ESPN World Fame 100 list

4everchan · May 23, 2018

one thing to mention... social media is many things... a skater doesn't need to have an instagram to be the center of social media... yuzu has a lot of of presence on social media, including on this site. (and others specifically dedicated to him)... it's not like he is completely cut from social media.. his fans do the job for him.

Danny T · May 23, 2018

The problem lies with the author, I think. I read her write-ups for 3 other skaters in the 25 Famous Female Athletes list, and they are just as inane as this piece about Hanyu. (The 3 are Tessa Virtue, Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva). Even within the same list (with focus on the fame) other journalists are plainly better at writing about each athlete and their respective sports.

But obviously ESPN has nobody that can write figure skating, so oh well, I'll take it.

Also, unrelated to FS: why do people assume the top 10 or even 20 will change if a different publication/country makes it? IDK, I don't follow all the sports listed, but I know all those people's names so it seems fair to me. Summer sports are also way more popular than winter, so not surprised at the disproportion. I mean, not to be rude, but do ESPN really need restraint to not include many Americans at the top? Maybe Americans are just not as famous and/or exceptional at some of the most famous sports (the real football, for one). Food for thoughts :laugh:

4everchan · May 23, 2018

in countries like norway or canada, you would find more winter sports for sure..

and IIRC, there were no hockey players on that list... well.. that would never happen in canada.... so yes, it is regionally sensitive

or just take the swimmers.. did ESPN list 3 Chinese swimmers?? What about Katinka Hosszú who won 3 gold in Rio...

it's just a list... and it doesn't mean much IMHO.

TallyT · May 23, 2018

Danny T said:
I mean, not to be rude, but do ESPN really need restraint to not include many Americans at the top? Maybe Americans are just not as famous and/or exceptional at some of the most famous sports (the real football, for one). Food for thoughts

I was surprised at the number of cricketers myself, but my male relatives would probably latch onto that...

YuanFang · May 23, 2018

Well, you are right. However, as ESPN stated, "if an athlete had no confirmed social media account, we marked a "0" for social media" so in this case, Hanyu's social media is listed as 0.

squall1111 · May 23, 2018

I am still satisfied overall with the ranking. ESPN and Sports Illustrated are the most powerful sports magazines in the world, so I am glad he made it in the ranking of such a big publication. That being said, I am hopefull Fox TV will take note that Yuzuru made it to the ESPN World 100 list and seriously consider him a nominee for Teen Choice Awards. I want to see Yuzuru in the Red Carpet and TCA which will introduce him to a large NA demographic.

squall1111 · May 23, 2018

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
Agreed. This was just supposed to be a list with some descriptions to make it interesting - listing out things like total Grand Prix Final wins or progression of personal best points is so esoteric to figure skating aficionados and meaningless to a general sports audience. The article got the bare bones and the stuff about the Poohs was relevant in the context of the article being about fame. Not about records or wins - just what makes an athlete famous or iconic and that's a signature of his. Not to mention the article showed restraint by not including American skaters like Chen or Rippon who has recently become arguably more famous (worldwide, that is) than any other figure skater who competed in PC - including Hanyu - and arguably some of the athletes on this list. Even more so now with his success on DWTS. I believe part of this list about fame should reflect social prowess across the World, and the top athletes should not just be concentrated in a few select counties or just one main one.

Although I suppose Hanyu's recognition on the list will not be enough for some fans, and they want ESPN to have a picture perfect description and/or aggrandize this list as some sort of beacon or opportunity for figure skating promotion when it is what it is - just a plain old list.

And to answer an earlier question I'm sure a figure skater has been on ESPN's cover but it's been probably someone like Michelle Kwan.

I don't think people should be clutching their pearls so much that an American sports magazine isn't giving the higher credence to a figure skater, from Japan at that. Just like I'm sure Lebron shouldn't be too offended if Japanese sports networks aren't exactly airing/covering the NBA a whole lot.

