Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

[Jonesy]

Just curious about your thoughts on this. With the world we live in with constant 24 hour news and information + the web + blogs / messages boards etc will any sports person ever be as loved as MJ?

It seems that the increasing rate that information travels has led to vilifying athletes to a point where no-one is ever put on that pedestal again (which could be a good or a bad thing). Jordan was a global icon who transcended his sport, was known in every country on the planet and was universally loved by millions of people.

By many reports Jordan was a complete a-hole off the court but it wasn't widely known as the time (i certainly didn't hear about it to much later). Nowadays if any player does anything remotely negative its all over the internet / news / sportscenter in minutes and spreads like wildfire.

If you do think a person may be as loved as Jordan which sport do you think he would play?

[p_rushing]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

Nope and Jordan wouldn't have been loved by everyone if he played now.

[dickey1331]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

Nope and Jordan wouldn't have been loved by everyone if he played now.

Yeah I agree. With the way everything is now no one will be like MJ. Not even MJ would be like that now.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

Tiger, pre-scandal, was the closest.

[BlueNGold]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

Tiger, pre-scandal, was the closest.

Yeah and I think he might be the closest anyone comes to being as loved as MJ was for a long time. If only he could've controlled himself from whipping it out, he still would be.

[MassNole]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

He wasn't in the 90's either. He got to play above the rules on and off the court, especially when it came to gambling then he went into attention whore mode.

[matt8204]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

I could be way off on this, but I don't ever recall anyone expressing serious dislike for Magic Johnson. You could make a case that he endeared himself to just about everyone.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

I could be way off on this, but I don't ever recall anyone expressing serious dislike for Magic Johnson. You could make a case that he endeared himself to just about everyone.

Yeah, but he shared it with Larry Bird. When you thought of Magic, Bird was in the same sentence. They even had a video game together on the Nintendo.

Jordan was Jordan all alone. Tiger was the same way.

[matt8204]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

Yeah, but he shared it with Larry Bird. When you thought of Magic, Bird was in the same sentence. They even had a video game together on the Nintendo.

Jordan was Jordan all alone. Tiger was the same way.

That's true. They were always linked, going back to when their teams met for the NCAA title in 1979. A huge figure, but not a singular one.

How about Wayne Gretzky? He stands head and shoulders above every other hockey player in terms of records and stats. Always seemed like a well-liked and respected figure. People in Canada may have felt differently about him after he left the Oilers, but that was a trade, not a free-agent move. And look at what he did for that franchise.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

That's true. They were always linked, going back to when their teams met for the NCAA title in 1979. A huge figure, but not a singular one.

How about Wayne Gretzky? He stands head and shoulders above every other hockey player in terms of records and stats. Always seemed like a well-liked and respected figure. People in Canada may have felt differently about him after he left the Oilers, but that was a trade, not a free-agent move. And look at what he did for that franchise.

Yeah, Gretzky's wife was caught up in a major gambling scandal and we all believed that he had nothing to do with it. The Teflon Great One.

[Jukeman]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

Nope, The internet and media made it so everyone can have their 15 mins of fame.

Ive seen a video of Soulja Boy dancing in Wal-mart with lame clothes on(before his deal)...6 months later he's performing at a awards show...

[Cebby]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

As everyone said, with the internet and media today even Jordan wouldn't be loved.

I think at this point it's more about remaining neutral to the most people. Kobe and Lebron may be the two most loved athletes but they're also the most hated.

Guys like Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and DWade have done a good job of not being hated in the national media, but only Peyton Manning is even close to a commercial superstar like Jordan was and he's not even all that close.

I think the best bet would be a charismatic Olympic superstar, but even then you're talking about only 2 or 3 performances that anybody ever cares about. The next best bet would be a Mutombo or Manute Bol type highly charitable athlete who was a super star player.

[Brankles]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

I don't like Jordan, especially after seeing the HoF Speech and the Chamillionaire incident. Plus all of the books that started coming out about him almost all have negative things to say about his massive ego, arrogance, and disregard for other people.

Guys off the top of my head who are generally loved and respected in the U.S. are Cebby's three (Wade, Peyton, Brees) and more recently Landon Donovan, but that's only if you watch soccer. American football is not global enough to create a star of Jordan's caliber, and I'm not sure if baseball has really ever had one guy like that (Ken Griffey, Jr.?), but I'm also not a baseball follower. LeBron and Kobe are too socially inept/immature to be loved universally and also like Cebby said, they are polarizing figures.

Jordan in his prime put on such a show and was so good and we really didn't know much about him other than his sneaker, Gatorade and Ball Park Hot Dog commercials. The more we know about a person who we hold to Hero standards, the less God-like they seem. Nowadays we can follow Twitter, Facebook, wikipedia, message boards, tabloid magazines/websites, etc. and get almost any type of information we want on these players. 90% of the rumors and tales and BS we hear today wouldn't have existed in the 90s, and athletes were held in higher regard for that reason.

[deaduck]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

I think given time and the right set of circumstances...Tim Tebow might have a shot of pulling the fans love him spot at least equal to if not greater than say a Doug Flutie.

[VDusen04]

Re: Will we ever seen a sports person as universally loved as Michael?

I'm not sure Michael Jordan was universally loved. And I'm not nitpicking by insisting that "at least one guy must not have liked him". I just never got the feeling that Jordan was known as some great fellow. I don't believe he was ever truly embraced by the entire mass. He was embraced as a great athlete, but there always seemed to be enough things present for many to have a conflicting view of MJ.

I guess I'd have to go back to his first championship for starters. Through no fault of his own, a lot of people (present company included) disliked Jordan and the Bulls because they were too good and they were taking out our own teams (Pistons).

Further, information was available in the early 90's that painted Jordan as a sort of bully within his own team. He apparently was having gambling issues and many (not me) looked at his baseball forray as a flexing of his own ego. From there, more and more unsavory tidbits came about.

None of this information is to suggest that Jordan was a horrible person, but my stance is that the media's take on his life was never that Jordan was someone admired by all. He was known worldwide through what he did on the court and what he did on the TV/movie screen. I feel there's a difference between being known for your performances and being loved for who you are. I might agree with others who mentioned pre-issues Tiger, Magic, and Wayne as other who might fit the bill a little better.