Most beloved living legend?
 

Just curious -- who do you think is America's most beloved living sports legend? Not necessarily the greatest or most respected, but the man or woman who inspires the most public adoration? Personally, I'd go with either George Foreman, Hank Aaron or Shaq. For my money, Jordan is too wooden and too "corporate" and Tiger has too much baggage. Thoughts?

Good thread. You have excellent people who came to mind that I agree with. I’d likely add also Arnold if you consider what he did a sport and what he’s done is amid controversy as well.

It's interesting to me how difficult this actually is. A few years back, not so tough, with Yogi, Ernie Banks, Arnold Palmer, Ali (not universal of course), and others.


Maybe Nicklaus now?


On the women's side, Billie Jean King? Mary Lou Retton?

I think Shaq is a good pick. Charles Barkley would be another. But someone who I think really fills this role with the masses is Michael Strahan. He's a day time TV fixture, still covers big NFL games and is generally beloved by even regular people who don't like sports.

I was also thinking Mary Lou Retton

Gosh, I’ve always wanted to be a regular person.:D

Do regular people all take Metamucil?:eek:

Maybe. Mostly they watch Good Morning America, probably were fans of Kelly and Michael and are probably huge fans of Strahan, Sara and Keke.

Can you think of anyone with a wider audience?

Joe Namath is doing Medicare Advantage commercials.;)

In Baltimore it's Brooks Robinson by a mile.

And in Boston Yaz and Orr, but I don't think they have a national following so much.

I like Lou Holtz. Been out of the spotlight for a while though, however I imagine he does speaking engagements.

Does The Rock count for something like this? He's pretty huge in popular culture too.

Number 4 -- Bobby Orr!:D

+1
Best ever

Without doubt, when it comes to football, in the SF Bay area it’s “Joe Cool”.

As a Canadian I feel like I have to go with Gretzky

Sandy Koufax Would be a good pick

Most beloved, got to be Mr. Bill Belichick.

Wanna feel freakin' old??? I just saw Mary Lou Retton doing a commercial for a menopause medication!!!!!!!

I’d go with Cal Ripken Jr. while Brooks Robinson Is more beloved in the Maryland area as Mr. Oriole on the national level Cal is beloved all over, and is a great genuine person.

No offense but Ripkin couldn’t be picked out of a lineup by 99.999% of Americans. Baseball fans will remember his record. Most people won’t.

Would have been Ali before he died. He was on a separate realm. Today could be Shaq due to his size and uniqueness.

Think about all the publicity when Ali died. CNN broadcast his funeral for hours. Do you think Bobby Orr or Cal Ripken are even in the same celebrity universe as that. Nope. By that standard might well be Tiger Woods. He won some tournament last week I never heard of and it was massive news.

Ali literally could not go anywhere without being instantly recognized and mobbed. To be sure, an interesting transformation from a man who at times behaved deplorably to a world icon, but he certainly had the intelligence and charisma and gift of connecting to people to pull it off.

I just don't see Woods in that role. He doesn't have the outsize personality or the human touch of an Ali.

I think everybody knows the legendary Pete Rose, but I guess the word legend is associated more frequently with positive connotations rather than negative ones.

Pete had both, so I guess they cancel out. Nevertheless I don’t consider it outrageous to at least mention him, before nominating Jack The Ripper or the Boston Strangler.

No Net54 thread would be complete without a Pete.;)

I think Barkley and Shaq are media driven goofballs. If I'm picking a living legend (as in somebody I'd like to meet) from the NBA it'd be somebody more akin to Bill Russell or Jerry West.

It's an interesting question and interesting seeing how much local bias seeps into such a discussion. Brooks Robinson? Are you kidding me. C'mon. I'm a Met fan. I'd stop dead in my tracks if I saw Tom Seaver, but he's not some widely beloved figure. Sandy Koufax? A complete enigma with ZERO public presence (intentionally of course).

Maybe the bottom line is there isn't one today. Would prob be an Olympian, as they don't really have an "opposing" team so to speak. Michael Phelps is pretty well known, but not beloved.

True. A lot of people can't even spell his last name correctly. :)

Joe Montana, Nolan Ryan. Not necessarily beloved, but most respected - Hank Aaron.

My picks
 

Being a Wisconsinite, I would have picked Bart Starr if he was still alive. Also, showing my bias, I would put Robin Yount right up there.

Serena and Venus Williams come to mind. Lance Armstrong could have been a contender. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.? Simone Biles?

I can't come up with anyone who really stands out from the crowd.

Based assuredly on her recent successes, for me, it would have to be Ms. Biles. Her smile alone could light up a room. No 'roids, just pure athletic accomplishment. I realize she hasn't been doing this for the past 40 years, but at the moment, she gets my vote!

