Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant America's Favorite Sports Stars: Survey

NEW YORK — Tiger Woods has dropped into a tie with Kobe Bryant as the favorite American sports star.

Woods had held the position alone since 2006, but the Los Angeles Lakers guard moved up from fourth last year to grab a share of the top spot, Harris Interactive said Tuesday.

LeBron James dropped from third to sixth in the company's survey of 2,227 adults conducted online from June 14-21, before he left Cleveland to sign with Miami. Retired NBA star Michael Jordan fell from second to seventh.

Yankees captain Derek Jeter moved up one spot to third and quarterback Brett Favre went from ninth to fourth. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning was fifth, up from seventh.

New England quarterback Tom Brady, who failed to make the top 10 last year, returned at No. 8, followed by New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR's Jeff Gordon and St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols dropped out of the top 10.

Among female athletes, sisters Serena and Venus Williams were 1-2, followed by race car driver Danica Patrick, retired soccer star Mia Hamm and tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova.

Volleyball player Misty May-Treanor was tied for seventh with gymnast Shawn Johnson, basketball player Lisa Leslie was ninth, and retired tennis players Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova were tied for 10th.

Dropping out of the top 10 were basketball's Candace Parker, golfer Annika Sorenstam, former tennis star Chris Evert and skater Michelle Kwan.

Comments

[Clevelandinwi]

09:43 PM on 08/03/2010

Gives you some idea about this country, huh?

[Edbeason]

12:27 PM on 07/27/2010

How did Anna Kournikova get on the list...............err........never mind.

[boxiana]

08:11 PM on 07/21/2010

Wow... I can think of a thousand athletes I respect more than these two. What a joke.

[iamsamh2]

08:01 PM on 07/21/2010

Did they only ask golf and Laker fans?

[whirledgonecrazy]

05:55 PM on 07/21/2010

We'll see if he can win another tournament or not. Sports is always a delicate balance between physical and mental... Tiger's mental state seems to be ruining his game right now.

[tortieterrible]

01:56 PM on 07/21/2010

Maria Sharapova is American?

[tortieterrible]

01:55 PM on 07/21/2010

Tiger sure is going bald.

[Clevelandinwi]

03:42 PM on 07/21/2010

Too much ***** does that.

[ThoughtAboutIt]

10:07 PM on 07/21/2010

LeBron appears to be balding quickly too and he is years younger than Tiger.

[NatTurner1]

01:26 PM on 07/21/2010

Wow, old school traditional golf lovers that pray Tiger never passes Jack are turning red as they read this. Quck, you may have to remove it!

[DickTater]

11:42 PM on 07/21/2010

Do you mean white folks?

[gditty]

12:04 PM on 07/21/2010

Everybody loves a winner, and like it or not most winners have narcissistic personality disorders.

[ThoughtAboutIt]

10:09 PM on 07/21/2010

True but most learn to fake humility at least a little. That's something LeBron appears clueless about.

[samoisdead]

10:31 PM on 07/21/2010

There's nothing humbling about winning.

[DickTater]

11:50 AM on 07/21/2010

Yeah, it seems odd to have two guys....Eldrick and Kobe....who have almost zero public personality, long histories of being arrogant and snobbish, poor skills at getting along with their peers, and who seem to do a fair amount of whoring around...are America's favorite athletes. Either the poll is flawed, or America is flawed.

[iGeek]

12:30 PM on 07/21/2010

You missed one important point, this is a sports poll and these two are the best at what they do.

[plzchuteme]

12:43 PM on 07/21/2010

The poll was about, "favorites," and not who was the best. Anna Kournikova was in the top five female athletes. That in itself blows up your theory.

[DickTater]

03:05 PM on 07/21/2010

I agree with plzchuteme....but I want to ask you iGeek....you think even if this poll were completely accurate and perfectly worded, that there is nothing wrong with America's new values and tastes? It seemed from your comment you had nothing to add or discuss with me, you just wanted to tell me I'm wrong or missing the point. Even if I were, do you not think it notable that two astoundingly arrogant bungholes are at the top of our people's hearts?

[Lohikaarme]

11:21 AM on 07/21/2010

Both of them cheated on their wives. It might be a requirement to be considered a favorite sport star.

[NatTurner1]

01:19 PM on 07/21/2010

its also a requirement for Senate (See John McCain)

[samoisdead]

10:34 PM on 07/21/2010

Cheating plagues a great many marriages, the funny part is peoples false shock and phony outrage.

[Skilletlicker]

10:55 AM on 07/21/2010

As a Tiger fan it's great to see him out on the course where he belongs as opposed to reading scripted statements at press conferences flagellating himself for his sins. His personal life is none of my business. He's an awesome competitor, he's great for the game, his meteoric ascent brought millions to the PGA and the purses of the tournaments and the golfers who compete every week. I'm not surprised that he's still popular - it took guts to come back to the tour after enduring months of global vilification.

[indie00015]

12:04 PM on 07/21/2010

I also admire the man's skill at golf. That doesn't mean I have to like him or root for him. Before we found out who the "real" Tiger was, I did root for him. Now, if given a choice between Tiger and Phil, coming down the final stretch on a Sunday afternoon, Phil's an easy choice.

It's great to see him getting his tail kicked on the "Tour" every weekend. Sure, he'll be back someday, but for now, I take great pleasure in seeing him struggle with his inner demons.

[319]

12:29 PM on 07/21/2010

"but for now, I take great pleasure in seeing him struggle with his inner demons."

You take pleasure from others struggles... your life must really suck!

Phil is no boy scout either.

[Chuck Ott]

09:44 AM on 07/21/2010

Now I have a reason to live. Thank you for validating my existence.

[onlyThis]

12:23 PM on 07/21/2010

You're welcome. What a polite young man.

[jayquintana]

07:34 AM on 07/21/2010

"...the company's survey of 2,227 adults conducted online from June 14-21"

Gee, what a scientific poll there. I mean, if this poll doesn't accurately represent 300 MILLION Americans, I'd be, like, stunned.

[MikeElPaso]

09:05 AM on 07/21/2010

Take it that your college education did not include statistics.

[ensley92]

11:45 AM on 07/21/2010

As a current math major, I thank you. Fanned and faved.

[iGeek]

12:32 PM on 07/21/2010

You assume he went to college.

[VivaldiPickpocket]

01:11 PM on 07/21/2010

The willingness of some people to expose their rank ignorance simple amazes.

At least it was worth a laugh. Non-statistically speaking, of course.

[Complex757]

07:19 AM on 07/21/2010

It's funny how the two most polarizing sports figures top the list.

[MikeElPaso]

09:06 AM on 07/21/2010

Good point.

[iGeek]

12:32 PM on 07/21/2010

Two of the best!