Yuzuru Hanyu on ESPN World Fame 100 list
- Thread starter Yatagarasu
- Start date
- Joined
- May 7, 2018
I am still satisfied overall with the ranking. ESPN and Sports Illustrated are the most powerful sports magazines in the world, so I am glad he made it in the ranking of such a big publication. That being said, I am hopefull Fox TV will take note that Yuzuru made it to the ESPN World 100 list and seriously consider him a nominee for Teen Choice Awards. I want to see Yuzuru in the Red Carpet and TCA which will introduce him to a large NA demographic.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2017
I'm glad he made the list. Wish the writer had made better use of their trip to Japan to write a more substantial paragraph about his actual skating achievements like other writers did for other athletes, but I'll take it, 'deam lover', auntie fans, Pooh and all, just because he managed to make the list just by sheer google search power ranking.
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
I mean, not to be rude, but do ESPN really need restraint to not include many Americans at the top? Maybe Americans are just not as famous and/or exceptional at some of the most famous sports (the real football, for one). Food for thoughts
:cool14:
Related to this, I thought the article was pretty garbage. The POV style where an author attends an event or goes to someone's house just never works out well for athletes IMO, as it might for actors or musicians. OTOH, one could argue that Yuzuru isn't just an athlete -- he is currently one of the definitions of figure skating in its essence of athleticism and artistry, which kind of does put him in the same basket as an actor or a musician. Here, however, given that they acknowledge that figure skating doesn't really get a spot in the sunlight, perhaps they should've kept a serious tone, in order to sell Hanyu and the sport more appropriately. At the very least, the tone they adopted wields a double-edged sword.
Not sure how the methodology for this works. For instance, what kind of social media was used? Assuming they used media like Weibo, IG, Twitter, FB, then on a global level this list might not change if made in a different country, because, for example, football will have a lot of clout in the majority of the world, whereas Ice Hockey will have some clout in the countries where snowy winters are an actual thing, but would still compete with football. The real football, as Danny T puts it.
I have a friend in Nagoya who knows Hanyu eventhough he doesn't watch FS. He is a superstar in Japan alone, but his fanbase in Asian countries is quite prolific. Even outside Japan, he has his own little section in bookstores! If he had social media he probably would make it higher on the list but I feel like he and his family like to keep it low profile which makes this an even bigger accomplishment. On that alone I'd take the mediocre article. He is good for this sport.
- Joined
- May 7, 2018
She could have saved the hassle and money and just hired a sensible Hanyu fan to write a better article than her to he honest. But then again, ESPN did hire her for her expertise in figure skating I presume? Hope someone sends her constructive feedback on the article via twitter.So the author was sent all the way to Japan, attended the parade in Sendai and an ice show that was impossible to get tickets for just to write a basic introductory article that included very little :shocked:
I am definitely in the wrong profession
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2012
Honestly, I know I sound very mean but I'm feeling so good right now looking at the reaction of some Japanese soccer and baseball fans. They had never accepted Hanyu's achievements and popularity outside Japan just because figure skating was not a sport for them, but now, he has been on the same list as their idols I'm sure they will keep refusing the results and that's fine though. I'll just enjoy this moment for a while, hehe, I'm so evil!
Thank you ESPN and congratulations Yuzuru again!
I'm sure they will keep refusing the results and that's fine though. I'll just enjoy this moment for a while, hehe, I'm so evil!Thank you ESPN and congratulations Yuzuru again!
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
It is quite interesting though, to look at the rise of Hanyu up to Sochi, compared to his contemporaries who made Sochi AND Pyeongchang.
https://trends.google.com/trends/ex...&q=/m/05b51vc,/m/0h7yq1,/m/027whjs,/m/028c9rk
https://trends.google.com/trends/ex...&q=/m/05b51vc,/m/0h7yq1,/m/027whjs,/m/028c9rk
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2017
I did a google trend search for a couple of other winter Olympics athletes and found it interesting that the only athlete of those I've research that got a higher peak during the Olympics than Yuzuru was Shaun White but his overall search trends are otherwise lower than Yuzuru's. Lindsey Vonn had another peak outside of the Olympics; someone who follows alpine skiing should know why more than I do.