She is a phenomenal talent and personality. Just as a matter of personal aesthetic taste, I prefer the more artistic, balletic gymnasts such as Liukin, Boginskaya, and Khorkina.

Interesting. Doesn't appear to be spelled wrong.

Nolan Ryan has to be pretty high on the list. The baseball message boards on Facebook are enamored with him; you risk getting into a very ugly discussion if you insinuate the least negative thing about our all-time K / no-no leader.

Steve- Ripkin is spelled Ripken :(, though Shaq is not spelled Shac :).

is 50 a 'D' or a high 'F'?

.

Michael Jordan

Don’t know about the ‘most’ part but Vin Scully is one I’d consider a legend and I think he’s beloved.

if you go by name recognition, reputation with the public, and overall excellence in his sport, I think it's got to be Jack Nicklaus. I would say Hank Aaron but Nicklaus has been, through the years, much more visible in public. Michael Jordan is more famous but I'm not sure the "beloved" title fits him as well.

Just watching Nicklaus win the Masters in '86 was enough for me.

In Detroit it would be Al Kaline. He's the very definition of "beloved" here.

Pele, or are we just talking USA?

I would argue Nicklaus' run on Sunday at the 1999 Masters, where he birdied the 15th to move within two shots of the lead, at age 58 lol, was even more remarkable.

Before he passed, Musial was a very beloved figure.

Derek Jeter by a mile.:)

The Rock.

Kidding...

kind of.

Gretzky. Nice guy, no negatives, the best ever at his sport.

At one time I'd think Tommy Lasorda was right up there.

Peyton Manning. He is on TV commercials and ESPN constantly. I would think he is recognized most everywhere. He seems to be very personable.

Dr. J

John Madden

In baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. still has the affection of millions of fans. He is seen as the “clean” hero of the ‘90s.

Barry Manilow

America's most beloved living sports legend......

Well id say just about everyone in America knows who Michael Jordan is & that he is a legend.

But if we are leaving him off....

Id go with wane gretzky, by far the best hockey player of all time, his records will never be broken. And even though hockey isnt as popular as the rest of the sports id think most Americans know who he is and that hes the gratest all time

I agree with Gretzky.
A true icon by definition as the representative symbol of his sport...
not many listed in this thread share his lofty status.

Gretzky is the all time leading goal scorer. If Gretzky had never scored a goal, he would still (unless Jagr has recently changed this) be the all time leading point scorer. It's truly unfathomable.

Barry could sing ok, but he couldn't hit. :D

He had a few hits...

Can't deny Gretzky's unbelievable impact in his sport, but hockey is such a 4th tier sport in America. Really don't see him being that iconic a national figure.

If you showed his picture to 1000 Americans how many would even know who he was?

Gretzky is Canada’s most beloved maybe, but we need an American here. I guess I would vote for Joe Montana or John Madden ( yes, I have a Bay Area bias). Maybe Jack Nicklaus too.

Has Canada seceded from North America? If so, when?

Personally I'm 25% Canadian, but 100% American.

Ah, so it depends on what we mean by “American” - United States of America or North America or even South America. If it’s not United States, then I would say Pele ( or Charo)

http://williamgregory.net/images/laughing.gif

In the Boston area, maybe. Outside of Boston? Not a chance in hell.

We've lost a lot of truly beloved legends, of late. Bart Starr, Stan Musial, Ernie Banks.

Brett Favre's back on the adored list in Wisconsin. Hank Aaron's way up there. Robin Yount, too.

Bob Uecker is pretty loved nationally, up there with Vin Scully. Ueck used to go on Carson a heck of a lot.

Don't overlook how adored Roger Staubach is in Texas, and elsewhere.

Gretzky, along with Jordan, Ruth and Ali are the quintessential representatives of the best of the best for their respective sport.
There are literally only a few individuals in the history of sport, dead OR alive, that have reached Gretzky's level of supremacy.
Football doesn't even have as iconic an individual.
You mentioned Shaq?? He doesn't even register as one of the best basketball players, never mind an icon of the sport.
And yes, many Americans know the name Wayne Gretzky, let's not be daft.
The average American would recognize his visage over someone like Pele... without question.

I guess that depends on your definition of beloved. Beloved to me means they transcend sports and everyone generally likes them and has a feel for who they are as a person. I'm not really sure what kind of opinions the average person has on Gretzky given that he's never been all that public of a person. Same goes for a lot of the suggestions. That's why I think Shaq is a good choice. He has a public persona that people relate to.

Maybe we just don't do the national icon thing anymore. Days of Bob Hope and Mark Spitz are long gone.

I think it's just gotten more cyclical like someone said about the Olympians. On your average day to day level I think this most beloved living legend is either going to come from a sports booth where you hear their voice every weekend or from your television set when you see their face during the big games.

As beloved as someone like Roger Staubach might be in Texas, I know nothing about who he is as a person.

