BFFs across sports

In their heyday, it seemed like Woods and Federer were destined for a long game of cross-sport one-upmanship. Woods seemed well on his way to becoming the greatest golfer, by every measure, in the sport's history, and Federer was dominating tennis with ease. Woods' extramarital affairs and injuries started to catch up with him, while Federer, down for a brief time due to the rise of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, has enjoyed a renaissance. Throughout the ups and downs, the two have been close friends for years and remain so to this day.

Friends since childhood, Kershaw and Stafford attended Highland Park High School in suburban Dallas together and played freshman football alongside one another, as well as two years of varsity baseball. Though Stafford displayed more prodigy-like qualities at an earlier age, it's safe to say that both have done just fine for themselves in the pros.

If the picture isn't quite clear there, that's Mike Trout in the green hoodie, accepting a football from Carson Wentz. Trout is a South Jersey kid through and through, which means he's a die-hard Eagles fan. Though he has millions, he sits right at field level, very close to the rest of the fans. Unlike the rest of the fans, he's befriended Wentz and even gone on duck-hunting excursions with him.

It stands to reason that the longtime Red Sox slugger and the Patriots' all-world quarterback would be friends, and they are, having taken in a Kentucky Derby together. Brady also jokingly tried to talk Ortiz out of retirement given the fact that his final season was such a smashing success. In any event, the New England quarterback would likely much rather be associated with Ortiz than Floyd Mayweather Jr., whom he was seen FaceTiming with before one of Mayweather's fights.

Both men have moved from the playing surface to the owner's box, with Lemieux having considerably more success in the latter field, but these two titans of their respective sports have been friends for years, playing in each other's golf invitational tournaments, united by their mutual competitiveness. They aren't seen together in public all that much, but one imagines that they still get out for the occasional friendly, but high-stakes, round of golf.

Having spent some of his formative years, from age 6 until approximately age 13, in Italy, Bryant became a big soccer fan, learning the game and becoming a big A.C. Milan fan. However, after meeting Ronaldinho in Los Angeles at a Nike event, the two became fast friends, with the Brazilian legend introducing Bryant to Lionel Messi. Ever since, Barcelona has jockeyed with A.C. Milan for Bryant's loyalties.

Green and Woodley's friendship is an example of two prominent athletes coming together to do something great for their hometown. The town in this case is Saginaw, Mich., and Woodley and Green have run football and basketball summer camps for children in the community. Before Woodley retired from the NFL, they were both occasionally spotted offering support at the other's games.

Neither man is active now, but Moss is still very visible as an NFL commentator on ESPN. In their high school days, Moss and Williams, who remain friends, terrorized the high school basketball ranks, with Williams' flashy passing and Moss' skywalking finishes proving so memorable that Nike decided to make a commercial using their schoolboy footage once both had made it big in the pros.

Vonn and Wozniacki met while they were both dating professional golfers — Tiger Woods in Vonn's case, Rory McIlroy in Wozniacki's. Their friendship remained strong after both relationships ended, and Vonn has even been spotted at tennis tournaments cheering on Wozniacki. Unsurprisingly, Vonn cited a mutual understanding of the pressures of athletic fame and the subsequent demands on time that it creates as major pillars of their friendship.

It must be a Baltimore thing. Phelps and Lewis are friends, and Phelps even considers the Hall of Fame linebacker something of a mentor. Lewis even sent out a congratulatory tweet when Phelps won the last of his 23 career Olympic gold medals in 2016. Phelps even went so far as to credit Lewis for motivating him to continue swimming after a well-documented struggle with motivation after the 2008 Olympics.

OK, so La Russa's managerial days are over and neither guy is an athlete, but this friendship has to be mentioned given that both men have a penchant for driving opposing fans crazy. They've been close pals for over a decade, ever since being introduced by — wait for it — Buzz Bissinger, who went to high school with Belichick and covered La Russa for his book, "Three Nights in August." It's probably for the best that this friendship flies fairly low under the radar, lest it cause a massive outrage surge across the country.

The friendship between Parker and Felix dates back to the early 2000s, when they met at the ESPY Awards. Both won national high school athlete of the year awards, Parker's for basketball, Felix's for track and field. They became fast friends and cheered each other on at the London Olympics, with Parker even sending her husband to cheer on Felix when she couldn't be there herself due to a team meeting.

Horford and Cano are two of the most prominent athletes from the Dominican Republic this century, and their relationship goes back several years. Horford's father Tito and Cano's father Jose, themselves professional athletes, knew each other, but their sons did not meet until Horford's rookie year in the NBA. Ever since, the two have made an effort to catch the other play whenever possible.

This is Brady's second appearance, but he's Tom Brady, so we'll allow it. Brady and Spieth have gotten to know each other through their relationship with Under Armour, and according to Spieth, Brady is the same competitor on the golf course that he is on the football field. Spieth was complimentary of Brady's skills on the course but said that when things go wrong, Brady becomes the same disgusted-looking person NFL fans see on the sidelines when the Patriots are struggling. 

The two became close friends when Paul was playing in New Orleans, as they were neighbors and shared a personal chef. Paul and Bush soaked in all the nightlife and culture that the Big Easy had to offer, so much so that Paul said he got emotional after his sudden trade to the Los Angeles Clippers.