Breaking Down The Athletes Of The Time 100

Time list is out, and I checked, you aren't on it. But some athletes are! But how did they get there? How can a pro athlete who's not Muhammad Ali or Jackie Robinson or Maximus from Gladiator possibly qualify as "influential?" Time's metric for selection is top secret, but I think we can tease out some common threads among the major athletes listed.

Novak Djokovic Foreign: Yes. Religious: Yes. Wears a prayer rope. Handicap: None. Good: Yes.

Tim Tebow Foreign: No. Religious: Yes, controversially so. Handicap: Throwing Motion Good: Maybe. Even more controversial than his religion.

Oscar Pistorius Foreign: Yes. Religious: Yes. Prays before races. Handicap: Double amputee. Good: Yes, for a guy with no legs.

Lionel Messi Foreign: Yes. Religious: Unknown. Is possibly God. Handicap: Stunted growth. Good: Yes.

Jeremy Lin Foreign: No, though treated as "other." Religious: Yes, just short of controversially so. Handicap: Intelligence, possibly Asian-Americanness. Good: For a while there.

Note: I scrolled through the list, so it's entirely possible there are more athletes whose names I didn't recognize because they're just too foreign. (Hey, the world's top ranked women's golfer! )