Even When He Doesn't Play, Michael

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The Harris Poll

THE HARRIS POLL #73 Wednesday, December 8, 1999

EVEN WHEN HE DOESN’T PLAY, MICHAEL JORDAN STILL AMERICA’S FAVORITE SPORTS STAR – FOR SEVENTH YEAR IN A ROW

Joe Montana (#2), Troy Aikman (#3), Brett Favre (#4) and Mark McGwire (#5) take other top places. ______

by Humphrey Taylor

Michael Jordan retains his top ranking as America’s favorite sports star even though he has retired. This is the seventh year in a row that Jordan has topped the list in the Harris Poll’s annual survey of favorite sports stars.

Based on the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,011 adults surveyed by telephone between October 27 and November 2, 1999, it also seems football has gained ground where other sports have lost. Of the ten most popular athletes, five are football players, two are baseball players, with one each from basketball, NASCAR racing and golf.

Each athlete who makes the top 10 this year has become a star in his sport, through winning the sports’ most coveted title or breaking one of its long-standing records. It is not surprising that all 10 of America’s favorite sports stars have received top honors – Super

Bowls, NBA titles, or in the case of Tiger Woods, countless golf trophies. In fact, America’s fascination with champions may explain why Joe Montana continues to rank in the top 10,

Louis Harris & Associates, Inc. 111 Fifth Avenue NYC (212) 539-9600 years after his retirement. It may also explain why both baseball players, Mark McGwire

(#5) and Sammy Sosa (#9) who were #2 and #7 in last year’s list – having broken no new records this year – have slipped down in the rankings.

Of the football players ranking in the top 10, all five of them are quarterbacks, begging the question of why Americans are more fascinated with this position in this sport than any other.

Three sports players move up into the top ten list this year – Tiger Woods, Dale

Earnhardt and Steve Young, replacing Emmitt Smith, Dan Marino and Carl Ripken, Jr.

Tiger Woods (#7) and Dale Earnhardt (#8) are also the only stars from individual sports to make the list. In fact, Tiger Woods is the only golfer to break into the top ten listing since

Harris began asking the question in 1993, and Dale Earnhardt is the first NASCAR driver to ever win a place in the top ten.

Since 1993, when Harris first began asking this question, no woman has ever broken into the top 10. With the resurgence of women’s tennis and the ascension of both women’s soccer and basketball leagues, this year would have been predicted to be different. However, not only does no woman make it into the top 10 this year, but also no woman is even mentioned at all as anyone’s favorite sports star. Gender of respondents plays no role in this finding, either, as this year men and women agree on who ranks in 3 of their top 4.

On the other hand, race does seem to have some influence on the standings.

African-Americans rank Tiger Woods second and Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley tie for third while Hispanics list Steve Young second. Whites, African-Americans and

Hispanics are, however, of the same opinion that Michael Jordan is #1, and as the

2 American public continues to value its most highly publicized champion athletes, Jordan may continue to top the list. It will be interesting to see in the coming years, though, how his recent retirement influences his standing.

Humphrey Taylor is the Chairman of The Harris Poll.

3 TABLE 1

FAVORITE SPORTS STAR

“Who is your favorite sports star?”

NOW 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Michael Jordan 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Joe Montana 2 2 2 =8 5 9 2 Troy Aikman 8 3 5 2 2 3 3 Brett Favre * * * =8 3 4 4 Mark McGwire * * * * * 2 5 John Elway * 10 * 3 4 5 6 Tiger Woods * * * * * * 7 Dale Earnhardt * * * * * * 8 Sammy Sosa * * * * * 7 9 Steve Young * * * * * * 10 ______* not listed in that year

Dropped Out of Top Ten This Year

Emmitt Smith (was #6) Dan Marino (was #8) Cal Ripken, Jr. (was #10)

Men Women Whites Blacks Hispanics Top 4 Top 4 Top 4 Top 4 Top 4

Michael Jordan Michael Jordan Michael Jordan Michael Jordan Michael Jordan Joe Montana Troy Aikman Joe Montana Tiger Woods Steve Young John Elway Brett Favre Troy Aikman Charles Barkley** five tied Mark McGwire** Joe Montana Brett Favre Magic Johnson** Troy Aikman**

** = tie

4 Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the United States between October 27- November 2, 1999, among a nationwide cross section of 1011 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

In theory, with a sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is difficult or impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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Contact Harris Interactive, 111 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003, or by fax (212) 539- 9669, for complete demographic details for the questions in this release.

Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a leading market research and polling firm, using Internet- based and traditional methodologies to provide its clients with information about the views, experiences and attitudes of people worldwide. Known for its Harris Poll, Harris Interactive has over 40 years experience in providing its clients with market research and polling services, including custom research, multi-client research, service bureau research and customer relationship services. Harris Interactive conducts its Internet research using its Internet database of approximately 4.2 million online panelists and its proprietary technology.