As we approach the end of the 2023 calendar year, let's take a look at some of the emerging stars of 2023 in the sports world. We'll examine the magnitude of their ascents and compare their journeys to the trajectories of pop culture icons from the worlds of music, movies, and media.
Travis Kelce, NFL Football
Travis Kelce is a known quantity among football fans, as he's arguably the greatest tight end of all time, but few athletes have grown their brand more in 2023, so he certainly qualifies as an emerging star on a pop culture level. Kelce's presence in commercials has grown exponentially since he and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes helped lead the Chiefs to a win in Super Bowl LVII, but Kelce got an even bigger boost in name recognition more recently. Since he began dating singer Taylor Swift, Kelce has tapped into one of the world's largest non-sports fanbases and has become arguably an A-list celebrity.
Pop culture comparison: David Beckham
Beckham was a successful footballer whose brand became even bigger when he began dating pop star Victoria Adams, aka Posh Spice of the Spice Girls. If the name Victoria Adams doesn't ring a bell, it's because she's become known as Victoria Beckham; David and Victoria have been happily married since 1999. That was the same year Beckham was part of a Manchester United team that won the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Kelce's 2023 has been similarly successful to Beckham's 1999 on both a professional and personal level, as the tight end won his second career Super Bowl with the Chiefs in February and struck up a relationship with Swift in September, shortly before celebrating his 34th birthday. The Travis and Taylor relationship is still in the emerging stages, but if this Love Story winds up with a happy ending, maybe one day the Kelces will supplant the Beckhams as the world's most famous athlete-singer spouses.
Carlos Alcaraz, ATP Tennis
Carlos Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam and captured the world No. 1 ranking at the 2022 US Open, but those accomplishments rang a bit hollow considering the 2022 US Open field didn't include Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard captivated audiences as a teenager by blending speed, power, touch and exuberance in a way we haven't seen before, but his true breakout moment didn't come until Wimbledon in July of 2023, just two months after Alcaraz's 20th birthday. After falling flat at the French Open against Djokovic a month earlier, Alcaraz won his second Grand Slam title in a 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 thriller, signifying a potential passing of the torch from the 36-year-old Djokovic. The battle-tested Serb bounced back over the remainder of 2023, and Djokovic holds the No. 1 ranking over Alcaraz heading into 2024, but there's no longer any doubt that Alcaraz has arrived as a tennis superstar.
Pop culture comparison: Michael Jackson
This comparison is strictly limited to their early career accolades and isn't an attempt to extrapolate on where Alcaraz may go from here. As the Jackson 5 rose to prominence in the early 70s, Michael Jackson was described as a young prodigy. On the heels of a golden era of the 60s that featured all-time musical greats such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys, the young Jackson helped usher in a new era of excitement, stamping his mark on music history with a unique mix of talent and showmanship. Alcaraz is doing something similar to tennis, following in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Djokovic won't pass the torch to Alcaraz willingly, and Alcaraz's attempts to pry the distinction of world's best tennis player from Djokovic's hands at Wimbledon and Cincinnati over the summer provided some of the best sports moments of 2023.
Jack, Quinn and Luke Hughes, NHL Hockey
Getting a son into the NHL is an accomplishment and two is a rarity, but the Hughes family has three brothers currently playing in the league. All three are under 25 years old and were top-10 picks in their respective drafts, so they are doing a lot more than just getting by. Jack Hughes broke out in the first few months of 2023, as the first overall pick in the 2019 Draft put the finishing touches on a breakout 2022-23 season in which he ranked 12th in the league with 99 points and helped the Devils win a round in the Stanley Cup playoffs before his 22nd birthday. Jack's older brother Quinn Hughes has taken his game to the next level so far in the 2023-24 season, as the 24-year-old Canucks defenseman leads all NHL defensemen in scoring. Luke Hughes is in the midst of his first NHL season, but the 20-year-old has already shown plenty of promise. The 2021 fourth-overall pick plays defense like Quinn and is teammates with brother Jack in New Jersey.
Pop Culture Comparison: The Beach Boys
Few groups of three-plus brothers have found high-end success in the same field, but the Beach Boys did so in music. The original version of the band consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson, in addition to their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. Just as the three Wilson brothers shared the stage at concerts, all three Hughes brothers played together in an NHL game for the first time Dec. 5. Their production in that game corresponded to their ability levels, as Jack led the way with three points for New Jersey, Quinn responded with two points for Vancouver, and Luke chipped in one point to help the Devils come out on top 6-5.
Chet Holmgren, NBA Basketball
Holmgren was drafted second overall out of Gonzaga in 2022, but a Lisfranc injury in his foot cost Holmgren his entire rookie season with the Thunder. His first NBA campaign was thus pushed back to 2023, but Holmgren has quickly emerged as one of the league's best young players, and he'd likely win Rookie of the Year over 2023 first-overall pick Victor Wembanyama if voting took place today. Holmgren is averaging over 17 points and 2.5 blocks per game, as well as nearly 8.0 rebounds, while the up-and-coming Thunder are surprisingly among the cream of the crop in the Western Conference standings.
Pop Culture Comparison: Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy may not be the most powerful members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or receive the most fanfare, but they are among the most entertaining aspects of the MCU and much closer to the best than the worst, just like the Thunder relative to the NBA universe. Holmgren and Groot aren't the leaders of their respective teams — that distinction would go to Star-Lord and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, respectively, but both Holmgren and Groot are key supporting members. Holmgren uses his lanky 7-foot-1 frame to extend out and block shots, and Groot is also tall with the ability to extend his limbs out significantly. Both Holmgren and Groot have also achieved their current success after working their way back from significant injuries, as Groot took damage far exceeding Holmgren's Lisfranc injury near the end of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. All Holmgren needs to complete the comparison is to adopt the signature phrase, "I am Chet."
C.J. Stroud, NFL Football
Stroud has had quite an eventful year. It began with heartbreak, as his Ohio State team missed a field goal in the very first minute of 2023 to fall 42-41 to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Stroud was drafted second overall by the Texans in April, and he has put together a historically good rookie season since September. The 22-year-old quarterback has Houston in contention for a playoff spot while posting 3,631 passing yards and a 20:5 TD:INT through 13 games. Stroud has missed the last two games due to a concussion, but he's on track to return for a pivotal Week 17 game against the Titans on Dec. 31. He started the year with a disappointing result on the gridiron, but the rookie QB has a chance to finish the year with redemption on the football field.
Pop Culture Comparison: Harry Potter
Stroud has had a novel-like year, beginning with a (mentally) scarring loss before later moving on to the main setting for his storyline — the NFL being Stroud's equivalent of Hogwarts for Harry Potter. Stroud has quickly proven to be "the chosen one" for Houston, both in the literal sense of being selected in the draft and the literary sense of being the person potentially capable of accomplishing some great feat. In Stroud's case, that feat would be a Super Bowl title. It took Harry Potter seven books and eight movies to defeat Lord Voldemort. If Stroud's career works out to a movie per year, we could be looking at a Super Bowl team for Houston after the 2029 regular season, with the playoff run in early 2030 serving as the Deathly Hallows Part 2 of Stroud's career. To complete the Harry Potter comparison, Stroud would likely have to recover from a major injury shortly before winning the Super Bowl, and it would be fitting if he had to vanquish one of the star players from the Georgia team that defeated him at Ohio State.
