You would think that as you age to a point where you are now older than around half of the athletes on the teams that you follow, your worship and admiration of these players would wane a bit.  While that’s true in most cases, there are still those out there that make you feel like you are an 11-year old again, when you would plaster posters all over your wall, collect every single card, and list him as your hero on the first day of school get-to-know-you worksheet. 

There is even a name for it now, and it’s good that most people will even admit that they have one.  This week’s Top 7 celebrates the biggest man crushes in sports.

7. Wes Welker
Welker is football’s version of David Eckstein (short, white, scrappy) but for a better reason.  He returns kicks well, blocks well, and consistently makes huge plays for an undefeated team.  We wish that we could be like him.
 

6. Michael Jordan
He has been retired from the Bulls for almost ten years now, but he still does endorsements, and still easily cracks the man crush list.  What fellow males think of him is summed up best during a jury selection for a lawsuit he was involved in several years ago.  Since he was Jordan, they asked prospective jurors to rate their opinion of him from 1-10, and more than one person said “11.”  I remember hearing that story once, so it has to be true.
 

5. Brett Favre
Favre would be higher, but if you are simultaneously on the man crush list and #1 on the media obsessions list, there must be a small penalty.  Favre has also the most fanatical type of the other phenomena of people’s man crushes—defending the person more than you would defend a family member or spouse.  Write something remotely negative about Favre and people will attempt to slaughter you electronically.
 

4. Tiger Woods
Win major golf tournaments consistently.  Have hot wife.  Have own video game.  Be first pick of Dave Chappelle’s Racial Draft.  Have thousands of men loving you.
 

3. LeBron James
To become a man crush, you not only have to be ridiculously good at your sport, but you also need to either come through when it matters so many times that people expect it and become downright giddy each time that it happens, or single-handily carry the team to levels not thought possible even with the person.  James has done both.
 

2. Tom Brady
A “Truman Show” style channel that followed Brady all of the time would become one of the top-rated in all of cable within the first week.  Hearing the news of him having a cast on for those who love Brady was way worse than watching your dog being run over six times.
 

1. Albert Pujols
This one could be a bit of a bias in putting him over Brady, but the personal love is too strong to have him anywhere lower than 1.  Pujols has made many Cardinal fans’ days brighter on too many occasions to count.  The way he crushes the ball, never strikes out, plays his hardest every single game, with injuries that should keep him out for weeks, and most of all, comes through seemingly every time that it matters combine to make him the greatest recipient of man love amongst this generation of Cardinal fans, and it’s not even close.  There are even shirts sold around Busch Stadium that say, “I Have a Man Crush on Pujols.”  It’s quite likely that, amazingly, that this man crush will continue to grow.

The Top 7 is written by Jason Major.  If Albert Pujols endorsed diaper-wearing for adults, he'd proudly sport Pampers.  Email him at jason@joesportsfan.com