Which Athlete is the Most "Now"?

[Ther]

ESPN is currently running a feature called "Who's Now?" The goal is to determine who's the most popular, well-known, influential, hip professional athlete at this point-of-time.

So the question is, which world athlete do you think is most "now?"

I would personally would have to go with Tiger Woods. He gets the most commercials, is probably the most household name on the list, and is more socially relevant than any of the other stars.

Here are ESPN's match-ups:

MICHAEL JORDAN REGION
July 1: (1) Tiger Woods def. (8) Matt Leinart (90% - 10%)
July 2: (4) Dwyane Wade def. (5) Shaun White (73% - 27%)
July 3: (2) LaDainian Tomlinson def. (7) David Beckham (50.8% - 49.2)
July 4: (3) Steve Nash def. (6) Serena Williams (57% - 43%)



MUHAMMAD ALI REGION
July 5: (1) Peyton Manning def. (8) Amanda Beard (80.5% - 19.5%)
July 6: (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr. def. (5) Chuck Liddell (61.7% - 38.3%)
July 7: (2) Alex Rodriguez def. (7) Terrell Owens (67.5% - 32.5%)
July 8: (3) Kobe Bryant def. (6) Ronaldinho (60.8% - 39.2%)



BILLIE JEAN KING REGION
July 9: (1) LeBron James def. (8) Kelly Slater (84.4 % - 15.6%)
July 10: (4) Jeff Gordon def. (5) Barry Bonds (62.2% - 37.8%)
July 11: (2) Derek Jeter def. (7) Sidney Crosby (63.8% - 36.2%)
July 12: (3) Reggie Bush def. (6) Danica Patrick (72.5% - 27.5%)



BABE RUTH REGION
July 13: (1) Tom Brady def. (8) David Ortiz (66.1% - 33.9%)
July 14: (4) Maria Sharapova vs (5) Vince Young
July 15: (2) Roger Federer vs (7) Tony Parker
July 16: (3) Shaquille O'Neal vs (6) Michael Phelps

[Letho]

I'd vote for Roger Federer. He's not only the greatest tennis player of all times, but he's also a great sportsman. A lot of umpires and other players says that he's a kind man on and off the court, sometimes almost too nice for his own good. That counts for something; given his skills and his fame, he could be a cocky bastard which he's not. Also, I believe he was voted the Sportsman of the Year for three years in a row.

So while there are a lot of big names on that list, I wouldn't need to think twice before voting for Federer.

[Atzar]

Peyton Manning. Advertising that nearly rivals Tiger, defending Super Bowl Champion, arguably the most intelligent Quarterback in the NFL (though not necessarily the most athletic), and he's also in a sport that has a wider USA fanbase (I'm not sure how widespread ESPN is outside of America)

LeBron, Tiger and Roger will be his biggest competition, though. I'd say Tom Brady, but I question his country-wide following.

[Raziel]

I just found it amazing that some stupid redneck beat out a true athlete like Chuck Liddell. My brother and his friend used to train to fight in lower level UFC turneys.

But whatever, opioins everyone is entitled to them

But my choice overall would have to be Tiger Woods. As said before he has the commericals, he is a household name even to people who dont follow golf, and he has a gaming franchise.

But if not Tiger then the winner will be a basketball player. Just speaking for Central New York, but basketball is the most loved sport around here, well besides Hockey and Lacrosse. But I dont see Dominik Hasek or Casey Powell on the board

[Atzar]

UFC isn't commercial enough. Nascar is huge.

[Storm Veritas]

Nascar drivers aren't athletes, they're left-turn afficianados.

Lebron James, followed by Tiger Woods.

Federer is the most dominant and impressive athlete, but Woods and James have a more rabid US fanbase (and let's face it, this stupid contest is all US based). Golf is an old man's sport, and for all the work Tiger does to dominate it, the middle-aged groups don't like him. There's a lot of bitterness there and a touch of racism that some young, handsome kid with a smoking hot wife has torn apart all the golfers these guys liked before they came.

Lebron is explosive, amazingly talented, and fun to watch. Not the most dominant by any stretch, but clearly the biggest hype machine.

[Skie and Avery]

David Beckham (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/161/353889092_67f7d839c1.jpg).

[Slayer of the Rot]

Sexy Rexy Grossman. Rextasy, the Sex Cannon, the Cumslinger. He gets out on that field and starts aiming lasers for Saturn and makes the panties of every cheerleader wetter than Florida during hurricane season. Even the guys want to fuck him.

[Thoracis]

I would be shocked beyond all stretches of the imagination if Tiger Woods didn't win this. I say that for no other reason than that this is a mostly USA based competition.

In the US this probably shapes up to Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Lebron James, Roger Federer, and Kobe Bryant.

Open up world appeal and I think it would turn out more like Roger Federer/Ronaldinho, David Beckham/Tiger Woods, and then any one of a number of asian players left off the list like Yao Ming, Ichiro, Daisuke Matsuzaka, or Hideki Matsui.

In world appeal there is a far more interesting debate. Federer is beloved throughout Europe and Australia and in the US has already grown in status to the likes of the few great American tennis players like Conners and McEnroe and is quickly approaching Sampras and Aggasi status. Ronaldinho and Beckham are the two most popular players in the world's most popular sport. Tiger Woods is the only American athlete even close to commanding that kind of wordly appeal being that golf is also a sport that is played everywhere, he participates in tournaments on every continent but Antarctica, and he has a mixed ethnic background which generates even more of a fan base.

The exclusion of ANY asian players from this list is just a travesty though. Quite frankly I think if Yao Ming is on that list he wins. He carries the entire voting power of China. He already has been the top vote getter for the NBA All Star game due to this. Throw in a feverish fan base that the Japanese produce for their players like Ichiro and Daisuke and I think one, if not more, of the japanese MLB players could crack the top 5 on this list.

I think this whole thing would be more accurate if ESPN Deportes was doing this instead of ESPN. Ah well... it probably comes down to Federer and Woods regardless.