Who is the biggest global icon?

[kamelion4291]

Written by an American, on an American website, for Americans. Ok. No where did the article mention anything about Europe, Asian, South America, Africa.

The title was only used to grab attention. It gave absolutely no statistics on why he's the "most powerful athlete in the world". What a stupid article.

You need to open your eyes and realize that golf isn't even close to being as popular as basketball/soccer worldwide.

Find me a single article listing Kobe as the most powerful or most popular athlete globally. You will absolutely not find one, and linking me anything as stupid as most jersey sales, I'm just going to laugh.

I'll clue you in, follow the advertising dollars and endorsement contracts. Guys like Woods, Jordan, and even Beckham are still much, much larger global icons than Kobe Bryant.

[barborous]

It's Messi and it's not even close. I don't understand how this is a question.

[reignfire]

A lot of Europeans here picked Messi but they have to understand Europe is now the third largest market behind America and Asia, with Asia probably overtaking America in the near future. So, if you're not big in America and Asia, then you're not that big.


Messi is HUGE in Europe, almost unknown in America, and decently known in Asia. So Messi is most well known in the oldest, smallest, shrinking market. Kobe is huge in the largest market(America) and the largest growing market(Asia).


No contest.

[StatLine]

Everyone knows who Brian Scalabrine is.

[NJ_YANKEE_45]

Derek Jeter. Been a huge name since 1996, plays in the biggest market in the world for the most successful franchise in sports, has endless levels of marketing potential, holds several sponsors, one of the few clean superstar athletes left.

[kamelion4291]

Derek Jeter. Been a huge name since 1996, plays in the biggest market in the world for the most successful franchise in sports, has endless levels of marketing potential, holds several sponsors, one of the few clean superstar athletes left.

NJ_YANKEE_45 picking Jeter. What a shocker. Is anybody on these forums actually unbiased?

[Mr Grant Hill]

A lot of Europeans here picked Messi but they have to understand Europe is now the third largest market behind America and Asia, with Asia probably overtaking America in the near future. So, if you're not big in America and Asia, then you're not that big.


Messi is HUGE in Europe, almost unknown in America, and decently known in Asia. So Messi is most well known in the oldest, smallest, shrinking market. Kobe is huge in the largest market(America) and the largest growing market(Asia).


No contest.

What do you mean: "America" - you mean America or the USA?
You really think that in Argentina or Brazil people care more about basketball than soccer?

If you mean the USA:
You think that USA's GDP is bigger than Europe's? Wow.... WOW. You - have - no - clue!

Asias's GDP is only bigger than Europe's GDP if you count Russia as part of Asia. But since soccer is much bigger in Russia than basketball, I think it doesn't matter.

Pleae, please, please, just look up some global tv ratings of NBA finals and the soccer Champions league final. That will tell you everything you need to know: Soccer is 4-5 times bigger than basketball on this planet.

[Don Draper]

A lot of Europeans here picked Messi but they have to understand Europe is now the third largest market behind America and Asia, with Asia probably overtaking America in the near future. So, if you're not big in America and Asia, then you're not that big.


Messi is HUGE in Europe, almost unknown in America, and decently known in Asia. So Messi is most well known in the oldest, smallest, shrinking market. Kobe is huge in the largest market(America) and the largest growing market(Asia).


No contest.

Messi is huge in Asia, South America, Central America, Europe, and pretty much anywhere that isn't the US. Anyone who remotely follows soccer in the US knows who Messi is. He's been considered the best player in world for at least the last 3 years or so and he plays the most well know sport for one of the most popular teams in the history of sports. Sorry guys, this is Messi in a landslide.

[Inigo_Montoya]

Did everyone in the US forget that soccer/football is the most popular sport in the world or something?
~3.5 billion soccer fans
~400 million basketball fans
not saying that those numbers are directly connected to individual fame but they probably aren't so far off that someone like Kobe or Jeter^ would be at the top

[swag2011]

It will be a soccer player, considering soccer is the biggest sport worldwide. But Kobe would be after, probably 3 or 4 after Tiger Woods and soccer players. Don't under estimate Kobe as a threat worldwide.

In China 08 Olympics, Kobe got more cheers than ANY other Olympian not named Yao Ming during the opening cermony. He's got billboard and entire shoe stores dedicate a floor to Kobe in Serbia and Philippines. Kobe' is also pretty huge in South America too.

[Aeternus]

A lot of Europeans here picked Messi but they have to understand Europe is now the third largest market behind America and Asia, with Asia probably overtaking America in the near future. So, if you're not big in America and Asia, then you're not that big.


Messi is HUGE in Europe, almost unknown in America, and decently known in Asia. So Messi is most well known in the oldest, smallest, shrinking market. Kobe is huge in the largest market(America) and the largest growing market(Asia).


No contest.

