Sports Stars Score Big

With so many famous personalities vying for their attention, which ones are impressing today's boys most? Do boys dream of being mega-millionaires like Bill Gates or invincible super heroes like Batman? Is Michael Jordan still the end-all, be-all for boys, or are tides turning toward Tony Hawk? And how much of a factor does age play in boys' choices? A recent open-ended survey conducted by kids marketing firm Funosophy Inc. asked 300 boys ages 6 to 11 who they would want to be like, if they could be like anyone in the world.

If boys could be like anyone in the world, more than 20 percent of them would be like a famous sports star, respondents said. From their talent and character to their fame and fortune, top athletes are emulated for many reasons, boys said. Being “like a family member” (three cheers for dear ol' dad!) was the second most popular response, followed by movie star (did someone say Star Wars?) and superhero (anything ending in “man” was a popular response).

Although the individual subgroups in this study were not large enough to yield statistically significant results, they do offer some interesting directional results. Not surprisingly, the majority of sports stars that boys want to emulate come from professional baseball, basketball and football teams. What was surprising is that pro wrestling attracted nearly the same number of boys as the “big 3” sports! Skateboarding was also a popular choice.

Of those sports stars boys nominated, the most popular were:

• Baseball – Derek Jeter
• Basketball – Dwayne Wade
• Football – Peyton Manning
• Wrestling – John Cena
• Skateboarding – Tony Hawk
• Golf – Tiger Woods

A boy's age definitely impacts his choices. More than twice as many 9 to 11 year old boys (95 percent) as their 6 to 8 year old counterparts (45 percent) want to be like a sports star. The younger boys, it turns out, still want to be like a family member.

What's clear is that sports and sports celebrities hold a tremendous amount of appeal with boys, especially older tweens. Getting in the game by overlaying a top sports license on your boy-oriented product could be a foolproof score.