The Best Athlete Images of All-Time

For the record, this post could just as easily be titled "The Most Terrible Athlete Images of All-Time." It really makes no difference. Athletes and their elaborate personas are a big part of the fun of being a sports fan. Sure, it's about the game and the competition, but it's also fun growing up watching these guys as they let their egos run wild and become larger than life. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are fun to watch and more fun to pick on, so we're glad to have them. Today, we're looking at some of the finest athlete image concoctions in sports. So without further ado, here we go...

Andre Agassi

Remember men's tennis? Yeah, men play it too. I know, it's weird. Even the camera commercials had men in them. There was this dude, Andre Agassi, who used to be the just the baddest... And he was good too. He wielded this sweet mullet, wore all this neon shit, and made all sorts of weird noises on the court. I'm not sure what ever happened to that guy. I heard he got leukemia or something.

Allen Iverson

Iverson may be the last of the true gangstas in sports. Since Iverson's days of producing inappropriate rap tunes, beating paraplegics, and wielding semi-automatics, sports leagues are cracking down on the gangsta shiz. Lucky or unluckily for us fans, depending how you see it, Iverson took us out with one last hurrah. Bring on the dress code.

Julius Winfield Erving II

Does Dr. J really need an introduction? Dude was so cool, I bet you could hand him a bass and he'd lay down a bassline just like Token from South Park. You can also hand him a business and he'll make you money. The Doc J has served on boards of a number of high profile companies and it won't be long before he's running an NBA team. Also, Dr. J's afro deserves it's own room in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Kirk Gibson

Gibby was no nonsense when it came to his style, but he sported that mustache like he was born with it. A lot of athletes dabble with the snot dam, but Kirk Gibson embodied it. Gibby and his 'stache represented the blue collar boy down the street who made it to the bigs. He was also my first favorite player in any sport.

Jim McMahon

As much as it pains me to say it, McMahon's headband, mullet, forehead, and sunglass concoction had it goin' on. Those '85 Bears were all class. They had the dance moves, the music videos, and the game to back it up. Jim McMahon with his visor and scrappy play was the ringleader.

Deion Sanders

Deion had it all figured out from day one. It doesn't really matter if you if you look good or act like an asshole as long as you think you do. Deion rocked his slammin' dance moves, 7 kilograms of gold chains, and even this wedding ensemble with pizazz. Lucky for us viewers, he's still got his style as a TV personality.

Dennis Rodman

Do not be mistaken. The weirdo transvestite wedding dress Rodman is staying home. This nod goes strictly to old-school Worm Rodman who made his presence known with the ridiculously short shorts, excessive hustle, lanky movement, and rebounds. It’s such a shame he got so messed up after his first marriage fell apart. Alexis seems to be doing well these days though. Rodman also gets props for teaming up with the Hulkster and defeating Karl Malone and Diamond Dallas Page. Although, I’m still upset that they lost to Lex Luger.

Jim Tressel

While it’s easy to poke fun at the PriceWaterhouseCoopers thing Tressel sports, it’s sort of a calculated genius. He comes across like this dork in a sweater vest who looks like he got his ass kicked for lunch money on regular basis, but then you see him get mad and you know someone is in deep shit. Plus, those sweater vests made him one of the most recognizable figures in college sports. Something tells me the Paterno glasses wouldn’t have done the trick for Tress, so the sweater vest makes our little hall of fame. Plus, as a Michigan fan, it’s the one last source of ridicule we got left. Well, there’s always Clarett and white trash jokes. Oh yeah, and the whole, Ohio State grads are dumb. Actually, now that I think about it, I could keep going for hours, but the sweater vest is still the best.

Clinton Portis

It’s hard to really define the Clinton Portis style, but whatever it may be, we’re pretty sure it involves a personality disorder. Portis actually conjured up an entire ensemble of alter egos, which often show up at press conferences, including “Dr. Do Itch Big,” "Southeast Jerome," "Coach Janky Spanky," "Bro Sweets", "Choo-Choo", "Sheriff Gonnagetcha", and "Dolemite Jenkins." Portis probably has a lock on the top spot should we ever get around to ranking this list.

Rasheed Wallace

For Sheed, it’s always been about the attitude, but the period with the title belt still makes the list for the great characters in sports. When Sheed used to roll out in his zen warm-ups with the big ass headphones, the blue bag over one shoulder, and the championship belt over the other shoulder, you knew he was coming to play.

Johnny Damon

Prior to his departure to the Big Crapple getting under his skin, Johnny Damon was one of the most recognizably hairy men in sports. He came to the city, hired Cindy Mancini, and went all metro-sexual. Somebody needs to take a stand on that facial hair rule on the Yankees. Next thing we know, they’ll be forcing players to strictly drink Appletinis and Cosmos, wear tight jeans, and smoke 100s instead of chew.

Chad Johnson

When it comes time to sit down at the table for contract negotiations, nothing says “Let’s get serious” like a bleached Mohawk and Jujubees stuck in your front teeth.

Jason Giambi

Much like his former-Caveman teammate, Giambi got himself all preppy after he settled in New York. In the early days though, he was plain scary. Look at the Lattimer-like glow in the eyes and the sheer size of those Pythons. I think I’d get in the squared-circle with Mike Tyson in his prime before this era of Giambi. We’re happy to see that Giambi has gone back to his hairy ways and he’s hitting again. Signing all those tits gets old after a while anyway, trust us.

Well, that's all we got. We're certain we forgot dozens of other good ones, so feel free to keep them coming in the comments. Maybe we'll throw up a part deux.