True. Jeter is in the same category and not far behind Jr.

Coach K.

Woods certainly had the potential to reach that level of supremacy, but as it turned out he wound up still short of Nicklaus, and despite his Masters' win it seems relatively unlikely he has enough left to get there.

As for football, I think Brady will end up as a near-consensus GOAT, although interestingly USA Today just recently ranked him 2nd, behind Jerry Rice.

Most beloved would probably have to be someone with all of the following characteristics:

overtly patriotic but not partisan
no real scandal or skeletons in the closet
probably overcame some great personal hardship
probably some underdog story about making it to the top
preaches self-reliance and
has an affable personality

If I had the power to turn back time (to 4 years ago), my most beloved living legend is Yogi Berra.

My Daughter Debbie lived in Montclair, NJ on the same street (4 houses away) as did the Berra Family. We met Yogi and his wife, Carmen, several times.
They were the most delightful people that you would ever meet and have a conversation with.


http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...BreadBerra.jpg . http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...nYogiBerra.jpg
1947 Bond Bread …………………………………………….….. 2012 Cooperstown



TED Z

T206 Reference
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As the song from Camelot goes,
Where in the world
Is there in the world
A man [or woman] so extraordinaire?

50 years ago, people didn't want to know the dirt on celebrities. Didn't want to know their foibles. Today we have Twitter reports about some player cheating on his wife with the babysitter. Different times. People wanted to imagine John Wayne was the guy he played in movies, Bob Hope was the guy you saw on the tonight show, and Mickey Mantle didn't have a failing anyone knew about. We don't live in that world anymore. For good or for bad.

Ted, all true 100 times over. We lived in Montclair for 25 years. Met Yogi and Carmen at many charitable events. The nicest people you would ever met. And Dale and other son (name slipping my mind) is a great guy too. They said yes to every charity in town. Many times over. Never said no to any local charity that I ever heard of. I have some great Yogi signed Christmas ornaments I will always cherish. Really nice people. Rumor was for many year they handed our signed baseball cards on Halloween.

First year we lived in town a local charity had as an auction item "watch a world series game with Yogi and 20 of your closest friends" at the theatre at his museum. Still kicking myself in the ass for not grabbing that. Sure at the time the price was some outrageous amount like $2000. Uggh.

Betty White

Definitely not Hank Aaron (to me, anyway). I grew up in the Houston area and loved Hank Aaron as a kid, so his comments about racist Texans made me do a 360 on him years ago.

I like your George Foreman idea - I wouldn't have thought of him. Shaq is certainly loveable. I think Peyton Manning may be working his way into the conversation, but perhaps he is too regional (Denver and Indy?).

Good question as most of the truly loveable sports icons have passed away in the last 10-20 years.

Such a great point. Celebrities are constantly under our eye these days and TMZ and the rest are salivating for the next story about someone famous slipping up even the tiniest bit. Back in the day people wanted their heroes to measure up to our image of them but it seems like today, everyone is just waiting for that other shoe to drop so we can gather our pitchforks. People, even famous ones, are people, the difference is definitely the heavy doses of media exposure today's celebrities are subject to.

White Sox hall of famer Frank Thomas should be considered on this list. The others that come to mind are Shaq, Manny Pacquiao, Emmitt Smith and Rafael Nadal.

Tiger Woods. Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter should be loved by all, but at the end of the day they are not friendly to the fans.

Tim Tebow. Absolutely beloved with a capital B by a lot of people. Is he a great football player? No. Is he a great baseball player? No. Would CNN and FOX broadcast his funeral live and shut everything else down anyone is talking about? Yep. Would he be mobbed in Times Square at 1 am? Yep. Would he great a huge ovation at a theater or boxing match or patriotic event. Yep. After he gives up the baseball thing can basically write his own ticket for the rest of his living doing whatever he pleases.

There's your winner. Bring on the haters. Line forms to the left. Be sure to take a number.

Has to be Tiger Woods. Just ask any porn star or hooker and they'll tell you the same.

Do you really think Tiger is beloved? I think he's probably the top golfer all time performance wise but beloved?

double post

Ted -- Steve, Beautiful posts on Yogi Berra and his family.

Betty White might have been in jest, but she is just right there at the top of beloved television personalities.

Shaq is a great choice too; everyone loves Shaq.

This has been a swell thread--- a happy place.:) --- Brian Powell

Yogi was good people.

Casey Stengel said, "I never play a game without my man." He was talking about #8. And Berra was one guy whose impact on the game(s) he played in transcended WAR. You look at BBR, and they'll tell ya that Berra's lifetime contribution was 59.8 wins.

BS.

Yogi was Casey's general on the field, and Yogi saw freaking everything. Anybody that looked at him, and his between game antics, and underestimated him was a fool. He was every bit as important to the Yankees as Mantle or Ford.