Lol typical US citizen. After centuries calling yourselves americans, you believe the US is the only nation on your continent. The truth is that only about a third of the Americas population inhabits the USA. The remaining ~600mln that live in South America follow football first, second and third, and Messi is a national hero there.
Also lol at Europe (a continent totalizing more than twice the US population and with almost the same rate of GDP growth (1.6 to 1.7) being "the smallest, shrinking market". Ignorance at its finest.
And lol again at believing football is less popular than any other sport in Asia. It's pretty much the main sport from Turkey (or Syria if you want to count Turkey as Europe) to Pakistan. After that India is ruled by cricket and football second place, and everything that follows till the ocean has football as the most followed sport. After that there's only Japan, that shares the market mostly equally between football and baseball, and then America again.
As far as the other continents go, Oceania is mostly dominated by Rugby and local sports variations, while Africa is mostly football only aside from a couple of countries like Angola.

So pretty much football rules in every continent.

[kamelion4291]

While soccer/football is obviously the world's most popular sport, a lot of people here are automatically claiming that the best player in the world's biggest sport is the biggest global icon, which would be a mistake. Icons are the ones who transcend the sport. People who know nothing about basketball know who Michael Jordan is as a quick example. That isn't true for someone like Messi yet.

[ngcoolman]

To me, it's either Messi or Ronaldo. At the end, I picked Ronaldo. Everyone who followed the sport will know both. They are like Magic and Bird in terms of rivalry. So to me, the question is who has better reach for those who doesn't follow the sport. And I think Ronaldo has better reach because: 1) He has played for Real Madrid and Manchester United while Messi only plays for Barcelona. 2) Ronaldo is tall and handsome which means girls have better chance to recognize him. 3) Ronaldo shares the same name with the great Brazilian striker who himself is very recognizable (fat ronaldo)

[MystikSpiral]

While soccer/football is obviously the world's most popular sport, a lot of people here are automatically claiming that the best player in the world's biggest sport is the biggest global icon, which would be a mistake. Icons are the ones who transcend the sport. People who know nothing about basketball know who Michael Jordan is as a quick example. That isn't true for someone like Messi yet.

And it probably never will be. By that definition, as in "Someone that transcends the sport", the only global icons are people like Michael Jordan, David Beckham, Anna Kournikova and Tiger Woods. Maybe Muhammad Ali. Those, at least to me, are people that became global phenoms not necessarily because they were the best of their professions (Anna Kournikova actually was never considered a top tennis player), but because they were extremely marketable due to style, looks, race, charisma, whatever...

But by that definition, in today's world, we could judge on who the biggest global icon is by determining who makes the most money of ads and endorsements.

[HighFlyer23]

Greatest sports icons in history:

Muhammad Ali
Michael Jordan
Mike Tyson
Pele
Diego Maradona
Tiger Woods

And the greatest icon today is Messi and then maybe Kobe or Lebron

[KembaWalker]

loling hard at people saying Messi is the biggest global icon. hes unmarketable, dull as hell, ugly, no personality. He probably makes less than half of what Tiger makes in endorsements even post-scandal. if you don't watch soccer, you don't know Messi. even if you don't watch golf, you know Tiger.

[MaliBrah]

Messi , for the many reasons already listed in this thread

plays the worlds top sport , is the best player , plays on it's most popular team and is on good pace to becoming the GOAT in soccer or right up there with the best.

[kamelion4291]

While soccer/football is obviously the world's most popular sport, a lot of people here are automatically claiming that the best player in the world's biggest sport is the biggest global icon, which would be a mistake. Icons are the ones who transcend the sport. People who know nothing about basketball know who Michael Jordan is as a quick example. That isn't true for someone like Messi yet.

And it probably never will be. By that definition, as in "Someone that transcends the sport", the only global icons are people like Michael Jordan, David Beckham, Anna Kournikova and Tiger Woods. Maybe Muhammad Ali. Those, at least to me, are people that became global phenoms not necessarily because they were the best of their professions (Anna Kournikova actually was never considered a top tennis player), but because they were extremely marketable due to style, looks, race, charisma, whatever...

But by that definition, in today's world, we could judge on who the biggest global icon is by determining who makes the most money of ads and endorsements.

That's exactly how it should be determined. You market the biggest stars to grab larger market shares.

[Mr Grant Hill]

loling hard at people saying Messi is the biggest global icon. hes unmarketable, dull as hell, ugly, no personality. He probably makes less than half of what Tiger makes in endorsements even post-scandal. if you don't watch soccer, you don't know Messi. even if you don't watch golf, you know Tiger.

yeah just like Einstein was unmarketable.
if you are not into soccer, you cannot understand this.
thing is: only us people are not into soccer.
dull, ugly, no personality? lol, you're talking about him as if he was a candidate on american idol. he's the goat in the most popular sport on this planet. at the age of 25.
stop talking about things you don't understand.

[albo23]

Most of these posters have never left suburbia but speak as if they lived in China. They are offending the world when they say a basketball player is the biggest global icon.