Ok, so not much participation. I know y'all have an aversion to my Rank 'ems but I felt this one was pretty interesting. Anyhoo, here's how the list goes.
Group 1
Neymar - #4 on the big list and the third soccer player behind Ronaldo at #1 and Messi at #3.
Kevin Durant - comes in at #6 which was a HUGE shock to me. I never would have thought him to be so well known. I would have thought other NBAers were ahead of him like maybe Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. But he only trails LeBron (#2) in the basketball world.
Phil Mickelson - was surprised he was as high as he was (#13). I would have thought Rory would have been the second golfer on the list behind Tiger.
Usain Bolt - comes in at #15 and is the only track and field star on the list.
Novak Djokavic - comes in at #16 on the big list but trails fellow tennis stars Federer (#5) and Nadal (#10). It must suck to be the best tennis player in the world and only be the third most popular.
Ronda Rousey - #23 on the big board, first MMA athlete and higher than the likes of Steph Curry, Peyton Manning and Manny Pacquiao. Maria Sharapova is the only female ranked higher (#18).
Floyd Mayweather - I think it's hilarious that he comes in at #26 which is after Rousey (you might remember the war of words those two had last year). Floyd is the top pugilist.
Cam Newton - checks in at #32. I guess I would have had him in this neighborhood.
Michael Phelps - At #46, he's obviously the top swimmer and the only swimmer. I wonder if his ranking would have been different if he hadn't had the pot smoking thing. Or maybe the pot smoking thing made him more well known.
Group 2
JJ Watt - was stunned to see him at #56. I'm not sure I would have had him in the top 100. He is the 8th NFL player listed and the only defensive player from the NFL in the top 100.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - right behind Watt on the list at #57, first race car driver and 1 spot higher than arguably the most successful driver ever in Jimmie Johnson.
Alex Ovechkin - checks in at #65 and one of three hockey players on the list. Ranked 1 spot lower than some X-game guy named Ryan Sheckler, who I've never heard of.
Bryce Harper - the first baseball player on the list at #71. I was surprised that he was the first baseball player and surprised the first baseball player was so low on the list. I thought Papi would have been higher. Harper is 2 spots higher than Mike Trout.
Venus Williams - despite not winning anything for the last decade, she still comes in at #74. Having a little sister that rules women's tennis might play a part in that. Higher ranking than hockey's best player in Sidney Crosby and MLB's Miguel Cabrera.
Shaun White - to me this guy is the most well known X-gamer of all time. That's why I was stunned that he followed that Sheckler guy. But #76 seems about right to me.
Wladimir Klitschko - #80. While he never really beat any top notch competition, I think he's a little bit underrated in that he had 23 heavyweight title defenses which is second only to the great Joe Louis. And he's got a cool nickname - Dr. Steelhammer. But the funny thing is, he's only the second best fighter in his own family.
Tim Duncan - coming in at #90, which most of us would agree is pretty low, is appropriate for one of the most selfless sports stars of the last quarter century. Timmy was probably pissed that Manu wasn't ahead of him.
Tim Howard - who is this guy at #96?
You can find the complete list here:
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/15685581/espn-world-fame-100
