No Huddle

GQ's Least Influential People of 2012: Oh Snap!

Photo Credit: GQ.com

Every year People Magazine does a "Sexiest Man Alive" issue (which I posted about earlier this month), and GQ says hey, I can do that too! Instead of good looks driving their magazine this month, they once again unveiled their "Least Influential People of 2012" magazine, and boy, is it great! 

The number one least influential person this year? Mitt Romney! 

But in this list of 25 people, some of your favorite (or in this case, least favorite) athletes were given the honors of being extremely unhelpful this year. 

Let's see who made GQ's naughty list:

Dwight Howard

Photo Credit: GQ.com

After many months of jockeying for a team other than the Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard landed in the sunny city of Los Angeles as a Laker. While his end goal was finally reached, the way it took him to get to California was a little sketchy to say the least. It seemed it took Howard months of making vague demands to the Magic owners and then telling the fans that he was happy in Orlando, to then jump ship when the Laker's camp came calling. While his presence in LA adds another dynamic to the team, his contributions as a player have yet to be felt.

Ryan Lochte

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The king of "Jeah!" is back in another magazine. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Ryan Lochte is certainly an interesting individual, who after making a splash in the London Olympics, has been in the tabloids and celebrity gossip realm ever since July. He's guest-starred as himself on 90210, was linked to the newly minted Miss USA, has been hopping around in the music scene, and finally managed to trademark his favorite word: Jeah. While he is still a pretty attractive person, it's his slightly below average intellect and all-about-me attitude that is a big turnoff. To quote GQ: "This is what happens to you when you buy American-flag mouth grills."

Gregg Williams

Photo Credit: John David Mercer, US Presswire

Oh Gregg Williams. To think that violence will earn you money, well, you're mistaken. Williams, the disgraced former NFL defensive coordinator, was the man who pioneered the New Orleans Saint's bounty program. This program that awarded players with money if they could cause another player harm, has completely backfired. Not only has the Saints organization paid dearly with multiple suspensions, fines, and bad karma, it's just shameful that someone in the NFL could do such a thing. We all know that concussions are still a serious problem for players, so why add another dangerous element to the game? Unbelievable. Williams definitely deserves to be on this list.

Lance Armstrong

Photo Credit: Rogerio Barbosa, Getty Images

It's been a rough year for Lance Armstrong. Not only have his seven Tour de France titles been stripped from him, but he also stepped down as the head of his organization, Livestrong, and was dropped by his biggest supporter Nike. Sadly, he now is the polar opposite of the inspiring legend and athlete he once was. No one is taking away the fact that he beat cancer, which is certainly something to be admired. However, his choices, which were truly hypocritical to his message as an honest athlete, are now coming back to bite him.

Bobby Valentine

Photo Credit: Kelley L Cox, US Presswire

To be a Boston Red Sox fan this year must be rough. After the Red Sox let manager Terry Francona go (he was a man who won the franchise TWO World Series titles), they brought in ESPN analyst and TV personality Bobby Valentine. Valentine, in just one year, seemed to completely fracture the organization, divided the clubhouse even further than it already was, showed up to practices late, bickered about his assistant coaches, and even said his team had "the weakest roster... in September in the history of baseball." And sadly, this year, the Red Sox finished last in the AL East division with a 69-93 record. As a result, Valentine was canned for the club's third manager in three years, John Farrell.

Verdict:

All in all, this year's athletes in GQ's "Least Influential People of 2012" was spot on. But to say the least, I'm not exactly impressed with each of these five athletes this year. Hopefully 2013 will be a better year for them. McKayla shakes her head at them.