And to reiterate, the list is still diverse -- 33 countries and 15 sports are represented and the US only has one athlete in the top 5.

But then again Adam Rippon made it into Time's most influential 100 while Hanyu did not. So I think Adam too has had his exposure in US media too.

xeyra · May 23, 2018

I'm glad he made the list. Wish the writer had made better use of their trip to Japan to write a more substantial paragraph about his actual skating achievements like other writers did for other athletes, but I'll take it, 'deam lover', auntie fans, Pooh and all, just because he managed to make the list just by sheer google search power ranking.

chopinskate · May 23, 2018

Danny T said:
I mean, not to be rude, but do ESPN really need restraint to not include many Americans at the top? Maybe Americans are just not as famous and/or exceptional at some of the most famous sports (the real football, for one). Food for thoughts

:cool14:

Related to this, I thought the article was pretty garbage. The POV style where an author attends an event or goes to someone's house just never works out well for athletes IMO, as it might for actors or musicians. OTOH, one could argue that Yuzuru isn't just an athlete -- he is currently one of the definitions of figure skating in its essence of athleticism and artistry, which kind of does put him in the same basket as an actor or a musician. Here, however, given that they acknowledge that figure skating doesn't really get a spot in the sunlight, perhaps they should've kept a serious tone, in order to sell Hanyu and the sport more appropriately. At the very least, the tone they adopted wields a double-edged sword.

Not sure how the methodology for this works. For instance, what kind of social media was used? Assuming they used media like Weibo, IG, Twitter, FB, then on a global level this list might not change if made in a different country, because, for example, football will have a lot of clout in the majority of the world, whereas Ice Hockey will have some clout in the countries where snowy winters are an actual thing, but would still compete with football. The real football, as Danny T puts it.

FCSSp4 · May 23, 2018

xeyra said:
I'm glad he made the list. Wish the writer had made better use of their trip to Japan to write a more substantial paragraph about his actual skating achievements like other writers did for other athletes, but I'll take it, 'deam lover', auntie fans, Pooh and all, just because he managed to make the list just by sheer google search power ranking.

I have a friend in Nagoya who knows Hanyu eventhough he doesn't watch FS. He is a superstar in Japan alone, but his fanbase in Asian countries is quite prolific. Even outside Japan, he has his own little section in bookstores! If he had social media he probably would make it higher on the list but I feel like he and his family like to keep it low profile which makes this an even bigger accomplishment. On that alone I'd take the mediocre article. He is good for this sport.

Li'Kitsu · May 23, 2018

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
The article got the bare bones and the stuff about the Poohs was relevant in the context of the article being about fame. Not about records or wins - just what makes an athlete famous or iconic and that's a signature of his. Not to mention the article showed restraint by not including American skaters like Chen or Rippon who has recently become arguably more famous (worldwide, that is) than any other figure skater who competed in PC - including Hanyu - and arguably some of the athletes on this list. Even more so now with his success on DWTS. I believe part of this list about fame should reflect social prowess across the World, and the top athletes should not just be concentrated in a few select counties or just one main one.

Funny how you tried to point fingers again upthread by talking about "people deriding other athletes who didn't make the list" and then turn around insinuating Adam/Nathan could have made the list above Yuzu if not for ~diversity~ of represented countries and the "restrain" shown by ESPN. Yikes.
Also, what's wrong with hoping a figure skater appearing on the top100 famous athletes list - from a big enough magazine to get attention from people who haven't seen Yuzu/FS before - could bring more attention to FS? :shrug:

And what's so horrible about voicing your disappointment with a written article - a public work possible to be criticized as basically every public thing in this world is - as long as it stays in a respectful manner? You might not agree with the criticism the article got, but it was fairly voiced criticism, and there is zero reason to deride the people stating it and portraying them as some rabid ubers for... reasons, I guess :shrug:

(But then, am I surprised? Lol)

