Michael Jordan Remains Nation’s Favorite Sports Star, Closely Followed by Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods

Once again Michael Jordan is America’s favorite sports star even though he has been retired since 2002 and Mia Hamm is the country’s favorite female sports star.

Jordan is comfortably in first place though there are hints that others, including Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, in second place, and golfer Tiger Woods, in third place, are perhaps knocking on the door to replace Jordan as America’s favorite. Manning has shot up to second place (from last year’s 7^th spot) after his record-breaking performance in this year’s professional football season.

These are the results of a Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactive^® among a nationwide sample of 2,209 U.S. adults between January 11 and 16, 2005.

Harris Interactive has asked this question of the public almost every year since 1993, and Michael Jordan has been the nation’s favorite sports star on every occasion. It will be interesting to see how long this truly remarkable run will continue.

Michael Jordan’s reign at the top of the list (long after his string of championships in the 1990s) speaks to the absence of big stars among this generation’s athletes. No athlete today seems to transcend the game as Michael Jordan once did. However, when one looks at different groups within the population, Jordan is not the universal favorite that he once was. For example, while Jordan remains the favorite among young adults aged 18-29 and among women, Tiger Woods or Peyton Manning are the favorite among men, and among those aged 30-39, 40-49, and 50 and over.

Other athletes who make it into this year’s top-10 list of favorite sports stars (after Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods) are Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre (#4), New York Yankees star Derek Jeter (#5), the Miami Heat’s Shaquille O’Neal (#6), New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (#7), race car driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#8), Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb (#9) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (#10) This is the first time that Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger have made it into the Harris Interactive top-10 listing.

While basketball stars have contributed many of the nation’s favorite stars in the past Harris Polls, this year, football players have five out of the ten spots; while basketball has only two spots and one of them (Jordan) is retired.

Last year no women made it into the top-10 listing of favorite athletes. However, for the second time, Harris Interactive also asked the public to name their favorite female sports stars. Soccer superstar, Mia Hamm, tops the list reflecting not only her popularity but also the recent accolades she been receiving as she announced her retirement.

The list demonstrates how women’s sports overall have permeated the national consciousness with five different sports (tennis, soccer, ice skating, golf, and basketball) each contributing at least one player to this year’s top-10 list.

Following Mia Hamm are tennis stars Serena Williams (#2) and older sister Venus Williams (#3).They are followed by figure skater Michelle Kwan (#4), tennis player Anna Kournikova (#5), and golfer Annika Sorenstam (#6). Others in the top-10 are: basketball player Lisa Leslie (#7), former tennis superstars Billie Jean King (=#8) and Martina Navratilova (=8), retired gymnast Mary Lou Retton (=#9), former tennis star Chris Evert (=#9) and the teenage golf phenomenon Michelle Wei (#10).

"Who is your favorite sports star?"

Base: All adults

* Not listed in that year

Tom Brady (#7), Ben Roethlisberger (#10)

Kobe Bryant (was #6), Allen Iverson (was #8)

Base: All adults

*Difference is statistically insignificant.

"Thinking about the female sports stars you like, which ones are your favorites?"

Base: All adults

* Not listed in that year

Billie Jean King (=#8), Martina Navratilova (=#8), Mary Lou Retton (=#9)

Sheryl Swoopes (was #10)

Base: All adults

*Difference is statistically insignificant.

The Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between January 11 and 16, 2005 among a nationwide cross section of 2,209 adults aged 18 and over. Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results for the overall sample have a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Sampling error for the various sub-samples listed in the tables above is higher and varies. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample is not a probability sample.

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Q1151, Q1160