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[TheMadHatter]

At #33, right behind LeBron James and Jose Mourinho.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/10/Features/Murray-Among-Top-49-Most-Influential-Men.aspx

Reigning Olympic and US Open champion Andy Murray has been named one of AskMen’s Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2012, joining a list topped by James Bond, Usain Bolt and Bill Clinton.

Murray came in at No. 33 on the list following a month-long public voting process in which AskMen’s readers were asked to determine which male figures had made the biggest impact this year.

“After a tough loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, which was followed by a heart-wrenching consolation speech, Andy Murray was confronted with the same choice that every man must meet when he faces adversity: Curl up in a ball or use the pain as motivation to succeed?” explained AskMen.

“Murray chose the latter, and less than a month later, he got his revenge. Topping Federer in the London Olympics, he won gold in front of a home crowd. His ascent continued when he won that elusive first Grand Slam at the US Open, becoming the first British man to win a major since 1936.”

This is the sixth straight year that an ATP World Tour player has been named among the Top 49 Most Influential Men. Roger Federer was on the list in 2007 and ’09, Rafael Nadal in ’08 and ’10 and Novak Djokovic in 2011.

In addition to Bolt and Murray, other professional athletes to place in the Top 49 of the 2012 list include Michael Phelps (No. 12), Lebron James (No. 32) and Tim Tebow (No. 44). Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, registered at No. 30.

Interesting. Not sure how important/big this list is or if there are other more official ones out there.

[Emma Jean]

That is so sweet. Andy totally deserves it. I would have put him in higher place but this is still very sweet.

[ChrisMac]

Andy sexy No.6 


http://uk.askmen.com/specials/2012_top_49/6-andy-murray.html

[Sir Panda]

What influence does Murray actually have?

Discuss.

[xxdanixx]

I think he does have influence!My story is pretty-small scale,but I know that before this summer,my little brother had absolutely no interest in tennis as a sport-it was all about football (yuck) in his eyes,and when he did take any interest at all-which was almost never-despite my valiant pro-Andy efforts,it was to admire Smugfed (double yuck).

Then came the Olympics.I didn't get much say in what we watched the rest of the time,but during that week,whenever Andy was playing,I made darn sure I got the tv,the remote and the prime watching seat!Over that week,my brother sat down and watched nearly all of Andy's matches with me.

Since that week,since actually watching Andy in action,he's been a changed kid-he's now a big Andy fan,and takes an interest in the result of every match he plays.He got my mom to buy him a racquet (He was furious that they didn't have a Head racquet in his size,as he wanted the one he saw Andy playing with!) and join him up with a tennis club,and he plays-or practices,as he says-almost every day.He told me the other day that he wants to be a professional tennis player ("just like Andy") when he's older.This is from a kid that used to regard football as the only sport worth watching,and couldn't understand my interest in tennis.

And we're not even from the UK,we're Irish!I know he's just one kid that has been influenced,but Im sure there are so many more.I only know my own brother's story,but I'm positive he's far from the only one,and if you look at all the thousands if young kids around the place that may have similar stories to my brother,that all really adds up-especially in the UK,I would think.

[xxdanixx]

Aww,thanks so much Prodigy!
All true,I swear-I wouldn't have believed my brother could be so influenced if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,but Andy really did have a massive effect on him.And what I was pleasantly surprised by was that it didn't wear off-the Olympics were months ago now,but he's still asking how every one of Andy's matches go,he's still "practicing" his tennis almost daily-the other day,he came to me all worried that when he was a professional tennis player,was he going to have to give up playing other sports for fun?!
It'd be interesting to hear if anyone else had a story about Andy's feats this summer inspiring people.Well,actually,his whole story,from the time he was a kid,to the young man who's willed and worked his way to being a champion is pretty darn inspiring,but it's this summer that's really been focused on in terms of being inspirational,I guess!

[xxdanixx]

Good on you,that's terrific!I know what you mean,the weather's been pretty rotten in Ireland lately too,and I've had to screw up my courage to bring the dog out,let alone work out lol!

I'm kind of similar-I used to play tennis a huge amount-when I was younger I'd play for hours every single day-but unfortunately,for a couple of reasons,big among them being bad asthma,I had to stop.Since then I've never lost my interest in watching tennis,or my love of it,but I've hardly ever played.I have to say though,watching Andy this summer reminded me of how much I really did love playing,so I've been trying to play more,just for fun.So I guess in my own small way I've been influenced too!

[xxdanixx]

That's so funny,I'm the exact same-well,the weight thing anyway!Unfortunately I've never grown out of my asthma,and it gets worse when I exercise,so my valiant attempts to lose weight can be pretty hindered by it!(Well,and also,if I'm honest,hindered by my hatred of healthy food and love of chocolate.)
But I'm working on it-and thank you for telling me your story,it's nice to know I'm not alone in my efforts!Here's to us succeeding!