SPOTY
Comments
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He probably doesn't want to speak to them. Most sportsmen would rather just get on with playing sport.That's all very well Rich but he comes over as dull and there's resentment in his tone as if he doesn't want to speak to the press at all.
Personally, I don't find him dull. He's got quite a good dry sense of humour. But it's probably lost on the general public who confuse attention seeking antics with a personality.Twitter: @RichN950 -
It's too much like an X Factor type show these days. As long as the repugnant Tyson Fury doesn't win then it's fine with me. The sooner Anthony Joshua knocks him back to obscurity the better.It's called the Sports Personality of the Year Award. Actual achievement during the year is only part of the story, another component is having a personality and a bit part is having public recognition and that they like you.
Frankly its a pointless award and I don't know why we get our knickers in a twist each year.
this x 1000
in terms of actual achievements, Lizzie has to be up there, but the public will vote for others, I just hope Fury doesn't get anywhere near the top 3... can't stand him.0 -
This.Andy Murray should be disqualified on the grounds that he doesn't have a personality.
I don't get this - I'm with Rich in that Andy Murray comes across as one of the more genuine and likeable of sports stars with a dry sense of humour. That said I don't see what he's done to merit winning it this year.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
This.Andy Murray should be disqualified on the grounds that he doesn't have a personality.
I don't get this - I'm with Rich in that Andy Murray comes across as one of the more genuine and likeable of sports stars with a dry sense of humour. That said I don't see what he's done to merit winning it this year.
he beat a load of lower ranked players in the davis cup. the media are glossing over the probablility that if federer and wavrinka (spelling?) were bothered the swiss would walk it. If djokovic was bothered the serbs would probably beat us as well. we only won it because no one else cares."Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago0 -
It's a fair point gsk82. Was the Davis cup ever taken seriously by the top ranking players? Maybe that's all we can achieve.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0
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Most of the top players have won it - Federer and Djokovic have, Nadal several timesIt's a fair point gsk82. Was the Davis cup ever taken seriously by the top ranking players? Maybe that's all we can achieve.
However, this year Federer and Wawrinka didn't play, Djokovic only played the first round, Berdych and Stepanek who won it twice for the Czechs didn't play, Spain got relegated recently when Nadal stopped playing.
In the final, Belgium and GBs number 2 players were ranked 100 and 108 in the World. And if James Ward hadn't had a surprise win against a subpar John Isner GB would have gone out in the first round.
In tennis terms it's like the team competition at the Tour. It's importsnt to the team that wins it.Twitter: @RichN950 -
Some truth in that, under the predictable negativity.he beat a load of lower ranked players in the davis cup. the media are glossing over the probablility that if federer and wavrinka (spelling?) were bothered the swiss would walk it. If djokovic was bothered the serbs would probably beat us as well. we only won it because no one else cares.
On the other hand, it's extremely rare for anyone to succeed in winning every match he plays in the whole tournament (see here for why Murray did or didn't actually set the record, depending on which way you look at it), he's world number 2 so of course it's mostly going to be lower-ranked players he plays, and he did actually turn up - no doubt people would be criticising him if he didn't bother.
As usual there's no pleasing some people.0 -
You can only beat what's in front of you, as they say. And you can't fault his commitment. But as a career achievement it ranks below his Grand Slams and Olympics. He got the award (and a second place) for those. Others deserve the award before he gets a second.
Some truth in that, under the predictable negativity.he beat a load of lower ranked players in the davis cup. the media are glossing over the probablility that if federer and wavrinka (spelling?) were bothered the swiss would walk it. If djokovic was bothered the serbs would probably beat us as well. we only won it because no one else cares.
On the other hand, it's extremely rare for anyone to succeed in winning every match he plays in the whole tournament (see here for why Murray did or didn't actually set the record, depending on which way you look at it), he's world number 2 so of course it's mostly going to be lower-ranked players he plays, and he did actually turn up - no doubt people would be criticising him if he didn't bother.
As usual there's no pleasing some people.Twitter: @RichN950 -
Odd shortlist.
Jessica Ennis-Hill - won one event. But she is a national treasure.
Mo Farah - dominated the big events. But not sure too many people will vote for him in case he turns out to be a doper.
Lewis Hamilton - beat his teammate in a two-horse race.
Lucy Bronze - scored a couple of goals at the World Cup but I'm not sure what she did to merit shortlisting for an individual award.
