OT: Most influential U.S. athlete of the past 25 years?

[Scottzer]

I have a hot take and that is while Tiger was definitely one of the most influential... did he really change golf? In my mind, Golf looks a like it did in the 90's.

Given that, it has to be MJ. I think he was the first athlete turned billionaire and his shoes are still part of the zeitgeist.

Eh, after Tiger came along, significant changes were made to real courses. Augusta - has gotten 500 yards longer, trees added, fairways narrowed, etc. Prior to that, Tiger once won Augusta by (I believe) 12 strokes. We might not be able to see the changes from the tv screen, but, the courses and how to play them have changed since Tiger.

 

[superjohn]

Has to be Tiger. He brought an entire generation of kids (and non-white kids) into golf and dominated the sport unlike anyone has ever dominated their sport before. Add in his "brand" and the commercials. The red shirt on Sunday. The iconic highlights.

I don't even see it as close.

Tiger










Everyone else.

What exactly has Tiger influenced? He was hugely popular at one time because he was so great at golf and he brought excitement but bringing the game to black America and to the inner city never materialized. As far as fashion and cultural influence he was making about $20 million per year from Nike while Jordan is making over $300 million per year from Nike. I don't see everyone wearing red Nike t-shirts and black slacks. Did he make trying to hold onto what little hair he has left cool? Did he make sleeping with adult film actresses and Perkins waitresses cool?

He was dominant at golf for a decade and then his personal life and game fell off a cliff. Golf remains a niche sport, it remains an upper class country club sport, and the "Tiger Woods effect" hasn't materialized.

 

[Deepster]

As a women's basketball fan before Caitlin Clark, it pains me to say that -- regardless of her being less accomplished than many other superstars -- she was the variable that transformed the sport from a punchline of bro comedians to a must-see spectacle for sports fans generally.

To be clear, it never should have taken a Caitlin Clark to accomplish that, but you can't deny her impact.

I’m not denying what impact she’s had. It’s still not in the same universe as Tiger Woods.

 

[uconngb]

What did Lebron influence? Besides his bank account?

Zero. He influenced zero

 

[uconngb]

Again, what has he influenced? MJ changed the way the game was played. LeBron didn't. MJ influenced fashion and uniforms. Not LeBron. And his one thing outside of hoop that anyone remembers is when he criticized those who were critical of China. That didn't seem to make folks more sympathetic to China. I guess he did make it more acceptable to go title-hunting in free agency.

LeBron is/was a novelty,….he won’t come close to the staying power of MJ. How anyone could even debate this is insane.

 

[Flipside]

Zero. He influenced zero

I'm confused, often in conversations about a player or coach going to the Lakers, the input is they should not, b/c Lebron runs the show - the show of a $10B organization ... that's at least minimally influential, no?

 

[caw]

Someone not mentioned (I think). Perhaps, Tony Hawk. He, like Jordan, was much bigger before 2000 but he did compete after 2000 and overall he inspired tons of kids into skating. Not to mention his video games and such.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Chatgpt warrior here

How they miss Tiger. This is an issue with LLMs.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I’m not denying what impact she’s had. It’s still not in the same universe as Tiger Woods.

Wasn't arguing for Clark as the answer to this question, just within women's basketball.

 

[champs99and04]

Explain how he’s more influential than Jordan please.

The guy that played two seasons in that span?

 

[Scoe]

The guy that played two seasons in that span?

It still counts the OP said an athlete in the past 25 years. He didn't say an athlete in the past 25 years but but but hold on you can't mention MJ because he played 2. Jordan only playing 2 seasons and being the top influencer just further proves that point.

 

[Scoe]

Ricky Williams- being an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana during his career, retiring in his prime to be a yoga instructor and comes back to the nfl to play a couple more years. Now weed is no longer an illegal substance in the nfl as far as I know.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

He was dominant at golf for a decade and then his personal life and game fell off a cliff. Golf remains a niche sport, it remains an upper class country club sport, and the "Tiger Woods effect" hasn't materialized.

The stats would suggest you’re wildly off. Tiger started an absolute boom of the game, which outside of the recession, has pretty much continued ever since. He’s still the biggest draw in golf, even when he was limping around the course not making cuts.

 

[Inyatkin]

LeBron hate is embarrassing but makes more sense when you remember how much Jordan hate there was during his career.

 

[sdglast]

It's Tiger and it's not even close in my opinion.....What he alone did to change PGA Tour courses, TV viewership, and prize money is astonishing. He single handedly brought golf to the forefront and increased the number of people taking up golf as a sport. He is the greatest athlete of the last 25 years easily and may be the greatest athlete of the last 50 years.

 

[superjohn]

The stats would suggest you’re wildly off. Tiger started an absolute boom of the game, which outside of the recession, has pretty much continued ever since. He’s still the biggest draw in golf, even when he was limping around the course not making cuts.