Ah, and no, Yuzu isn't famous because he has the Poohs - he gets so many Poohs because he is famous. And I personally also don't see how "he broke the Wolrd Records in Figure Skating several times" or "he holds the most consecutive wins of a major FS championship" are so "esoteric" to mention, but "OMG, millions of Poohs!" and "all his fans are middle-aged women, some who want to bang him" isn't. But okay.

russianfan · May 23, 2018

Yatagarasu said:
10 cricketers
...
0 baseball/hockey players

i don't even know what cricket is lol

chopinskate · May 23, 2018

russianfan said:
i don't even know what cricket is lol

... I just imagined FS-style wars about favourite cricketers, and it's a thing I didn't know I needed until now.

TallyT · May 23, 2018

russianfan said:
i don't even know what cricket is lol

Unless you are born and/or raised in the British Commonwealth, don't try to understand, it's probably impossible (I am not a fan, but belong to a family of cricket nutters so know more than I ever wanted to about how they can play for a whole day, be nought for nought at the end, and it's a great day's play. Or how they can play for days and end up a draw. Or with three or four draws in a five match tour)

(However I would claim that its one of the most aesthetically pleasing sports since 99% of men do by definition look better in cricket whites.)

It's huge in India, and India is huge, so their stars make the list even though their fame may be restricted to a few countries.

Danny T · May 23, 2018

russianfan said:
i don't even know what cricket is lol

LOL you didn't miss much. I had to do it in secondary school for 1 semester and boy, was it mind-numbingly boring.

I think the list is quite fair, considering it's World Fame. I'm only surprised by so many cricketers and yet no baseball players. What happened to baseball?? But hey, at least Hanyu made the correct career choice; I LOL'd everytime I remember him wanting to become a professional baseball player as a kid.

Imagine him playing against Shohei Ohtani ...

xeyra · May 23, 2018

Danny T said:
Imagine him playing against Shohei Ohtani ...

He may be tiny but he's got an arm on him! :laugh:

Neenah16 · May 23, 2018

So the author was sent all the way to Japan, attended the parade in Sendai and an ice show that was impossible to get tickets for just to write a basic introductory article that included very little :shocked:

I am definitely in the wrong profession :drama:

Yatagarasu · May 23, 2018

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
Not to mention the article showed restraint by not including American skaters like Chen or Rippon who has recently become arguably more famous (worldwide, that is) than any other figure skater who competed in PC - including Hanyu - and arguably some of the athletes on this list.

https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/uyuni-salt-piles-picture-id119247488

squall1111 · May 23, 2018

Neenah16 said:
So the author was sent all the way to Japan, attended the parade in Sendai and an ice show that was impossible to get tickets for just to write a basic introductory article that included very little :shocked:

I am definitely in the wrong profession

She could have saved the hassle and money and just hired a sensible Hanyu fan to write a better article than her to he honest. But then again, ESPN did hire her for her expertise in figure skating I presume? Hope someone sends her constructive feedback on the article via twitter.

sydney · May 23, 2018

Not to mention the article showed restraint by not including American skaters like Chen or Rippon who has recently become arguably more famous (worldwide, that is) than any other figure skater who competed in PC - including Hanyu - and arguably some of the athletes on this list.'

I can't believe that I'm reading that , maybe in North America , Rippon & Chen have more recognition , but I can assure you that outside NA , nobody that I know remember about them or at least they're way less talked about . For figure skating , peoples talk to me about Hanyu , Zagitova , Nagasu and Virtue/Moir that's all .

ESPN World Fame 100 list

4everchan

Danny T

4everchan

TallyT

YuanFang

squall1111

Match Penalty

squall1111

Match Penalty

xeyra

Constant state

chopinskate

FCSSp4

Li'Kitsu

russianfan

Match Penalty

chopinskate

TallyT

Danny T

xeyra

Constant state

Neenah16

Yatagarasu

squall1111

Match Penalty

sydney

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