Who Are the Most Famous Athletes?

Who are most famous athletes? Who are the most famous anything for that matter? Fame is a very subjective concept that can be very difficult to measure. In this day and age, maybe the best indicator of popularity is the number of Internet searches for a particular person or subject. Therefore, I based my list off the top searched sports stars of 2011 according to Yahoo!’s Year in Review. It should be noted that the list is based on American searches, so soccer mega-stars such as Messi, Kaka, and Beckham were not included. The most represented sport was a tie between tennis and basketball with three stars from each respective sport. In terms of gender, the list was also a split with five male and five female athletes.

The top spot belongs to auto racing vixen Danica Patrick. The former IndyCar Series driver had an impressive 2011 on the NACAR Nationwide Series, claiming 4th place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5. Her advertising campaign with GoDaddy.com has without doubt helped her in the search department as well.

As the world's highest paid athlete and winner of 14 major golf championships, Woods' presence on this list would not be a surprise at any point over the last decade. What was a surprise was his famous infidelity scandal over the course of 2010 and the downfall of his golf game afterwards. With a win recent win at the Chevron World Challenge though, it seems that he may be back on the upswing.

Many of the most famous athletes are multi-talented, but few are to the degree of Manny Pacquiao. As if six world boxing titles wasn't impressive enough, the current WBO welterweight champion is a member of the House of Representatives in the Philippines. The charismatic Pacquiao is also a talented singer and has released multiple albums.

The Russian-born tennis player is currently ranked fourth in the world to finish out 2011. Sharapova has won three Grand Slam titles, but her appeal extends far off the court. She garners considerable attention as a key marketing face for both Nike and Canon. She is also a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador.

With 27 Grand Slam titles (13 singles), Serena Williams is one of the most dominant tennis players in the history of the sport. Aside from her presence in the world of fashion, Williams also made headlines in 2011 for a couple other reasons. She suffered a medical scare as the result of a hematoma and pulmonary embolism. An angry outburst at the chair umpire in the U.S. Open Finals also gave her search total a bump.

Attaching yourself to a Kardashian is a sure way to become one of the most famous athletes even if you have career averages of 5.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. The New Jersey Net forward became a household name when he began dating reality star Kim Kardashian and subsequently married her in August. The $2 million dollar ring he purchased wasn't enough to make it last, and the couple separated near the end of October.

In many ways, 2011 was the year of hope...Hope Solo that is. The former University of Washington goalie became a household name as she starred in the United States' run to the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals. The beautiful Solo further expanded her celebrity with an appearance on Dancing with the Stars this past fall.

A mainstay amongst the world's most famous athletes, Bryant continued his domination in search engines despite the NBA lockout's postponement of the 2011-2012 season. The five-time NBA champion and one of the greats to ever play basketball is amongst the top five highest paid athletes in the world.

Ninth on the list is Bryant's teammate, Lamar Odom. Though Odom is a talented player, his celebrity is another case of Kardashian Syndrome. Lamar married Khloe Kardashian in 2009 and has been a frequent cast member of Keeping Up with the Kardashians ever since.

Caroline Wozniacki is currently the number one ranked women's tennis player. The Danish athlete is the winner of 18 WTA singles titles. She had to do some explaining to the media at the 2011 Australian Open after they mistakenly believed her farce about being attacked by a kangaroo. Wozniacki also dates star golfer Rory Mcllroy.

There you have it, a list of the most famous athletes of 2011. Please feel free to leave any comments or opinions of your own about who deserves to be on the list.