The question is often posed: Could soccer ever overtake the NFL in the hearts and minds of Americans?
Well, a recent ESPN ranking just dropped another hint that maybe it's not so far-fetched.
On December 25 the US sports network published its "Cross-Sport Power Rankings" for 2012. It's a list of the 20 athletes who stood out more than all the others.
A look at the Top 10 shows a single NFL player (NY Giants' Eli Manning), just one professional baseball player (Detroit's Miguel Cabrera) and two soccer players: Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
The only other sport with two representatives in the Top 10? The NBA.
Watch your back next year, LeBron.
