# Who would you say are the top 5 most famous sports teams in the world. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 5, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804 "2011-05-05T03:42:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/161 "2011-05-10T21:10:34Z")
> [@boxedlunch](#): > > This thread was an interesting read for me, as it gives a wider perspective than one of my own. > > I’m wondering if someone can clear something up for me here. Why does saying someone is “delusional” rate as an insult and calling someone ignorant does not? For me, I don’t rate either as an insult, because everybody is blinded by their own hopes sometimes and sometimes not knowing is nothing to be ashamed of. > > However, I’m surprised that the first is deemed an insult, while the second is not, particularly in the context of “you are ignorant ALL THE TIME”. Now, that seems like a true insult, and yet one was called out, and one wasn’t. From an outsider’s viewpoint, it appears that if you have ‘Charter Member’ in your title, you can do no wrong, and if you disagree with same, you are “insulting”. I’m not sure if you are ignorant or delusional about which is the proper forum for this question. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![boxedlunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@boxedlunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boxedlunch)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/162 "2011-05-10T21:27:49Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’m not sure if you are ignorant or delusional about which is the proper forum for this question. 😛 Oh, there’s no question I’m ignorant. I definately don’t have the "do"s and the "don’t"s of this board down. You can call me ignorant about this all you like and it wouldn’t bother me a bit, nor insult me. As for the question of delusion, to be honest, I couldn’t tell you if I am or not. Perhaps time will tell. As for my ignorance of all things this board, I can only point out that I’m asking questions to overcome this, though if I ever obtain full knowledge, I’m not likely to brag to anybody about it. ---
**Author:** ![boxedlunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@boxedlunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boxedlunch)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/163 "2011-05-10T21:34:09Z")
Ah, after investigation, I see that there is a forum to deal with these sorts of questions and many like issues have already been addressed. Therefore, a little legwork on my part can answer my questions. Sorry to have brought it up, but I was deluded into thinking I could save myself some time by asking someone who knew. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/164 "2011-05-10T23:55:31Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I’m actually curious about this: how have all you Americans heard of Manchester United? Is it something to do with David Beckham? Or was the club (or at least its name) already well known? Despite what the OP would have you believe, Americans aren’t entirely ignorant of foreign pop culture; and as has been generally agreed to here, ManU are the single most popular sports team in the world. And besides the fact that the English Premier League can be seen on TV in the US on both Fox Soccer Channel and on ESPN, keep in mind that the foreign-born population of the US is now somewhere around 40 million people - so even if I had never seen them play, about one out of every 8 people I run into on a daily basis almost certainly has. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/165 "2011-05-11T00:32:12Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I’m actually curious about this: how have all you Americans heard of Manchester United? Is it something to do with David Beckham? Or was the club (or at least its name) already well known? Well, it’s super famous. Why would we have not heard of it? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/166 "2011-05-11T08:58:21Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Well, it’s super famous. Why would we have not heard of it? > > 😕 What I meant was “by what means did you come to hear of them”, not “how come you’ve heard of them.” Just curious, because it seems that most Americans don’t follow soccer, and I was just wondering in what circumstances the name Manchester United would come up otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/167 "2011-05-11T12:22:11Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > What I meant was “by what means did you come to hear of them”, not “how come you’ve heard of them.” Just curious, because it seems that most Americans don’t follow soccer, and I was just wondering in what circumstances the name Manchester United would come up otherwise. Tough question. It’s just one of those cultural things I’ve known about for a long time. I don’t follow baseball, but I have known who the Yankees are since I was a kid(even though I can not name a player). Same for Manchester United. Just have always known who they are(and I also can’t name a player). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/168 "2011-05-15T04:28:37Z")
There is more reporting European soccer in the U.S. than there is of U.S. sports in Europe. I now see soccer scores regularly included in the crawl along the bottom of my TV screen - and I don’t even have cable. Who in the U.S. cares about some West Brom - Blackpool tilt I don’t know, but there it is. I was in the U.K. last year during the Lakers - Celtics finals and I saw no reporting of it at all. Not even in the small print at the back of the sports pages. I would bet 99% of the people there had no idea it was going on. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/169 "2011-07-14T00:18:27Z")
Bumping this thread to add one more data point. Forbes have just released their list of the worlds 50 most valuable sports teams. Number one? Manchester United. > **[The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/07/12/the-worlds-50-most-valuable-sports-teams/)** > > NFL franchises dominate our list of the top assets in sports. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/170 "2011-07-14T00:24:46Z")
And now I see that an earlier version of that report was posted on the first page. Well done me. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/171 "2011-07-14T23:32:31Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > Sadly, I think the Yankees would still make the list because of the heavy use of their logo by rappers, celebrities, etc. I’ve seen plenty of Yankees merchandise in countries where baseball is not a popular sport. _haven’t read all of the thread_ I’m pretty sure most people wearing that logo have no idea what it’s a logo of. I know what it is because I’ve been to America and one of my cousins told me… ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/172 "2011-07-15T00:01:14Z")
Without a doubt ManU, Real Madrid and Barcelona are in the list and th other two spots are also football (soccer) teams. I follow American football and played several fantasy teams. I follow baseball, British and French rugby plus 6 nation a trinations, and even some NBA, but no way an American teams makes the top 20 in the world. Maybe the Bulls at the top of the Jordan era. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804.md?page=8)