Tiger Woods Becomes Nation’s Favorite Sports Star as Michael Jordan Drops to Number Two for First Time in 13 Years

For the first time since 1993, an athlete has stepped up to claim the number one spot from Michael Jordan as the nation’s favorite sports star: Tiger Woods. Venus Williams returns as the nation’s favorite female sports star after a one-year absence, and sister Serena Williams is right behind her in the number two spot.

These are the results of a Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactive^® among a nationwide sample of 2,085 U.S. adults between May 9 and 16, 2006.

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 previous occasion.

Other athletes who make it into this year’s top-10 list of favorite sports stars (after Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan) are Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre (No. 3), New York Yankees star Derek Jeter (No. 4), race car driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (No. 5), the Miami Heat’s Shaquille O’Neal (No. 6), LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant (No. 7), Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James (No. 8), race car driver Jeff Gordon (= No. 9) and San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds (= No. 9). Kobe Bryant returns to the list after dropping off last year and LeBron James, Jeff Gordon and Barry Bonds all appear on the list for the first time.

This top-10 contains an interesting mix of sports stars, with four basketball players, two race car drivers, two baseball players, one golfer and one football player. This is in contrast to last year, when there were five football players – four of whom (Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Donovan McNabb and Ben Rothlisberger) have dropped out of the top-10 this year.

Regionally, in the East, Derek Jeter is number one, while Barry Bonds tops the list in the West. Brett Favre reigns the Midwest, while Michael Jordon is still the favorite of the South. There are also differences in favorites by generation. Both Echo Boomers (those ages 18 to 29) and Baby Boomers (those ages 42 to 60) still carry a torch for the retired Michael Jordan, while Shaquille O’Neal is number one with Gen Xers (those ages 30 to 41). Matures (those ages 61 and older) say Tiger Woods is their favorite. Considering all of these differences, notably men and women both agree that Tiger Woods is number one.

Though no female athlete broke into the top-10 this year, the American public has their favorites among them. The Williams sisters top the list with Venus in the number one position and sister Serena in the number two spot. Last year’s favorite, Mia Hamm, has fallen to number three in this year’s list of top-10 female sports stars.

Following the top three is teen golf sensation Michelle Wie (No. 4), race car driver Danica Patrick (No. 5), figure skater Michelle Kwan (No. 6), golfer Annika Sorenstam (No. 7), tennis player Maria Sharapova (No. 8), tennis player Anna Kournikova (No. 9), and figure skater Sasha Cohen (No. 10).

While men and women have no differences in their favorite overall sports star, there is one in the favorite female category. Men prefer Serena Williams, while Venus is number one among women.

"Who is your favorite sports star?"

Base: All adults

* Not listed in that year

Those who are returning to the Top 10 This Year
Kobe Bryant (was No. 6 in 2004)

Those who are new to the Top 10 This Year
LeBron James (#8), Jeff Gordon (= No. 9), Barry Bonds (= No. 9)

Those on the 2005 List Who Have Dropped Out of the Top 10 This Year
Peyton Manning (was No. 2), Tom Brady (was No. 7), Donovan McNabb (was No. 9), Ben Rothlisberger (was No. 10)

Base: All adults

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

Base: All adults

* Not listed in that year

Those who are new to Top 10 This Year
Danica Patrick (No. 5), Maria Sharapova (No. 8), Sasha Cohen (No. 10)

Those on the 2005 List Who Have Dropped Out of the Top Ten This Year
Lisa Leslie (was No. 7), Billie Jean King (was = No. 8), Martina Navratilova (was = No 8), Chris Evert (was No. 9), Mary Lou Retton (was = No. 9)

Base: All adults

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between May 9 and 16, 2006 among 2,085 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, 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.

All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.

With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.

With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 2,085 adults one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2 percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

J27799

Q1151, 1160