You are making so many bad assumptions here. Of course someone who is in their prime is going to be more popular on google compared to someone who has not been relevant for 30 years, all it proves is that during that snap shot. Jordan was more popular, just as Beiber or the Kardashians have 10x more google popularity than Jordan but that is only a snap shot, and a stupid one. The age demographic will also skew the google data, because a large sector of the Ali demographic use google far less or are dead.
Except Michael Jordan isn't in his prime. He's been retired for almost 20 years (as of 2003). His prime was in the 90s. The last NBA championship he won was in 1998. The metrics are only being deemed stupid by you for the simple fact that neither of them support your argument. Jordan is also from the pre-social media era just as Ali was. And Jordan's fan base isn't that young, either. He made his NBA debut in the mid 80s. The older age demo excuse for Ali still doesn't explain the significant lack of interest in Ali these days, especially since he's considered to have a lasting legacy. You act like the elderly don't have access to a computer, tablet, or smart phone. His name is still dropped often in and out of the sport of boxing and there's a trophy commissioned by his family in his name, the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) Ali Trophy.
You think a single generation difference between Ali and Jordan explains it away? It doesn't. When Ali passed in June of 2016 interest naturally skyrocketed. He was trending at the top of the list. I'll bet many of them were older folks searching for him to read about his death. They're not all dead and he didn't retire from boxing until the early 80s.
How do you specifically measure the impact of JFK whos assassination stopped the world or Dianna's death? by current day google clicks? You can't see how retarded your metric is yet? This is a matter of history, you need to research much deeper than google popularity.
Actually, yeah. You can get a rough idea at least. There's always going to be renewed interest in a particular topic many years or even decades later. For instance, an individual's birthday or death anniversary, the date of an important historic event in which the individual was involved in, and so on.
Again you miss the point. Jordan was limited to sport, while Ali surpassed by expanding to politics, like civil rights which effected far more people than sports fans. This is undeniable, and you have not responded to this point, all you do is keep mentioning google popularity. So I just want to confirm something. Using your metric, results in Kim Kardashian being the most popular and significant human being in the history of man kind. Do you stand by that?
No, Jordan's impact certainly isn't limited to sport. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for transcending the sport of basketball and for his accomplishments on and off the court, literally (I already embedded the award ceremony to educate you on this). He's the first NBA player to become a billionaire. His global presence and legacy reaches far beyond its depths. You've missed the point again. Jordan never needed to entertain social issues or politics to cross over deep into the global mainstream. He did it by being entirely apolitical and built an empire with his brand. Today he has a $1.6 billion net worth.
As for Kim Kardashian, she's quite literally a
socialite and
media personality. A talentless fame whore married to one of the most popular musicians on the planet (who is a self-made billionaire). She's been trending at the top for many years but she hasn't meaningfully shaped culture nor will she ever be viewed as a historically important figure. Jordan is an established household name and has been for decades. He's inspired millions if not billions of athletes and continues to. Kim may appeal to the mainstream but she never left her mark on it. She'll leave no legacy behind. She also didn't make her name by herself, she's a part of a large clan (family) of socialites who helped her reach the level of fame she has now. Jordan's legacy will be a long lasting one. It's been nearly 20 years since he retired and current modern day athletes are still frequently compared to him (Floyd, Tiger (for a while), LeBron, Brady, every great across the sports world, practically).
Ali tackling social issues head on and the politics that come with them really isn't anything new. It was Jack Johnson who paved the way for him there. After Johnson it was then Jackie Robinson who made such a mark on his respective sport (baseball) by breaking the color line. Back when baseball was significantly more popular than boxing in the US and abroad. And both Johnson & Robinson had similar impacts globally inside and outside of their sports. They both transcended their respective sports especially Robinson.
This is from
Jack Johnson's Wikipedia page. Let me know if any of it sounds familiar?
“Widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers of all time, one of the period's most dominant champions, and as a boxing legend, his 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century".”
“According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth".”
“Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States.”
