A list with Kobe Bryant and Brett Favre could easily be a list of the Top 10 most annoying athletes in America. Luckily for the incessantly indecisive duo, Bryant and Favre appear on the list of America’s Top 10 Favorite athletes, according to a poll released by Harris Interactive. Tiger Woods unsurprisingly topped the list, while Derek Jeter — despite being the only baseball player in the Top 10 — snagged the number two spot. Bryant and New England Patriots star Tom Brady rounded out the list.
America’s Top 10 Favorite Athletes, according to Harris Interactive.
- Tiger Woods (PGA Tour)
- Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (MLB)
- Michael Jordan, retired (NBA)
- Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers (NFL)
- LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NASCAR)
- Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs* (NBA)
- Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts* (NFL)
- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
- Tom Brady, New England Patriots (NFL)
The NBA has the most athletes on this list (4), followed by the NFL (3) and NASCAR, the PGA Tour and MLB (1 each). Michael Jordan is the only non-active athlete on the list. Shaquille O’Neal, Jeff Gordon and Barry Bonds each dropped out of the Top 10.
Breaking down the list among demographics, those in the East preferred Derek Jeter over everyone else, possibly betraying some New York bias among the sample of those polled. Those in the Midwest preferred Brett Favre, while those in the South and West chose Tiger Woods. Meanwhile, those aged 18-41 voted Michael Jordan number one, despite the fact that Jordan has not played an NBA game since 2003, while those 42 and older picked Woods as their favorite athlete.
The validity of this poll in judging the preferences of actual sports fans is suspect; the Harris Poll surveyed “2,372 U.S. adults between June 5 and 11, 2007,” and out of that sample, the vast majority of respondents likely represented a mainstream American public with little more than a cursory knowledge of sports. The names in the Top 10 were likely the first names that came to the minds of those responding — meaning that those on the list are not necessarily America’s ‘favorite’ athletes, so much as America’s most easily recognized athletes. As an example of this, the presence of Tim Duncan and LeBron James on this list may have to do with the fact that both were involved in the NBA Finals, which was ongoing at the time the sample was taken. In the case of James, that likely played a big role in his jumping from #8 on the list in 2006 to #5 on the list this year.
Among female athletes, Serena Williams placed #1, while sibling Venus finished #3. IRL driver Danica Patrick finished #2, despite still not having won a race on the Indycar circuit.
America’s Top 10 Female Athletes, according to Harris Interactive.
- Serena Williams
- Danica Patrick
- Venus Williams
- Mia Hamm
- Maria Sharapova
- Annika Sorenstam
- Layla Ali
- Michelle Wie
- Anna Kournikova
- Michelle Kwan
The presence of Hamm, Kournikova and Kwan is a good indicator that respondents simply chose the only female athletes they knew about. No WNBA player finished in the Top 10, while Sasha Cohen fell out of the Top 10 (she finished #10 in 2006, the year of the Winter Olympics).
Serena Williams was the favorite among those aged 30-60, and among African Americans. Danica Patrick was the favorite of those aged 18-29 and 61 and older, as well as among whites. Maria Sharapova was the favorite of Hispanics; the Hispanic demo was the only demo listed by Harris Poll in which Sharapova was listed the favorite.