Tyson Fury - like him (or his sport) or not, he beat a guy who'd not lost for 11 years and was widely considered a class apart. And it wasn't a fluke win either, as far as I can tell.
Chris Froome - won the Tour against a strongish field and a couple of other races, but not very British.
Lizzie Armitstead - a whole series of victories.
Adam Peaty - must admit I don't follow swimming, but apparently he won three medals in the world championships and that sounds impressive.
Max Whitlock - star of the successful British team and just about the best in his specialist discipline.
Kevin Sinfield - legend of his sport, announced his retirement. (Well, it worked for Ryan Giggs...)
Greg Rutherford - has built on his Olympic success, now the best long jumper in the world.
Andy Murray - still nowhere near being the best in the world at his sport, but a couple of others became slightly worse (or more injured) than him this year.
Based on that I'd say Armitstead or Peaty should win, but they're from niche sports and have more or less no chance.0 -
Would have thought Broad would be in with a shout. Not every century you see Australia bowled out for 60.Warning No formatter is installed for the format0
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Would have thought Broad would be in with a shout. Not every century you see Australia bowled out for 60.
No Root, so certaintly no Housewives Favourite Broad0 -
On the other hand the England team had an even worse World Cup than their rugby compatriots.Would have thought Broad would be in with a shout. Not every century you see Australia bowled out for 60.Twitter: @RichN950 -
Murray would get my vote as the dullest sportsman ever. He wouldn't get my vote for anything else ever.
Muppet.0 -
I'm not sure Kitschko was considered a class apart. He's not widely considered to be the best boxer in his own family.
Mike Tyson would have beaten Klitschko and Fury at the same time.0 -
This.Andy Murray should be disqualified on the grounds that he doesn't have a personality.
I don't get this - I'm with Rich in that Andy Murray comes across as one of the more genuine and likeable of sports stars with a dry sense of humour. That said I don't see what he's done to merit winning it this year.
Ok. Mea Culpa. It's a cheap attempt at a joke and if you didn't realise it was one then I can empathise with the annoyance.
The problem I think is that the BBC have named it Sports "Personality". And we all have differing opinions of what that means.
Personally (see the pun there), I have no interest in their personalities. I am only interested in their performance, and so I would like to see a trophy presented to the sports person that has achieved the most against everyone else. To me that means totally dominating your sport, or winning the events that matter most to those that enter them. So, I would like them to avoid "turning up prizes" like any points system that runs over a year, and for them to concentrate on winning. So F1 championships are not important, but winning majors like Wimbledon, The Open, TDF etc. are.
This is a cycling forum, and I guess if you ask any top cyclist what really matters they will say TDF (multiday event) or WC(single day event).
Is that harder than beating the Belgians at tennis, or winning in Rugby League or boxing. Beats me.
I would just hate it if a major accolade and power and kudos went to someone because they were popular, irrespective of achievement. We already have that, its called a general election.0 -
Odd shortlist.
Jessica Ennis-Hill - won one event. But she is a national treasure.
Mo Farah - dominated the big events. But not sure too many people will vote for him in case he turns out to be a doper.
Lewis Hamilton - beat his teammate in a two-horse race.
Lucy Bronze - scored a couple of goals at the World Cup but I'm not sure what she did to merit shortlisting for an individual award.
Tyson Fury - like him (or his sport) or not, he beat a guy who'd not lost for 11 years and was widely considered a class apart. And it wasn't a fluke win either, as far as I can tell.
Chris Froome - won the Tour against a strongish field and a couple of other races, but not very British.
Lizzie Armitstead - a whole series of victories.
Adam Peaty - must admit I don't follow swimming, but apparently he won three medals in the world championships and that sounds impressive.
Max Whitlock - star of the successful British team and just about the best in his specialist discipline.
Kevin Sinfield - legend of his sport, announced his retirement. (Well, it worked for Ryan Giggs...)
Greg Rutherford - has built on his Olympic success, now the best long jumper in the world.
Andy Murray - still nowhere near being the best in the world at his sport, but a couple of others became slightly worse (or more injured) than him this year.
Based on that I'd say Armitstead or Peaty should win, but they're from niche sports and have more or less no chance.
Well to be fair Murray is quite near the best in the world at his sport. There is only one higher ranking.
To be honest I think we are getting a bit complacent about achievements now. Nothing much new in there. You can't be the first person to win the tour anymore or first world champion for 50 years. And surely everyone is bored of motor racing now. I could see Tyson Fury winning it due to the timing of his win.0 -
Odd shortlist.
