# I wonder what it's like for a celebrity to NOT be noticed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 5, 2016, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211 "2016-01-05T08:34:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/61 "2016-01-07T10:33:57Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Back when I had my restaurant, one of my regular customers brought a buddy in for breakfast. The buddy was a little more scruffy than most of my guests (mine was literally the only restaurant in a very small town, so a lot of people seemed to think they ought to gussy up, in case they ran into the preacher’s wife or the ex or whatever.) Beyond his general dishevelment, I took no real notice - brought his coffee, cooked his eggs, whatever. Another guest told me at lunch time that he was Jan-Michael Vincent. And that still didn’t ring a bell for me. I learned from his host later that JMV was pretty offended by my lack of recognition. I still don’t know who he was. > . I suppose a celebrity MIGHT take a person truly not recognizing them personally as a slight like “I dont like your stuff” type of thing. Like say a famous athlete comes in, you know who they are, but you dont like them and you just pretend to act innocent. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/62 "2016-01-07T10:37:03Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > This goes to show that in the world of sports, there are comparatively few truly global celebrities. In many parts of Europe, 95 percent of all people would not be able to even name one NFL player and 99,9 percent don’t know a single MLB player. That’s true for say soccer, hockey, or baseball. But lets say a very tall athletic looking african american walks in. People would guess pretty quick they are a basketball player. Or say a 400 pound Japanese with a ponytail is probably a sumo wrestler. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/63 "2016-01-07T10:40:29Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > [Marc Zwiebler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Zwiebler) is the best German badminton player who is currently ranked 14th in the world, but he hasn’t won a really big title. Even seasoned sports journalists from his home country probably would not recognize him if they sat next him on a plane. > > However, Zwiebler once described what it was like when he traveled to a tournament in Asia where badminton is a big, big sport: At the airport, he was greeted by camera crews, photographers with flashlights and crowds of cheering fans who wanted his autograph. > > On the other hand, there was [Thomas Gottschalk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gottschalk), a German entertainer/TV host who was so popular in his heyday that he could not be seen in public without being surrounded by paparazzi and nosy fans instantly. To escape from this, Gottschalk bought a house in Malibu where nobody had ever heard of him. He only flew to Germany to produce his shows there. I’m curious and would love to know why badminton would be a big sport in Asia. Is it something about the game itself? Or is it because badminton courts are much smaller than tennis courts and space is at a premium in Asia? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/64 "2016-01-07T11:19:40Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > That’s true for say soccer, hockey, or baseball. > > But lets say a very tall athletic looking african american walks in. People would guess pretty quick they are a basketball player. Or say a 400 pound Japanese with a ponytail is probably a sumo wrestler. … Excuse me, your stereotypes are hurting my eyes… A very tall, athletic looking dude may get questions of “let me guess, you play basket?” but that’s not the same as people saying “OMGYOURHAKEEMOLAJUWONCANIHAVEYOURAUTOGRAPH”. I don’t know what % of NBA players are African-American but I can tell you Mr. Olajuwon happens to be Nigerian by birth; whether moving to the US or getting American citizenship made him African-American will depend on your definitions. A 400 pound Japanese-looking dude with a ponytail might be a Japanese-American who used to play as a lineman; again, thinking maybe he is a sumo wrestler, or a weight lifter, or a lineman, is not the same as recognizing him as someone famous. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/65 "2016-01-07T11:21:30Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I’m curious and would love to know why badminton would be a big sport in Asia. > > Is it something about the game itself? Or is it because badminton courts are much smaller than tennis courts and space is at a premium in Asia? I don’t know. The Asians absolutely dominate the sport (see for instance: [List of Olympic medalists in badminton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists_in_badminton)). Maybe it has to do with the agility that is required, but that might or might not be a stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/66 "2016-01-07T11:44:12Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > But lets say a very tall athletic looking african american walks in. People would guess pretty quick they are a basketball player. . Or a [West Indian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtly_Ambrose) [fasts bowler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Garner)? Or an [African footballer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Drogba). or a [Brazilian goal keeper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Drogba)? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/67 "2016-01-07T11:48:33Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > I don’t know. The Asians absolutely dominate the sport (see for instance: [List of Olympic medalists in badminton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists_in_badminton)). Maybe it has to do with the agility that is required, but that might or might not be a stereotype. FTR “Asia” begins at Istanbul. Its very popular in the ASEAN nations. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/68 "2016-01-07T12:54:21Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > I don’t know. The Asians absolutely dominate the sport (see for instance: [List of Olympic medalists in badminton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists_in_badminton)). Maybe it has to do with the agility that is required, but that might or might not be a stereotype. Badminton is a fun game played in American backyards. You mean people make money at it? Now your going to tell me there are also professional ping pong players. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/69 "2016-01-07T13:00:59Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Badminton is a fun game played in American backyards. You mean people make money at it? > > Now your going to tell me there are also professional ping pong players. It would appear so. But it comes even better: Apparently, there are countries were grown men play a game professionally in which one man throws a ball into the air and another man tries to hit the ball with a wooden stick. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/70 "2016-01-07T13:08:09Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > FTR “Asia” begins at Istanbul. Its very popular in the ASEAN nations. But ASEAN wouldn’t include India, and India has some top badminton players too. The aforementioned German badminton player Marc Zwiebler, BTW, has also played for a professional badminton team in India. