As a Yank who doesn’t watch football/soccer, Manchester United was my absolute first thought.
I’ve never heard of Real Madrid, but it’s not surprising, as most of my sports knowledge comes second (third… fourth) hand from English sectors of the internet (often espousing “MANCHESTER U IS NOT THE ONLY ENGLISH FOOTBALL TEAM THANK YOU GOOD DAY!”)
I suspect that overall this is a difficult question to answer. I mean, you can’t go on fans alone, two very large nations that love a team when almost no other nations have heard of it will dwarf a team that has a lukewarm following in a few big countries, and a large following in many small countries. I’d argue the second one is more “world famous” even though by pure fan numbers the first may appear more famous. Even if you get into nations as populous as Japan or Korea, a relatively popular sports team there from a relatively obscure sport limited to that country could dwarf a team that’s fairly well known throughout most countries in the Americas. I think this is one of those things where the team has to be like “Coke,” or “Mickey Mouse,” where you can go to nearly any country, say it, and have at least a fair number of people recognize it instantly.
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.
I hate to break it to you but 99% of Australians, possibly even the world couldn’t name a Yankee starter. Let’s see there’s Clementine or something like that, there was an Aussie pitcher on the roster a couple of years ago when they last won the World Series … is Lou Gehrig still playing?
You gotta love the cast iron insular attitude that nobody but nobody on this entire planet can throw, catch, hit or run with a ball (curiously the average 'merkin isn’t particularly interested in kicking a ball) could possibly be as good as an American professional, and nobody else has an interest in sport.
On the OP, in a couple of years you might need to add teams like Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkara Knight Riders to that list.
Of the established clubs maybe add Ajax, the South Americans like Boca Juniors, River Plate, Flamengo and Santos don’t get much coverage on English language media .
That’s what I was thinking, actually… I mean, even if you know nothing about Rugby, you’d likely know that New Zealand has a sports team called the All Blacks, or so I would have thought.
Cricket and Rugby don’t have enough international following, just a few countries each. Ferrari maybe, because their production cars are so well known. The Brazilian national football team is probably number one in fame.
How many countries actually play American Football at Serious Business level though? One or two besides the US? In fact, I’d say that Cricket is played at Serious Business level in far more places than gridiron, even if you accept that the only places with any serious interest in Rugby are the UK, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Samoa, with Special Guest Appearances By France And Hong Kong.
Ignoring the elephant in the room that is the OP and his intentions, I have little doubt that Manchester United are the most famous team in the world, closely followed by Real Madrid. You cannot ignore the fact that very few people in very few countries will not have at least heard of Manchester Utd. Even if they have no idea what sport even is, they will have heard the name.
On the other hand, The Yankees would be a contender for this very same reason. I bet even in Ireland where baseball is non-existant, random housewives will have heard of the “Yankees”, even if only from the baseball caps people wear. I would also suggest the “Chicago Bulls”. I havent a fucking clue who plays for them now, but I know the team from the days of Michael Jordan, and thats what counts, do I know them?
It isnt necessarily about the team itself, its the brand, and both Utd and the Yankees are huge brands. Ferrari are also a huge brand, and so if we accept F1 as a sport then we have to acknowledge the Ferrari team as one of the most famous in the world.
I dont agree with the All Blacks, because I dont think national teams apply here. If they did then forget Manchester Utd, because Brazil would be the most famous team in the world. Its a different metric though.
Finally, is Tiger Woods a team?
1- Man Utd
2- Ferrari
3- Real Madrid
4- Yankees
5- Tiger Woods
As a Brit that grew up playing footie and rugby, I’d say that Man U and Real Madrid are definites for the list, but really so are the Cowboys and the Yankees. The question is really about who gets the magic fifth place.
I’m not sure about the Cowboys. One problem is that, as I understand it, (American) football is not followed much in China or India. That’s two billion people right there. In China the NBA is much more popular, not least because they have some players in it. In fact, of the major North American team sports, I would guess that the NBA is the most followed, globally.
Methinks someone isn’t too knowledgeable about sport.
The whole point of Ferrari is that they are a sports team. That’s how they started, it is their raison d’etre. (or Italian equivalent).
The do just happen to sell road cars as a sideline (and to help finance the racing)
They are certainly as famous worldwide as the Dallas Cowboys (who are the stereotypical American football team) and certainly more so than the Lakers.
If you did a knowledge survey across the globe I reckon the top five are certainly going to consist of soccer teams, most likely European ones, with perhaps something like a Ferrari or a Cowboys sneaking in there.
But that isn’t surprising really. compared to soccer, american football, baseball, cricket and basketball are niche sports.
Rugby - None. I can think of Rugby clubs, but not a one of them stand out among the crowd to my non-rugby following eyes.
Cricket - The same. I could say something like Surrey, but I guess clubs are distinctly second tier to nations in both rugby and cricket. You think “All-blacks” and “the Ashes”, not club teams
Gridiron - Dallas Cowboys, probably because of Dan Marino in Ace Ventura
Baseball - Yankees. I bet people know the term “Red socks” as well.
Basketball - Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan.
Ice Hockey - Nobody outside the US/Canada knows the name of a single ice hockey team. I shit you not. No ice hockey team has the brand of the Yankees or the Cowboys. If you think your favourite ice hockey team is known worldwide, then I am sorry but you are wrong.
Motor racing - Ferrari.
Sailing - God only knows
Horseracing - I would suggest tracks/meetings would be the metric here, rather than stables. Aintree or Kentucky for example
I generally avoid watching sport, but if Manchester United isn’t first on the list, then there’s something terribly wrong with it. If I am required to bluff my way through a sports conversation with someone, then it’s probably the only sports team I can pretend to know about.
I’m not sure what figures you’re using to base this assumption on. You may be correct for revenue, or attendance figures, I really don’t know, but the most watched (TV) league in the world is the English Premier League (you may be interested to know that’s where Manchester United, your new favourite team, play).
(Oh, I should’ve added, the Champions League is an international club tournament in Europe. Manchester U. are about to play Barcelona in the final. Estimated viewing figures 700 million).
Sure we do, if only because we’ve had some fascinating grammatical discussions here about why is correct to pluralise “Toronto Maple Leafs” that way :). Also, isn’t there one team called the Penguins? That always makes me chuckle.