Jessica Ennis-Hill - won one event. But she is a national treasure.
Mo Farah - dominated the big events. But not sure too many people will vote for him in case he turns out to be a doper.
Lewis Hamilton - beat his teammate in a two-horse race.
Lucy Bronze - scored a couple of goals at the World Cup but I'm not sure what she did to merit shortlisting for an individual award.
Tyson Fury - like him (or his sport) or not, he beat a guy who'd not lost for 11 years and was widely considered a class apart. And it wasn't a fluke win either, as far as I can tell.
Chris Froome - won the Tour against a strongish field and a couple of other races, but not very British.
Lizzie Armitstead - a whole series of victories.
Adam Peaty - must admit I don't follow swimming, but apparently he won three medals in the world championships and that sounds impressive.
Max Whitlock - star of the successful British team and just about the best in his specialist discipline.
Kevin Sinfield - legend of his sport, announced his retirement. (Well, it worked for Ryan Giggs...)
Greg Rutherford - has built on his Olympic success, now the best long jumper in the world.
Andy Murray - still nowhere near being the best in the world at his sport, but a couple of others became slightly worse (or more injured) than him this year.
Based on that I'd say Armitstead or Peaty should win, but they're from niche sports and have more or less no chance.
Well to be fair Murray is quite near the best in the world at his sport. There is only one higher ranking.
To be honest I think we are getting a bit complacent about achievements now. Nothing much new in there. You can't be the first person to win the tour anymore or first world champion for 50 years. And surely everyone is bored of motor racing now. I could see Tyson Fury winning it due to the timing of his win.
Well let's hope it isn't a strong advocate of splitting up GB that wins it. Maybe we would allow him to be Scottish SPOTY on the account that he is the only one running for it.0 -
The problem I think is that the BBC have named it Sports "Personality". And we all have differing opinions of what that means.
No we don't. In this context it means famous person. That's it. We only have this stupid "he has no personality" nonsense - every single bloody year - because people are stupid and can't grasp this simple fact.
personality
noun
1.
the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.
"she had a sunny personality that was very engaging"
2.
a celebrity or famous person.
"an official opening by a famous personality"0 -
The problem I think is that the BBC have named it Sports "Personality". And we all have differing opinions of what that means.
No we don't. In this context it means famous person. That's it. We only have this stupid "he has no personality" nonsense - every single bloody year - because people are stupid and can't grasp this simple fact.
personality
noun
1.
the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.
"she had a sunny personality that was very engaging"
2.
a celebrity or famous person.
"an official opening by a famous personality"
Cool. I'm going to vote for Kerry Katona.0 -
On that basis you get the award based on your personality. So forget whether you have achieved anything or not. !!!!!The problem I think is that the BBC have named it Sports "Personality". And we all have differing opinions of what that means.
No we don't. In this context it means famous person. That's it. We only have this stupid "he has no personality" nonsense - every single bloody year - because people are stupid and can't grasp this simple fact.
personality
noun
1.
aathe combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.
"she had a sunny personality that was very engaging"
2.
a celebrity or famous person.
"an official opening by a famous personality"
If the BBC want to waste money on that they are welcome to, its not my money they are spending.
If you can become famous without ever achieving anything apart from popularity you should be on Soap TV personality of the year.
Surely to win a Sports award you need to be the highest achieving Sports person, not just the one favoured by the masses?
For example. Cycling personality of the year. Sagan.
Best cyclist of the year???? I am sure we could all list a lot of other contenders and argue their case.0 -
On that basis you get the award based on your personality. So forget whether you have achieved anything or not. !!!!!The problem I think is that the BBC have named it Sports "Personality". And we all have differing opinions of what that means.
No we don't. In this context it means famous person. That's it. We only have this stupid "he has no personality" nonsense - every single bloody year - because people are stupid and can't grasp this simple fact.
personality
noun
1.
aathe combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.
"she had a sunny personality that was very engaging"
2.
a celebrity or famous person.
"an official opening by a famous personality"
If the BBC want to waste money on that they are welcome to, its not my money they are spending.
If you can become famous without ever achieving anything apart from popularity you should be on Soap TV personality of the year.
Surely to win a Sports award you need to be the highest achieving Sports person, not just the one favoured by the masses?
For example. Cycling personality of the year. Sagan.
Best cyclist of the year???? I am sure we could all list a lot of other contenders and argue their case.