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=/m/05b51vc,/m/02wc4tf,/m/0bbz0vm,Lindsey Vonn,Shaun White
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=/m/05b51vc,/m/02wc4tf,/m/0bbz0vm,Lindsey Vonn,Shaun White
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2018
A bit late to the discussion but I'd like to offer some of my thoughts (which are substantially off topic, so feel free to skip )
I can't speak about the world trend but if I were to judge from what I see in Thailand, this list is pretty much accurate. Based on what I see from my country alone, I wouldn't think the list it's country biased nor that there was any conscious effort in trying not to put less US athletes on the list.
Soccer is the most watched sport here by far (with traffics emptying on nights with important matches and restaurants extending their home delivery hours when people have to stay up late to watch the World Cup) so having soccer players dominating the list is no surprise. As for American athletes, most people here only know the NBA players, and probably Mayweather, Williams and Woods. Pretty much all the athletes people in Thailand would know are included. Most people don't have a clue about baseball and hockey players, so I would say this list reflects my country's trend pretty well.
The OWG itself didn't get much attention here. I don't think most Thais know we actully sent our athletes. I don't recall seeing any tv coverage... the topic that got most attention was probably how the Koreans had a unified team. I don't know any fs fan, but a fair amount of people shared about Yuzuru on social after his win despite not being fs fans. He was the only athlete from the winter games I see people here talk about during/after (aside from kpop fans talking about Evgenia). I think it's pretty safe to say he's currently the most known winter athlete here.
With that said, one of our channels did have a live youtube broadcast for several events from OWG which can be found here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcwQy6DvJjsxSIy_IICtLRAWchw2AphOh
Sorry for the long meandering post.
)I can't speak about the world trend but if I were to judge from what I see in Thailand, this list is pretty much accurate. Based on what I see from my country alone, I wouldn't think the list it's country biased nor that there was any conscious effort in trying not to put less US athletes on the list.
Soccer is the most watched sport here by far (with traffics emptying on nights with important matches and restaurants extending their home delivery hours when people have to stay up late to watch the World Cup) so having soccer players dominating the list is no surprise. As for American athletes, most people here only know the NBA players, and probably Mayweather, Williams and Woods. Pretty much all the athletes people in Thailand would know are included. Most people don't have a clue about baseball and hockey players, so I would say this list reflects my country's trend pretty well.
The OWG itself didn't get much attention here. I don't think most Thais know we actully sent our athletes. I don't recall seeing any tv coverage... the topic that got most attention was probably how the Koreans had a unified team. I don't know any fs fan, but a fair amount of people shared about Yuzuru on social after his win despite not being fs fans. He was the only athlete from the winter games I see people here talk about during/after (aside from kpop fans talking about Evgenia). I think it's pretty safe to say he's currently the most known winter athlete here.
With that said, one of our channels did have a live youtube broadcast for several events from OWG which can be found here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcwQy6DvJjsxSIy_IICtLRAWchw2AphOh
Sorry for the long meandering post.
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2018
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Back to our our own frozen playing ground though (and I admit, I'm looking at this from a nonexpert's POV so be kind)...
In a way Yuzuru is pure lightning in a bottle.
He's not only possible/probable G O A T, he's also got everything that makes for fame these days - the looks and star factor (the camera LOVES him), the intelligence, the unearthly brilliance, the unique style, the quirky, adorable and slightly mysterious personality, the made-to-be-memed relationships with others including his biggest rivals, the genuine, tragic backstory and history of having to fight, the 2018 Olympics fairy story with its almost cliche happy ending... pretty much everything except the personal social media footprint (and given he doesn't use it himself, and those close to him now seem to deliberately cool it with his image, his social media footprint is still fairly impressive).
I really doubt that any other skater - not Nathan or Adam, not Virtue and Moir, not even even Evgenia, though if she had had her own fairytale in Pyeongchang or does really REALLY well in Canada she may come closer than others - can do it. Javier has the looks, the Shibs the social media thing, Shoma the quirkiness, Nathan the quads and the Americanness, Patrick the record, Virtue and Moir the sex appeal...
