
I did not read the fine print but it seems to be mostly all active athletes, else Jordan, Pele, and Ali would all be in the discussion.
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Yeah ... I figured David Beckham would be on there. Thought Becks was Mets-Willie-Mays-ing it somewhere in pro soccer still, but I guess not.

.

 
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Doug B said:
Yeah ... I figured David Beckham would be on there. Thought Becks was Mets-Willie-Mays-ing it somewhere in pro soccer still, but I guess not.
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yeah he retired a few years back.  He is an owner now trying to launch an expansion team in Miami.

 
Names I didn't know:

8. Virat Kohli

9. James Rodriguez

12. Gareth Bale

14. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

24. Sergio Aguero

27. Radamel Falcao

28. Cesc Fabregas

41. Sania Mirza

42. Eden Hazard

47. Kei Nishikori

59. Lewis Hamilton

62. Frank Lampard

64. Ryan Sheckler

75. Fernando Alonso

81. Lydia Ko

83. Billy Horschel

84. Canelo Alvarez

86. Yaya Toure

92. Evgeni Malkin

97. Kimi Raikkonen

 
NewlyRetired said:
I did not read the fine print but it seems to be mostly all active athletes, else Jordan, Pele, and Ali would all be in the discussion.
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I saw Kobe/Manning.

Regardless, Jordan to this day carries more swag than any other athlete, hence his Nike deal is prob 3-5x what Lebron has. 

 
fantasycurse42 said:
I saw Kobe/Manning.

Regardless, Jordan to this day carries more swag than any other athlete, hence his Nike deal is prob 3-5x what Lebron has. 
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Arnold Schwarzenegger & Hulk Hogan would be up at the top of the list with Ali & Jordan imo.   They are still 2 of the most recognizable & famous athletes in the world.

 
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