Most popular athlete IN THE WORLD ever to wear no. 23: Jordan or Beckham?

[quote=Mor'Fiyah]No need. We have plenty foreign opinions right here. I am one of them:

While the superior popularity of soccer over basketball gives Beckham a huge leg up on Jordan, this is more than tempered by the fact that Beckham isn't considered world class by the soccer purist. Beckham is a fashionista athlete. And athlete known more for his exploits, behaviour, looks, and fashion sense OFF the field than his skill on it. Beckham is Anna Kournikova to the nth degree before Anna Kournikova was Anna Kournikova. If the question is who is more a household name... its likely a tie. They are both household names that just about everyone in the world knows. If the question is who is more popularly known for excellence in their sport (which is what the question would seem to generally imply), the answer is Michael Jordan. Easy.[/quote]

Spot on.

And popularity is not measured by how many people know you, but by how many people like you. Hitler isn't popular.