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/71 "2016-01-07T14:26:00Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Yeah but you guys know Unca Google… I use him all the time when people talk about US politicians, brands or TV programs, for example. That use hasn’t broken my wrists yet. But there is a noticeable amount of US posters who make a point of posts like that one. Sigh. Yes, I _could_ have Googled “Lionel Messi” to answer my question. But I was in the midst of a post (and on my phone, which will delete anything I’m composing if I open another screen to go to Google), and thought I’d get more entertaining answers if I asked it here. You seem to think my question was a stealth-slur at soccer or Europeans. I can only offer you my word that it wasn’t; the only subtext to it was, “I’ve heard this guy’s name, I think he’s a soccer player, but I can’t be arsed to go to Google to find out”. I fully accept that he must be one of the most famous players in the world, and that soccer is the most popular sport in the world, so therefore, he must be one of the most famous athletes in the world. But I don’t follow soccer, and professional soccer is not that big in the U.S., so pop culture osmosis doesn’t work with him the way it does with, say, Kobe Bryant. Sorry. Works both ways, though. I wouldn’t expect you to recognize [this guy](http://www.stlcardinalbaseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/jackie-robinson.jpg), even though he was one of the greatest and most significant people in his field (and, indeed, in wider American culture) and almost all Americans know his name. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/72 "2016-01-07T14:34:13Z")
NBA basketball, BTW, is an American professional sport that has a significant global appeal. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki are household names in Europe (and I guess also in other parts of the world). ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/73 "2016-01-07T14:53:24Z")
I don’t even own a Messi. What is it, some kind of internet or something? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/74 "2016-01-07T15:03:54Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > And I have no idea who Tom Brady or Peter Manning is (though I guess you are talking about Peyton Manning from what is posted below, who from context I’d guess is a Denver based athlete. I’d guess football - but I haven’t watched a football game in fifteen years, don’t read the sports page or pick up sports based literature. I follow a little golf, and sometimes a little baseball. I hear my local football team made the playoffs, I think, because someone hinted at such a thing on my Facebook page. > > And he isn’t the face of those brands in the U.S., because most Americans don’t have a clue who he is. And you would be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/75 "2016-01-07T15:18:21Z")
Messi is in several american commercials and is much more well known amongst younger people who increasingly like footie and play FIFA. Amongst Latinos who tend to love Barcelona he is a God. Lets fight ignorance, not revel in it. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/76 "2016-01-07T15:41:05Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > And you would be wrong. Wrong about what, that he is the face of Adidas in the U.S? Well, honestly, I wouldn’t know - I haven’t ever seen an Adidas ad. So I very well could be wrong. Which is the other issue - advertising is targeted to the audience who is going to appreciate the advertising. I’m not likely to see an Adidas ad, because I don’t watch television where there are ads (everything via Netflix or Amazon) and don’t pick up the type of magazines where they advertise athletic shoes. He’d have to be on a billboard for me to know, it which case its “good looking guy on billboard.” (I didn’t realize Adidas was still a brand. My last awareness of them as a brand is probably from the early 1980s). So for someone in sports to be the face of Pepsi - Pepsi is going to play those ads to the people who appreciate them. The only Pepsi ads I’ve seen - that I recall - with someone famous in them are the Beyoncé ads that they play in front of movies. And Nava, yes, I could Google him, I wasn’t reacting to my own ignorance, I was reacting to the surprise that someone wouldn’t know who he was. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/77 "2016-01-07T15:47:21Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Messi is in several american commercials and is much more well known amongst younger people who increasingly like footie and play FIFA. Amongst Latinos who tend to love Barcelona he is a God. Lets fight ignorance, not revel in it. I’m trying to fight it by explaining how someone can be unknown who is very well known to a really big population. (Ken Griffey, Jr. made it into the hall of fame last night. Unanimous other than three people - best vote ever. I might retain that information a little longer, my husband follows baseball and my son plays. You know who is second in the best vote ever category. Tom Seaver. I’d never heard of him. Apparently, possibly the best starting pitcher ever. But played in the 1970s when I wasn’t at all baseball aware. [Tom Seaver - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Seaver)) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/78 "2016-01-07T16:27:28Z")
Pop culture and sports are both full of niches. I’m aware of the Khardashian Klan, but I wouldn’t know one if he or she showed up at my front door. Same with NASCAR drivers - I’ve heard the names but don’t really know the faces. And among the current crop of big-name actors, I might have heard a name and know it’s movie-related, but that’s where it ends. I know Tony Romo is the Dallas QB who missed most of the season due to a broken collarbone, only because it brought my husband to tears (almost…) but I couldn’t pick him out in a crowd if he wasn’t wearing his name on his back. I don’t think any of the above examples mean I’m defective or oblivious. They just illustrate my lack of interest in sports and many celebs. And none of them know me either, despite my fame here on the Dope, so we’re even. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/79 "2016-01-07T16:28:46Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Messi is in several american commercials and is much more well known amongst younger people who increasingly like footie and play FIFA. Amongst Latinos who tend to love Barcelona he is a God. Lets fight ignorance, not revel in it. Who’s revelling in their ignorance? Mine’s been fought - I now know that Messi is a famous soccer player, and, since **AK84** implicitly compared him to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, I infer that he’s among the elite of his sport. I also get from your post that he plays for Barcelona FC (which I _have_ heard of, FTR; Barcelona - Real Madrid is one of soccer’s famous rivalries, no?). What **Dangerosa** and I are reacting to is the offense that our ignorance has provoked (I think, under assumption that it’s feigned. It’s not.) I don’t enjoy soccer, but I’m not blind to the fact that billions of people around the world _do_. My mileage just varies. Bringing this back to the OP, I imagine Messi must enjoy coming to the U.S., for the opportunity to walk down the street without attracting a crowd. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211/80 "2016-01-07T16:34:58Z")
Yeah, but my point was that Messi is someone who is extremely ordinary looking and if dressed down, would not attract attention anywhere. Unlike Beckham. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-what-its-like-for-a-celebrity-to-not-be-noticed/742211.md?page=5)