The 50 Best Athlete Halloween Costumes of 2012

There is simply no holiday, no other tradition, quite like Halloween. In an autumn season already jam-packed with activities—both natural and man-made—Halloween stands alone as an event that doesn't involve a giant ham, turkey or celebration of some critical moment in America's history.

Nope, Halloween is neither a nod to a great national sacrifice nor a reminder of a society-defining legacy—it's a decadent celebration of buffoonery, candy and sexy transformations of horrific, mythical creatures. It's almost as if Halloween was designed by a 19-year-old frat boy who has seen Evil Dead one too many times.

While seeing children, men and women walking around your neighborhood in costumes—good, bad and ugly—is entertaining enough, the wonderful world of social media has given all of humanity access to the Halloween shenanigans of our favorite athletes and other notable sports icons.

Well, I scoured the interwebs for this year's "best" costumes in sports. And guess what? They can be just as awful, confusing or hilarious as what you or I managed to throw together.

These are the best Halloween costumes in sports for 2012—numbered, but not ranked in any particular order (I'll let you be the judge).

50. Jimmy Clausen, Carolina Panthers

Panthers backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen tried—and failed—to dress up like English actor Russell Brand.

Better luck next year...

49. Jess Gysin, Beach Volleyball Player

Jess Gysin is a former All-American volleyball player from USC who now plays beach volleyball professionally.

She rocked the pirate wench look with the best of them, and her friend went as pop singer Katy Perry.  

48. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

I'm actually not sure what Heat superstar Dwyane Wade was dressed as (but I'm sure plenty of readers will let me hear about it).

It looks like he's got Angry Birds slippers on, though. 

47. Alexis Augusto, Former Panthers Ice Girl

Former Panthers Ice Girl Alexis Augusto and her boyfriend went as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. 

46. Joe Lauzon, MMA

UFC fighter Joe Lauzon and his boys dressed up as what looks to be a Ghostbuster, a pimp, a guy with an unfortunate tattoo and their father. 

45. Mike Comrie, Retired NHL

Retired NHL player Mike Comrie and his wife, actress Hilary Duff, dressed as a skeleton and a skeleton in a dress.

I guess no new mothers want to be seen in a spandex body suit. 

44. Logan Morrison, Miami Marlins

Marlins left fielder Logan Morrison doesn't just dress himself up for Halloween, he even dresses up his little French bulldog (Chewbacca…aww!) too!

43. Kim Kardashian, Professional Girlfriend

Serial WAG Kim Kardashian and La La Vazquez, wife of Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony, have made a career and a lavish lifestyle of marrying well. 

42. Caron Butler, Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers' Caron Butler is dressed up for some trick-or-treating.

Daddy dressed as Freddy Krueger, his daughter dressed as the devil and the little one dressed as a (likely horrified) little pumpkin. 

41. Georgia Graham, MMA

English beauty Georgia Graham is an MMA enthusiast with a green belt in kickboxing.

She's also sometimes a model and college student studying health and fitness.

40. Vince Romandine, MMA

Vince Romandine is a head personal trainer and amateur MMA fighter for Team Curran.

I have no idea what he's dressed as, but he seems to be strangling Cammie from Street Fighter 2 with her own hair. 

39. Brooke Lowy, Miami Dolphins Cheerleader

Miami Dolphins Cheerleader Brooke Lowy and a man in her life are dressed as Frankenstein and the bride of Frankenstein.

I guess by the end of the night she was simply known as Mrs. Frankenstein. 

38. Rashad Evans, MMA

UFC light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans dressed as something that will haunt my dreams for years to come.

Thanks, dude.

37. Arianny Celeste, MMA Ring Girl

MMA's hottest ring girl hasn't posted any photos from Halloween 2012 just yet, but based on the plethora she shared in 2011, I'm expecting them sometime soon. 

36. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders dressed up as hipster Disney princesses this year.

I gotta admit, I'm loving this idea. 

35. Logan Morrison, Miami Marlins

Apparently, Marlins left fielder dressed up as Ben Franklin because the ladies love the founding fathers.

I absolutely agree with him. What I wouldn't give for a time capsule and just 60 minutes alone with Alexander Hamilton. 

34. Brandy K., Former Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader

Former Falcons Cheerleader Brandy dressed as the least-revolting Honey Boo Boo I've ever seen. I didn't even think that was possible!

33. Ashley Ferrara, MMA Ring Card Girl

Looks like MMA ring girl Ashley Ferrara and her gal pal dressed as Playboy Bunnies.

Aspirational, or just for fun? You be the judge. 

32. Carie Small, (Former) LFL

Former LFL player Carie Small went as a zombie Princess Leia and her friend as a zombie Conehead.

Your Princess Leia fantasy never looked so scary.

31. Kim Glass, American Olympic Volleyball

Olympic gold medal volleyball winner Kim Glass dressed as a sexy cat in a skintight bodysuit, knee-high boots and headband ears.

I've always been a dog person, but I'm reconsidering all that now. 

30. Jenna Jaeger, Denver Broncos Cheerleader

The adorable Denver Broncos Cheerleader Jenna Jaeger dressed as what I can only guess is Katy Perry, mostly because she looks like a busty piece of candy with a ridiculous wig.

Homegirl looks good, though. 

29. Ryan Bader, MMA

UFC fighter Ryan Bader dressed as a woman, and his buddy (UFC fighter Aaron Simpson) apparently dressed as his very aggressive-looking boyfriend. 

28. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

This may not actually be Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, but he did mention that when he got home recently, this guy was waiting for him. Pretty horrifying. 