How is beginning golf measured? From looking up the site they credit numbers being up because of covid being a boon for golf. They credit social distancing, gold simulators and the like.

I said Tiger was wildly popular and was dominant for a decade. He absolutely got people watching back then and the TV numbers in recent years are nothing like they were back then. The "Tiger effect" which was talked about so much back then with black and inner city kids playing the game hasn't materialized and we haven't seen a bunch of black professional players come along like was predicted.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

LeBron is/was a novelty,….he won’t come close to the staying power of MJ. How anyone could even debate this is insane.

A multi-decade novelty. Something is definitely insane here.

 

[RuffRuff]

LeBron hate is embarrassing but makes more sense when you remember how much Jordan hate there was during his career.

Seems with the greats, if you're not a fan, you're a hater up through retirement. Then when fans aren't exhausted of you anymore, they tend to appreciate the achievement with more objectivity. Case in point Brady as well.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

LeBron is/was a novelty,….he won’t come close to the staying power of MJ. How anyone could even debate this is insane.

Lack of staying power and LeBron in the same sentence….I have truly seen it all on here.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Lack of staying power and LeBron in the same sentence….I have truly seen it all on here.

"Remember that guy who was around for a few seasons . . . what was his name? . . . Lebron? . . . I think he might be the all-time leading scorer in the history of the league . . . what ever happened to that guy? Sort of a flash in the pan, no?"

 

[Deepster]

I can see a good arguments for Serena giving Tiger a fight. Over the past 20 years, Tiger's probably had more bad publicity than good, which doesn't help his case.

If the criterion was last 30 years, it would definitely be Tiger, then Jordan. But Jordan didn't do much of anything in past 25 years. And Tiger was already a phenomenon by 2000. Serena did all her work in the 2000s. And she's still relevant enough to make news by appearing with Kendrick at the Super Bowl.

I'd say LeBron is third, Clark and Ohtani would fill out top 5.

This is the only mention of Ohtani in this thread.

He has the highest selling jersey worldwide since 2023. He's the most dominant 2 way player in baseball history, maybe in all of sports. The first 50-50 player in baseball history. And you could start a thread alone on his impact to viewership, sponsorship and economics in Asia as well as the USA. Sponsorships alone account for 100,000,000 a year (Caitlyn Clark was 11m last year).

He's got titles and MVP's on his resume. How is he not being named more here, especially over some of the other names on the first 6 pages???

 

[CardiacAndre7]

"Remember that guy who was around for a few seasons . . . what was his name? . . . Lebron? . . . I think he might be the all-time leading scorer in the history of the league . . . what ever happened to that guy? Sort of a flash in the pan, no?"

Just sorta came and went

 

[Kolumbo]

Tiger and Jordan - tough call

Tiger plays and dominated an individual sport so he had so much more influence than anyone else in the game. I don't think golf compares to the big sports though. I personally don't watch it unless I happen to have the tv on during the final round of a major and there's a close battle. I'm not sure if his success did for golf what many people expected

Jordan - simply iconic. I still remember when his sneakers came out and kids were spending over $100. It was insane. Google says they only cost $65 which was still a lot. He came in while legends like Bird, Magic, Dr. J were still playing and still managed to play differently. If you pick #23 for a jersey, everyone knows why

The other team sports are more difficult because one player can't carry a team

Jeter - He'd be more "influential" if he were more controversial, but it was nature to do everything the right way that makes him such a great role model

Kobe - I'd like to throw Kobe in the conversation. He was one of the most popular kids to enter the association straight from high school, signed at 17 years old. The tragic deaths of Kobe and his daughter Gianna. So sad

Ohtani - he was mentioned but I don't think so. Incredible talent, sure. But I've barely seen him play and people who don't follow baseball probably don't know who he is. Changing media also probably hurts his popularity

 

[Deepster]

Ohtani - he was mentioned but I don't think so. Incredible talent, sure. But I've barely seen him play and people who don't follow baseball probably don't know who he is. Changing media also probably hurts his popularity

But they know who Caitlyn Clark is? Or Simone Biles? Or Megan Rapinoe (all 3 mentioned before Ohtani in this thread).

 

[NJHusky]

There's a difference between being a great player in a sport and being the most influential athlete.

Tiger influenced golf and became a household name, bringing more eyeballs to the tv. Jordan influenced the global basketball, footwear industry and marketing by athletes. He was the first player to get a %.

Nike had a market cap of 250 M when Jordan signed....it's 115 Billion now...thats a 46,000 percent increase..just with one company. He changed how athletes got paid and was the reason the sneaker industry took off.

Lebron, Steph, Kobe...great players...they dind't change the industry...they just got paid a lot of money by an industry Jordan changed.

According to Chtgpt...Unmatched Legacy: The Air Jordan line is the gold standard in athlete-branded sneakers and widely regarded as the most successful endorsement in sports history Jordan Brand generated over $5.1 billion in revenue in 2022, cementing its dominance in the sneaker world