Sporting Giants

[Rhino]

For no particular reason I've been trying to compile a list of sportsmen (or women) who truely are "bigger than the game"

What I'm thinking of are people who's names would be recognised by almost anyone in the world irrespective of whether they have an interest in sport or not.

I can only think of 3 people:

Pele
Muhammed Ali
Tiger Woods

Any more people who you think could be on the list?

[swanny]

George Best

[kerzo]

Diego Maradona
Mike Tyson
OJ Simpson (not for sporting ability of course!)
Andre Agassi
Michael Schumacher
Hulk Hogan (not really a sport)

[Rhino]

Diego Maradona
Mike Tyson
OJ Simpson (not for sporting ability of course!)
Andre Agassi
Michael Schumacher
Hulk Hogan (not really a sport)

Tyson & OJ I'll agree with

Not sure about the others IMHO.

Same with George Best everyone in the UK and maybe Europe will have heard of him, not sure of his wider appeal though

I had thought Beckham, but I reckon if you asked kids in about 10 years time they'd say "who"

[studmeister]

nadal?

[The_Original_Pirate]

Michael Jordan
Roger Federer
Maradona
Michael Johnson
Zinedine Zidane
Johan Cruyff
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards

[kerzo]

Some long shots here:

Babe Ruth
Hailie Gabreselassie
Colin MacRae
Brian Lara
John Madden
Lance Armstrong
Jonah Lomu
John McEnroe
Shaquille O'Neal

[Greemie666]

Ian Botham
Alex Rodriguez
Jack Niclaus

[robzinski]

Magic Johnson
Wayne Gretzky
Dan Marino

[MrSpeed]

My sporting hero was always Daley Thompson :notworthy

[Boozyuzi]

David Bryant.

[unrealnils]

Labron James !

[pompeyfan]

Jessie Owens
Mark Spitz


I've an interest in sport but there's a few listed so far I've never heard of:shrug:

Who are these?

Labron James
Alex Rodriguez
Hailie Gabreselassie

[swanny]

Bjorn Borg.

[Rhino]

Jessie Owen is a good call because of the historical context, but even then I figure a lot of people won't have heard of him.

The following people have failed the "wife test" (ie my wife has never heard of them and she has only a passing interest in sport)

LeBron James
Colin McRae
John Madden
Wayne Gretzky

[singhstar]

ryan giggs

[statto]

Some of these suggestions for sporting "giants" are hilarious. Dan Marino is the only one I haven't heard of. David Bryant made me :lol:

People that sprang to my mind, as either being widely known by people not interested in the sport, or viewed by fans as taking the sport to another level:
Football: Pele, George Best, Johann Cryuff, Diego Maradona, David Beckham (and Garrincha should be here, but criminally, he's not widely known).
Tennis: Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal.
Motorsport: Juan Fangio, Michael Schumacher.
Boxing: Mohammed Ali, George Foreman, Mike Tyson.
Golf: Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods.
Basketball: Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Shaqille O'Neal, Magic Johnson.
Baseball: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb.
Athletics: Jesse Owens, Daley Thomson, Carl Lewis, Ben Johnson, Michael Johnson, Paula Radcliffe.
Others: Lance Armstrong, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps.

[res]

Eddy Merckx
Ayrton Senna

[kjn6371]

Martina Navratilova

[UKBoy]

Valentino Rossi (motorcycling MotoGp)

Dale Earnhardt (Nascar)

[cheeseypuffs]

Frankie Detorri
Gary Lineker
Rolf Harris
Princess Anne

[singhstar]

rolf harris?

[Rhino]

Valentino Rossi (motorcycling MotoGp)

Dale Earnhardt (Nascar)

Not a pop at you here UKBoy but your posts here perfectly sums up my point.

Ask some Redneck Nascar fan in Alabama who Valentino Rossi is they won't have a clue.

Ask some WI Middle Englander who watches Wimbledon once a year who Dale Earnhardt is she'll have no idea.

Pele & Ali stand so far above their sports that both of the above people would recognise the names

[cheeseypuffs]

rolf harris?Was originally a swimmer.

Not a pop at you here UKBoy but your posts here perfectly sums up my point.

Ask some Redneck Nascar fan in Alabama who Valentino Rossi is they won't have a clue.

Ask some WI Middle Englander who watches Wimbledon once a year who Dale Earnhardt is she'll have no idea.

Pele & Ali stand so far above their sports that both of the above people would recognise the names
I think you're wrong about a redneck recognising Pele because your average American just doesn't give a toss about "soccer".
Don Bradman is another one I forgot earlier :doh:

[Rhino]

Was originally a swimmer.


I think you're wrong about a redneck recognising Pele because your average American just doesn't give a toss about "soccer".
Don Bradman is another one I forgot earlier :doh:

But he is up on the finer points of cricket though :shrug:

[Ono]

Usain Bolt

[rbullivant]

Sorry aside from the first three mentioned I would only give Babe Ruth the title of sporting giant. I'm pretty sure my Dad has heard of those four but none of the others. the majority are either people in our own lifetime, from marginal sports or are localised.

Don't really think any sport can have more than one giant

R

[cheeseypuffs]

But he is up on the finer points of cricket though :shrug:I wasn't saying Pele doesn't transend his sport, but you were arguing that it only counts if everyone in the world has likely heard of someone, but I was just pointing out your example to prove this was flawed. In fact in terms of numbers Bradman is possibly better known worldwide than Ali, since there's a hell of a lot more people in the subcontinent than America and they are well up on their cricket there ;)

[Rhino]

Well in an attempt to prove or disprove any of these names i posted most of the names here on another forum that is primarily US centric

Although the sample size is currently small (8 people) so far no-one has failed to know Pele, Ali & Tiger.

However we cross the following off quite easily

George Best
Zinedine Zidane
Johan Cruyff
Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards
Colin MacRae
Brian Lara
Jonah Lomu
Seve Ballesteros
Juan Fangio
Eddy Merckx
Ayrton Senna
Valentino Rossi

Someone thought Eddie the Eagle was golfer.

Essentially the footballers are no-no to the Americans,( Maradona is kind of known), so are the cricketers and most motorsports

McEnroe is well known to our generation but I think he'll eventually fade from memory

[statto]

McEnroe is well known to our generation but I think he'll eventually fade from memory

You cannot be serious!


/gets coat

[UKBoy]

Sachin Tendulkar.

[Rhino]

Sachin Tendulkar.

Along with the whole list of cricketers you're stuck mainly to those countries that play cricket.

Go to France or Germany and ask them who he is

[zenza]

Jennifer Cappriati.

[UKBoy]

Along with the whole list of cricketers you're stuck mainly to those countries that play cricket.

Go to France or Germany and ask them who he is

That MIGHT be true but look at the size of the population of countries who have an interest in Cricket, kinda dwarves the populations of Euro countries, so if purely looking at names known to the highest populations .............

[Rhino]

That MIGHT be true but look at the size of the population of countries who have an interest in Cricket, kinda dwarves the populations of Euro countries, so if purely looking at names known to the highest populations .............

...but I'm not.

I'm looking far names that rise so far above sport that virtually everyone has heard of them.

It's easy to put together lists of people who are giants OF sport, I'm looking for more

[NicolaUK]

Hulk Hogan :thumbs:

[Bapapapa]

Harlem Globetrotters

[Boozyuzi]

Jeff Stelling.