27. Rebecca Grant, Former Sports Broadcaster

Former NFL on FOX and ESPN reporter Rebecca Grant is definitely at a Halloween shop trying on costumes, but whatever that dress is supposed to be, it's quite clear she's not going the scary route. 

26. Felice Herrig, MMA

MMA fighter Felice Herrig dressed as Cammie, my second-favorite character from one of the greatest video games of all time: Street Fighter 2. My favorite character, of course, was Ryu (he was handsome, and I could do tricks). 

25. Denver Broncos Cheerleaders

Katy Perry, sexy Dutch girl, sexy Smurfette, sexy sailor, another sexy Dutch girl (?), a sexy monster, a sexy cowgirl and a deranged and kinda sexy Cookie Monster.

Obviously, the deranged Cookie Monster is my favorite. 

24. Caron Butler, Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers Caron Butler, Chris Paul, Matt Barnes and former NBA player Gilbert Arenas look (to me) to be dressed as a king, a Pharaoh, a Viking and a dude with comically over-sized sunglasses. 

23. Molly Moenkhoff, Tennessee Titans Cheerleader

Titans Cheerleader Molly Moenkhoff and her fellow cheerleaders prepare their Halloween costumes for the game. 

22. Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal Canadiens

Recent Canadiens drafted player Alex Galchenyuk ‏may not be ready for Halloween himself, but his adorable dogs are going trick-or-treating dressed as a bumblebee and a pumpkin. Awww! 

21. Royce Reed, WAG

Royce Reed rose to fame as the star of VH1's Basketball Wives. She and Lakers big man Dwight Howard have a child together.

She and her brother aren't dressed for Halloween, but they did hit up a haunted house to roll their eyes at the ghosts. 

A girl after my own heart.

20. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

Clippers superstar point guard Chris Paul doesn't look like he did the whole costume thing this year, but, being the kick-ass dad that he is, he took his little girl out trick-or-treating, and he says (and it looks like) she had a ball.

19. Carla Esparza, MMA

MMA fighter and promotional model Carla Esparza (pictured on the right) dressed as Cleopatra, and her fellow fighter and friend Felice Herrig dressed as Cammie from Street Fighter 2. 

18. DeJuan Blair, Los Angeles Clippers

In some of the more inspired costuming I've seen in recent years, Clippers forward and his boys paid homage to the great RUN-D.M.C.

17. Erica, Tennessee Titans Cheerleader

Titans Cheerleader Erica, accompanied by a cheerleader friend, made a trip up to the owners box for a meet-and-greet with Titans owner Bud Adams at the home game on October 28th.

16. Robert Golden, Pittsburgh Steelers

Safety Robert Golden signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. For Halloween this year (or last?), he dressed as either a Roman soldier or the mascot from USC.

15. Nikki J. Fraser, Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleader

Former Bucs Cheerleader Nikki J. Fraser says she dressed as a ladybug for Halloween, but she definitely took some sexy liberties with that one.

That's a ladybug that is guaranteed to get your heart racing. 

14. Stephen Jackson, San Antonio Spurs

Spurs forward Stephen Jackson decided to go back a Batman sequel and do the Heath Ledger version of the Joker.

Why so serious?

13. Molly Moenkhoff, Tennessee Titans Cheerleader

Tennessee Titans Cheerleader Molly Moenkhoff dressed up her unhappy looking dogs as the Titans mascot.

I love the one who has just given up and dropped to the floor, accepting his fate.

12. Vania Brandt, Cincinnati Bengals Cheerleader

I have no clue what Bengals cheerleader Vania Brandt's costume is, but I definitely don't hate it.

I might try to fashion something similar myself next year. 

11. Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets

This Nuggets point guard doesn't get much points for originality with the whole Batman thing, but he definitely put a little effort into his costume. 

10. Tracy Lee, MMA

MMA fighter and personality Tracy Lee really went above and beyond the call of duty with her Mystique costume from the X-Men.

You really gotta have some serious self-confidence to pull that off, and she clearly does. 

9. Elisabeth Nuesser, MMA

MMA personality Elisabeth Nuesser rocked one of the most convincing Wonder Woman costumes I've ever seen—which was no easy chore. I've seen this costume butchered in a big way many times. 

8. The San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs had a killer Halloween party and posted all the pics to Twitter and Instagram, which means they're awesome.

A big thanks for nothing for everyone else who failed to do this. 

7. Kali Nicole, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

Cowboys Cheerleader Kali Nicole and two of her fellow DCC homies dressed as characters from the classic kids cartoon The Flintstones.

They were definitely the NSFK (kids) versions. 

6. Kyle Kingsbury, MMA

UFC fighter Kyle Kingsbury apparently dressed as a blue man, and ring girl Natasha Wicks dressed as a smoking hot girl in a puffy green bag. (I'm sorry, I have no idea what they're supposed to be.) 

5. Jasmine Raphaella, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader

Cowboys Cheerleaders Jasmine and Alex dressed as hoodrats, and I must say those costumes are pretty clever—without being offensive. Good job, girls. 

4. The Pittsburgh Steelers

All went as bumblebees! 

3. Alex Morgan, US Women's Soccer

Alex Morgan and her teammate Sydney Leroux took on one of the most popular meme's of the year by dressing as the unimpressed U.S. women's gymnast McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas.  

2. Grace Deissroth, Philadelphia Flyers Ice Girl

Flyers Ice Girl Grace Deissroth (right) and her equally lovely friend both dressed as Sophia Loren's character from the classic film One Million Years B.C. 

1. DeJuan Blair, San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs' DeJuan Blair dressed as a member of RUN-D.M.C., and Manu Ginobili rocked it out dressed as the legendary Zorro. 

To see what Amber Lee (Me) dressed up for Halloween, you'll have Follow @blamberr on the Twitter machine.