Think you have juice like Tropicana? These 49 guys have more juice than an entire grove.
AskMen.com published their sixth annual Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2011 list today. More than 200,000 readers voted- leading to some unexpected results.
NFL Player and University of Michigan alum Tom Brady (New England Patriots) is #42, the only NFL player to make the list. Notably missing from last year’s Top 49 is Drew Brees. The Purdue grad who ranked in at No. 6. I’m surprised that Brady is so low; especially when you consider how every media personality feels the need to mention how awesome is life is every time they mention his name.
And it’s true- not every one of guys gets the chance to be obscenely wealthy, ridiculously famous, good looking, in perfect physical health and married to a supermodel. So really #42, that’s it?
NBA star Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks), voted to No. 39, is the only NBA player to make the list. Notably missing from last year’s Top 49 is Kobe Bryant who ranked in at No. 45. The Mavs beat what was quite possibly the most hated team (and for good reason) in NBA history, beating the Miami Heat 4-2 in the most recent Finals. It’s a shame is throwing away all the momentum and audience growth this year with the lockout. The league is coming off a season with record television numbers.
Dirk’s boss checked in 7 spots ahead of him.
“Thank you to my new best friends at AskMen. I hope to do them proud!” –Mark Cuban (No. 32)
UFC founder/owner Dana White checks in at number 38.
The Top 49 Most Influential Men poll showed that males put a premium on visionaries; that’s why the biggest innovator of our generation, Steve Jobs, topped the list. The fact that Jobs’ recent passing dominated our headlines for such a long time only further solidifies his place at number one.
“Steve Jobs led the Top 49 voting from the day that we opened it,” said Editor-in-chief James Bassil. “Now that may seem poignant, but throughout the voting period, it was for very practical reasons: Jobs has had an immediate and direct influence on the ways that AskMen readers listen to their music, communicate with one another — and read AskMen.”
Jobs was the clear-cut winner with over 50% more votes than the heroes of Seal Team Six, who came in second place.
According to Yahoo OMG:
The rest of the Top 10 had plenty of diversity as it included tech innovators like Google CEO Larry Page (No. 3), rapper Kanye West (No.5), Tunisian revolutionary Mohammed Bouazazi (No. 6), and hacktivists Anonymous (No. 8), who have spurned the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The first actor/playboy entered at No. 9 and the lead role might signal a changing of the guards. Ryan Gosling finished higher than his “Ides of March” supporting co-star George Clooney (No. 14) — or should that be the other way around? After taking some time off to start a band over the last few years, Gosling burst back on the scene in 2011 breaking up street fights in New York and knocking three silver screen features out of the park.
The highest ranking athlete was 24-year-old soccer superstar Lionel Messi, who came in at No. 10 followed by the 2011 Tour de France winner, Australian Cadel Evans.
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Notably missing from this year’s list are Bill Gates (previously ranked No. 2) and James Franco (previously ranked No. 7), while some returning honorees, such as Mark Zuckerberg, have experienced significant shifts in ranking, dropping from No. 2 in 2010 to No. 27 in 2011
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
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