I was reading an article by Bill Simmons that was talking about how Barry Bonds has fallen off the face of the earth and no one seems to care when made an interesting comment. He mentioned how Barry Bonds has not just disappear from media spotlight, his career is also missing from YouTube. In part this has to do with the fact the MLB doesn’t get social media, but the major factor is that user generated content needs relies on users wanting to generate content.

Athlete’s are often idolized and immortalized by their fans. I know that growing up I definitely had images of my hero’s, ideal ways in which I remembered them. Social media sites like YouTube make it possible to relive the highlights and memories. The twist is that now users can rate and rank (by number of views) sports history, choosing the moments that will define how we collectively remember a career.

The sports guy mentioned Mike Tyson and Barry Bonds, both great examples of athletes who have had highs and lows during their careers. I decided to take a look at these two athletes and some of my personal hero’s to see how they are being remembered in the user generated content world that is YouTube.

The results are not in anyway scientific. I am just running a search in YouTube, sorting by the number of views, and then assessing what the top 20 results say about their career. The question I am asked myself is ‘if 20 years from now someone stumbled upon YouTube would the get the same impression of the athletes that I did growing up watching them.”

Barry Bonds – Looking at the top 20 hits on YouTube I am not sure whether he was a famous rapper or a baseball player. What I am sure of is that he was rich and is linked to steriods. (Granted the MLB does remove videos, but still not a flattering legacy)

Nolan Ryan – It’s clear he accomplished a lot, over 300 wins and 7 no-hitters. Interestingly users manged to make Nolan Ryan tribute videos without using MLB content by mashing up pictures and sports memorabilia. (there goes Bonds excuse)

Mike Tyson – It is clear that the society continues to remember two things about Iron Mike, he was as fierce as he was crazy.

Wayne Gretzky – This one was interesting because The Great One has such a calm demeanor, but his YouTube history is mix of legendary tribute videos proclaiming his skill with some fights and hits mixed in.

Wendel Clark – As my childhood hero, I was glad to see the users of YouTube have chosen to remember him exactly as I did. A hard hitting, rough and tumble hockey player with a great wrist shot.

Michael Jordan -Air Jordan is larger than life, and in the world of social media that legend only gets bigger. He couldn’t have created a better memorial for himself.

Tiger Woods – Definitely famous although but not exactly sure why as his videos are a mix of commercials, slow motion swings and amazing shots. In all fairness to Tiger I am sure it will look more ‘Jordanesque’ once he has completed his career.

O.J. Simpson – From the videos its much more likely that he murdered his wife and her friend than played in the NFL.

Emmit Smith – A famous ballroom dancer who also happens to hold the all-time NFL rushing record (no mention of any murders).

It’s fascinating, all of the athletes listed above (expect perhaps Clark) are legends in their respective sports, but on YouTube that is not always apparent. Appropraitely, YouTube seems to remember sports history as a user would. Not in a historically factual way, but rather as a mix of accomplishments, character and impact.

What is the your sports hero’s YouTube legacy? Below is a video that sums up my memories of #17 Wendel Clark