Schumacher's Ferrari beats Ponting's Australia in 'Sports Most Dominant of 21st Century'

A recent fan poll commissioned by ESPN aiming to find the most dominant sporting entity, team or individual since the 2000s has come out with its latest round of results. The poll was started earlier this month and features several sporting greats such as ex-Ferrari F1 driver Michael Schumacher, Swiss legend Roger Federer, the World Cup-winning Australian cricket team led by Ricky Ponting and several others. The latest round of results has thrown up some surprises, with several greats out of the running in the race to become the most dominant sporting entity of the 21st century.

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ESPN fan vote features Schumacher, Ponting, Roger Federer and many more

The ESPN fan vote aims to find the most dominant sporting force in the 21st century. It is the quest to find the most dominating sporting displays, rather than the greatest athlete or team. The fan vote initially began with a set of 16 teams. The two qualifying conditions were that the sporting accomplishment of the entity must have occurred within the last 20 years and that the entity in question must have dominated their field of sport. The 16 candidates were then seeded in a knockout style tournament on several factors.

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The fan vote then began with fans choosing between entities squared off against each other, in a bid to find the most dominant sporting entity of the 21st century. Several sporting greats and teams made the 16 man list. Candidates included Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team, Usain Bolt at the Olympics, Serena Williams at her peak and many others.

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ESPN fan vote Round of 16 results

With the ESPN fan vote underway, some of the matchups have already cropped up surprising results. The New Zealand All Blacks, Michael Phelps, Floyd Mayweather and Usain Bolt were the first ones to qualify to the next round. The next match up saw Ferrari F1 driver Michael Schumacher face-off Ricky Ponting led Australian cricket team which won two World Cups.

Schumacher’s stint with the Ferrari F1 team from 2000-2004 and Ricky Ponting during his 2003-2007 as captain was considered for the fan vote. Schumacher dominated F1 during his Ferrari F1 stint. During the years, Schumacher won the first race of the millennium with the Australian Grand Prix 2000. Schumacher then went on to win five back to back World Championship titles. Schumacher won 48 out of 85 races during those 5 years with the Ferrari F1 team.

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Ricky Ponting, on the other hand, oversaw two unbeaten World Cup campaigns in which the Australian cricket team were crowned champions. Under Ponting, the Australian cricket team stitched together an unbeaten streak of 32 World Cup games which stretched to the 2011 World Cup. While the Schumacher-Ponting match up was expected to be close, it was anything but that. Schumacher beat Ponting with 65% of the votes going to the Ferrari F1 driver.

Image Courtesy: icc-cricket.com, michael-schumacher.de