Favorite Athletes of All Time

If one can't meet Michelle, he should at least meet her mayo.

The other day I came across this fantastic picture (left) that my debate buddies (David Maus and David Dickmeyer) from Bethel and I took with a jar of mayo once owned by none other than the great figure skater, Michelle Kwan.  While meeting the jar of mayo was an exhilarating experience, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed about not having met Michelle, herself.  That's a little odd, right?  That a female athlete would be on my list of athletes I'd like to meet?

Well, Michelle is not alone.  I've decided to compile my list of my top 30 favorite athletes of all time.  This goes for any sport, any era, any point in their career, and any gender.  Keep in mind that this isn't a list of who I think were the greatest athletes in their sport or even the greatest at the time they were playing.  It's only a list of who was my favorite.  The ones I cheered for and the ones who shaped me as a fan; the ones who had a significant impact on my life.  I'd like to hear some who you'd all put on your lists.

30. Nomar Garciaparra.  I was a Nomar fan before the term "Red Sox Nation" was coined and the BoSox became my 2nd most hated team.  Also, he married Mia Hamm.  Pretty solid.

29. Vitor Belfort.  This is the young, pre-Zuffa-UFC Belfort.  He was unbelievable and incredibly entertaining to watch.

28. Reggie White.  He'd probably be slightly higher on this list if he hadn't played for the Packers.

27. Michelle Kwan. America's sweetheart.  I could never understand (and never will) why Jon Alexander insisted on rooting for Tara Lipinski (right/down) over her (left).  Come on, Jon.  Hasn't the time come for you to admit you were wrong?

26. Lloy Ball.  Long-time setter for the US national team.  Was the best in the world for a while and led the US men to a gold in '08.  I got to meet him once!

25. Art Monk.  I had a brief stint as a kid when I was a Redskins fan, and Monk was easily my favorite.  My love for him was very much confirmed during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech.  Amazing!

24. Napoleon Kaufman.  I loved watching him at UW and in the NFL, even though he got a raw deal in Oakland.  Never got the carries he deserved.

23. John Stockton.  Shortish, averageish white dude.  Dominates the record books?  How can I not love him?

22. Calvin Johnson.  Absolute stud, but humble.  The vast majority of people on this list are known for being great people, and not just great athletes (with some notable exceptions).

21. Jason Hanson. He's been a great Lion for so long that I can barely remember a time in my life when I wasn't a Jason Hanson fan.  So yes...a kicker really did make my list.

20. Misty May-Treanor.  I followed her collegiate career, where it was pretty obvious that she was going to be great.  I was a little disappointed when she moved to the beach, but then she became the greatest woman ever there, so my disappointment left.

19. Ichiro Suzuki.  I've been a Mariners fan since the late 80s.  Ichiro is the 2nd greatest Mariner of all time and their comeback into relevance in the early 2000s was due to his arrival.  Shame he's a Yankee now.

18. Roy Jones, Jr.  I got to watch a lot of his fights live, which was great.  For a long time he was in the same position Jon Jones is in now - unbeatable and with the only blemish on his record coming from the fact that he was slightly TOO dominant in a fight.  He was the greatest fighter I've ever watched.  Any weight class, boxing or MMA.

17. Randall Cunningham.  Until he became a Viking.  But man, was he fun to watch.  Great guy, too.

 16. Shawn Kemp.  Other than Vince Carter, probably the best in-game dunker I've ever watched.  Blake Griffin's working on claiming that title as well.  But I grew up a Sonics fan, so the combination of his explosiveness with his Sonicness gives him a high place in my book.  Then he got fat and fathered 74 children.

15. Matthew Stafford.  The long-awaited messiah of the Detroit Lions.  I'm sure by the time his career is over, both he and Calvin will be much, much higher on this list.
14. Eric Bienemy.  The first true favorite college football player I ever had.  I was in love with the Buffs in the late 80s/early 90s and I still remember watching them beat Notre Dame in the national championship when Rocket Ismael's kick return for a TD to win got called back for clipping.  Wow.

13. Darrell Green.  Other than Deion, the best DB I've ever watched.  Great person through his entire career.  Though a Redskin, he was my favorite defensive player in the league.

12. Kurt Warner.  True underdog, undrafted free agent becomes the savior of 2 teams!  He's a great man on top of it all.  Noticing a theme for my favorites?  Character counts.

11. Andre Agassi.  And just as soon as I say "character counts" I go straight to the guy who admitted to doing meth to keep his career afloat.  It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds.

10. Chris Spielman.  My favorite Lions defensive player ever.  So consistent.  Old school LB.  He also set a lot of sack records for me on Tecmo Super Bowl.

9. Steve Atwater.  I was raised as a Broncos fan (for my AFC team), and Atwater was the most entertaining safety (maybe ever) to watch.  You need - NEED - to watch this video!  He was the greatest pure hitter I've ever seen.  Easily. 

8. Peyton Manning.  Such a classy guy.  Smartest player I've ever watched.  I love seeing him back this year.

7. Marcus Camby.  He is my favorite college basketball player of all time.  I loved him at UMass.

6. John Elway.  Like I said - I was a big Broncos fan (2nd only to my Lions) and Elway was what made them tick.  In my opinion, he's the 2nd greatest QB of all time, right behind Peyton Manning.

5. Corey Schlessinger.  Yes, a fullback is my 5th favorite athlete of all time.  You have to understand, though, that I was a bit of a Nebraska Cornhuskers fan in the early-mid 90s.  Corey Schlessinger almost single-handedly won the Huskers the national title against Miami in '95.  Then he was drafted by the Lions and was Barry's lead blocker for the start of his career.  The perfect storm of fan-dom.  College favorite to pro favorite.

4. Karch Kiraly.  Greatest volleyball player of all time, maybe both indoors and beach.  But definitely beach.  I used to love watching the classic matchups on NBC on Sundays in the summer between he and his partner Kent Steffes against Mike Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh.

3. David Robinson.  The Admiral.  I had the great fortune of growing up when the greatest NBA players of all time were almost all playing simultaneously.  That's an exaggeration, but a whole bunch of them were.  Robinson was my favorite.  Fantastic guy.  Dominant.  I used to wear around a t-shirt with him on the front that said, "David Robinson: the Quickest Big Man to Ever Play the Game."  Might just be true.  Either him or Hakeem.

2. Ken Griffey, Jr.  It was nearly impossible to make him 2 rather than 1b.  But that's just cheating.  I like football more, so Griffey gets the #2 spot.  If he hadn't gotten injured so much he'd have the HR record and would have been clean getting it.  He is responsible for making me a Mariners fan.  I used to have about 150 of his cards.

1. Barry Sanders.  Greatest RB of all time.  Hands down.  Sterling Sharp once said that if Barry Sanders had Emmitt Smith's offensive line he would rush for 3000 yards per season.  He was that great.  And once again - a great man who has done a lot in the city of Detroit both during his playing days and after.  There will never be another like him.

I'm sure I'm missing a couple that I'll kick myself later for not adding.  I think just as much fun as, if not more fun than, making this list would be making a list of players I most disliked.  That list could get far too long, though, so I'll refrain.