It's just serendipity that the skater most designed for fame is the one who most deserves it for his on-ice achievements.
In a way Yuzuru is pure lightning in a bottle.
He's not only possible/probable G O A T, he's also got everything that makes for fame these days - the looks and star factor (the camera LOVES him), the intelligence, the unearthly brilliance, the unique style, the quirky, adorable and slightly mysterious personality, the made-to-be-memed relationships with others including his biggest rivals, the genuine, tragic backstory and history of having to fight, the 2018 Olympics fairy story with its almost cliche happy ending... pretty much everything except the personal social media footprint (and given he doesn't use it himself, and those close to him now seem to deliberately cool it with his image, his social media footprint is still fairly impressive).
I really doubt that any other skater - not Nathan or Adam, not Virtue and Moir, not even even Evgenia, though if she had had her own fairytale in Pyeongchang or does really REALLY well in Canada she may come closer than others - can do it. Javier has the looks, the Shibs the social media thing, Shoma the quirkiness, Nathan the quads and the Americanness, Patrick the record, Virtue and Moir the sex appeal...
It's just serendipity that the skater most designed for fame is the one who most deserves it for his on-ice achievements.
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2012
It's true, Yuzu is sometimes ranked as the most popular athlete in China! :shocked: A rare phenomenon considering political tensions between the countries.
That's true. The pooh rains in 2014 coc and 2015 wc are the most impressive ever( even more insane than the ones in homeland Japan). That was 3,4 years ago. He's even much more popular in China now. Many students even wrote his story as essay for school tests. Teachers also used him as a positive figure to encourage students to work hard. His 'efforts may lie, but won't be in vein' is super popular among college students. Even CCTV and other government controlled newspapers & SNS accounts love him.
- Joined
- May 23, 2018
Omg...where is the source for this? I cannot believe it [emoji43][emoji43][emoji43]
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2012
I just saw some screenshots from Weibo, where he was ranked first in trending and some polls a few times since the Olympics. --But take that with a grain of salt, all these popularity meters and top 100 measures from any source have incomplete data, so sometimes he's on top, but it just shows his strong popularity in China, not a definitive statement that he's absolutely the favorite athlete there.
Beijing University quoted this too: http://fx.weico.cc/share/17932592.html?weibo_id=4213259488238155 Also China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted video with Yuzu from NHK gala on their weibo once.
Weibo fanpage #1: over 500000 followers
Weibo fanpage #2: over 200000 followers
Ranking of athletes (from April): https://twitter.com/misayuzuhkchina/status/989157436022972416 Yuzuru was first. I think he is second now.
People need to remember that Yuzuru isn't signed with any PR agency, he avoids media, doesn't have official sns account (Shoma at least has his own website) and often 'disappears' for a few weeks/months. You can imagine what would happen if he decided to promote himself more.
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- May 23, 2018
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2008
This thread has been moderated so that it can remain on-topic.
Those who wish to discuss other athletes on the list can do so in Le Cafe.
Those who wish to discuss other athletes on the list can do so in Le Cafe.
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- Joined
- Nov 29, 2015
Since Google trends were used, and stuff got deleted, here's Yuzuru's, from 2011 to 2018
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2011-09-01 2018-05-25&q=/m/05b51vc
And just from Sochi season to today
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2013-09-01 2018-05-25&q=/m/05b51vc
It's great to see sustainability, which is basically what counts, long term and how he successfully harnessed and rode those waves, which made him the most popular figure skater in the world.
Considering there is no team to handle his brand, this is truly something. It's also making me kind of sorry he hasn't got one because the possibilities make me cry a little.
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2011-09-01 2018-05-25&q=/m/05b51vc
And just from Sochi season to today
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2013-09-01 2018-05-25&q=/m/05b51vc
It's great to see sustainability, which is basically what counts, long term and how he successfully harnessed and rode those waves, which made him the most popular figure skater in the world.
Considering there is no team to handle his brand, this is truly something. It's also making me kind of sorry he hasn't got one because the possibilities make me cry a little.