Everyone on the list has achieved something in their respective fields this year.0 -
We only have this stupid "he has no personality" nonsense - every single bloody year - because people are stupid and can't grasp this simple fact.
No they aren't - winning SPOTY's clearly not just about athletic achievement, it's about how well liked you are by the public, and a lot of that is whether you come across well in interviews etc. etc.
Just like politics - ideally you want someone who is capable but in the event, people vote for candidates who have charisma. Or in Strictly, where people who are disliked tend to go out straight away even if they're good at dancing (awaits flaming for mentioning Strictly...).
Anything which has a public vote element is always going to be about a lot more than pure achievement.0 -
Can we get over the "personality" nonsense. It is simply a name which obviously felt right when it was first awarded in 1954.
Today if the show were just being commissioned it would no doubt be called something like "Sports Person Of the Year".
Anyway, my vote is going to Lizzie Armistead.
There are already plenty of prizes for being the highest achieving sports person - the sports in question give those out every year to those that win.Surely to win a Sports award you need to be the highest achieving Sports person, not just the one favoured by the masses?You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.0 -
quality from marina hyde on fury...I am very much enjoying the work of new heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, an auto-parodic character whose own success is among the most eloquent of arguments against his belief in a benevolent deity.
Asked to opine on his chances of winning the other big one – Sports Personality of the Year – Tyson was at pains to play down his chances. “They won’t let me win it,” he explained, disappointingly passing up the chance to speculate that the Beeb think he’s all fur coat and no knickers. “I am too outspoken and controversial.”
Ah yes. No one would accuse Tyson of being a man of range, and this finds him in a familiar furrow. “I say what I think,” he intoned after some spat with Dereck Chisora. “Got to say what I think or I wouldn’t be Tyson Fury,” he explained in June. “I say what I think,” was his verdict on an interaction with David Price. “I say what I think,” he sensationally revealed to a recent interviewer – indeed, you can scarcely find an interview where Tyson doesn’t say what he thinks, which is mainly that he says what he thinks. He serves as an encouraging reminder that we live in an era where “saying what you think” has been elevated to an accomplishment in itself. The thought and its quality are irrelevant: the aim is to say it out loud.
The more emotionally incontinent reality TV contestants always pride themselves on saying what they think, no matter how imbecilic, and Mr Fury is cut from the same cloth. Not altogether unusual in his line of work, of course, but even by industry standards he is a standout, and we await the next glimpse into his brain cell at his earliest convenience.0 -
Fury is clearly an idiot. But surely as a member of an oppressed minority he is beyond criticism? Isn't that how it works these days?quality from marina hyde on fury...... snobbery ...0 -
quality from marina hyde on fury...stuff
The problem for the Guardian is not that he says what he thinks, it's that they don't like what he thinks so (to them) he shouldn't say it. If he'd said 'Anyone who disagrees with gay marriage is a tw@t, I say what I think' they would love him.
BTW this is no way an endorsement of what he says.It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.0 -
quality from marina hyde on fury...stuff
The problem for the Guardian is not that he says what he thinks, it's that they don't like what he thinks so (to them) he shouldn't say it. If he'd said 'Anyone who disagrees with gay marriage is a tw@t, I say what I think' they would love him.
BTW this is no way an endorsement of what he says.
Sure... but when he has the Daily Mail on his case as well... The Daily Mail interview transcript here is astonishing...
Apart from everything else:OH: Do you see something of that in you versus Klitschko?
TF: Yes. To be honest with you, I know Klitschko is a devil worshipper.
OH: Right.
TF: They are involved in bigger circles and stuff like that and they do magic tricks and whatever.
OH: Do they?
TF: Yeah. Yeah, you can go on YouTube and watch him playing with magic and all that sort of stuff, Wladimir, and all these rock stars and singers and these famous people, it’s common knowledge that they are all involved in a cult group of Satan worshippers and all that sort of stuff. There again, a man who does evil things and worships an evil one, how can he win over a man who wants to do good things and preach good stuff? It ain’t going to happen. He can’t beat me now. Now I know what he is, a devil-worshipper, I know he has no chance of beating me.
Though he did get the last bit right...0 -
Seems to generate a lot of chat and interest.
Isn't that what sport is about? Much more fun with villains and heroes, spats and grudges.
Most sports could do with more of that.
Even local derby matches in football nowadays have more puff than actual needle, since few of the players even know where the teams are based.0
