SPOTY

[NewBlue]

Sports Personality of the Year. In a fantastic year for British sporting achievement there is a case for all competitors but ultimately the winner HAS TO BE BRADLEY WIGGINS.

 

His achievements have been so superior to the other competitors that he eclipses them all. First gold medal winner and first ever British winner of Tour de France.

 

Ennis - overhyped before the Olympics but she did her job and won gold.

Murray - must be in the top 3. Olympic gold and first male winner of a tennis major for a long time.

Weir - 2/3 golds in the Paralympics and really boosted the profile of the Paralympics

Simmonds - won a load of medals including a few golds and she was the face of the Paralympics, too.

Farah - 2 golds. What more can be said? Livened up the whole Olympics really and that celebration...

 

It's out of that 5 for the silver and bronze. Personally, I'd give it to Farah and Murray.

[rosa]

 

Weir - 2/3 golds in the Paralympics and really boosted the profile of the Paralympics

 

It was 4. And after winning the 5000m he roared ":censored:ING YES!" at Kate Middleton and Seb Coe.

 

 

There's not a single person on the shortlist I wouldn't mind winning it. Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray or Mo Farah would win by a landslide in any other year. I thought Bradley Wiggins was a cast-iron certainty to win it after the TDF but it's been such a strong year, you just can't tell.

[Hometownclub]

Wiggins or Farah for me in terms of achievement, with Murray 3rd.

[rudemedic]

I think it will be Wiggins, Murray, Farrah 1, 2, 3. Wiggins this year has won the tour de France (plus come 3rd in another one), won an Olympic gold in front of a million people plus another few million on TV. Some people will vote for him because unlike a lot of the other contenders he has a personality. Some people will vote for him because he annoyed the French by winning the equivalent of their Grand National and then refusing to give his congratulatory speech in French, despite being near fluent in the language. Finally some people will vote for him because one of the other contenders has said he deserves to win.

 

Murray won more Olympic medals than half the contenders plus a major.

 

Mo Farrah won 2 gold medals, has a personality and sums up what the modern Britain is all about.

 

If Jess Ennis wins I for one will be very annoyed. She decided that winning the Heptahalon was good enough for her when she had a decent shout of getting a medal in the 100m hurdles. If any of my top 3 had done that then Wiggins wouldn't have an Olympic medal, Murray wouldn't have a silver to go with his gold and Farrah wouldn't have a 5,000 medal to go with his 10k gold medal. She will be getting an accolade for being pretty and that annoys me.

 

As for the rest if any of the Paralympians get into the 1, 2, 3 then I won't be too frustrated but anyone else will rank almost as bad as the time Giggs won it.

[opinions4u]

Murray won't win. The pedigree is right, but he's a miserable Scottish git so won't attract the wider vote.

 

Farrah might win. He shouldn't do, but his two golds were prime time Saturday night brilliance. Which, for me, eclipses Ennis.

 

Wiggins should win. The Tour de France being the deciding factor that sets him apart from the other Olympians, Murray aside.

 

Paralympics? While I really got into it and admire the whole damned lot of them, I can't put them above those I've named above.

 

What's that? It's a telephone vote? Ah bollocks, anything could happen.

 

 

[NewBlue]

I think it will be Wiggins, Murray, Farrah 1, 2, 3. Wiggins this year has won the tour de France (plus come 3rd in another one), won an Olympic gold in front of a million people plus another few million on TV. Some people will vote for him because unlike a lot of the other contenders he has a personality. Some people will vote for him because he annoyed the French by winning the equivalent of their Grand National and then refusing to give his congratulatory speech in French, despite being near fluent in the language. Finally some people will vote for him because one of the other contenders has said he deserves to win.

 

Murray won more Olympic medals than half the contenders plus a major.

 

Mo Farrah won 2 gold medals, has a personality and sums up what the modern Britain is all about.

 

If Jess Ennis wins I for one will be very annoyed. She decided that winning the Heptahalon was good enough for her when she had a decent shout of getting a medal in the 100m hurdles. If any of my top 3 had done that then Wiggins wouldn't have an Olympic medal, Murray wouldn't have a silver to go with his gold and Farrah wouldn't have a 5,000 medal to go with his 10k gold medal. She will be getting an accolade for being pretty and that annoys me.

 

As for the rest if any of the Paralympians get into the 1, 2, 3 then I won't be too frustrated but anyone else will rank almost as bad as the time Giggs won it.

 

Couldn't agree more. Ennis was the face of the Olympics because she's young and decent looking and 'coloured' but her achievement was hyped up so much. We had a load more single medal winners that aren't on the list but grafted the exact same or more than her but they don't get recognition because they're not as famous.

 

Reminds me of the Giggs incident like you said. This isn't a celebration of a career, it's a celebration of the athlete's achievements in an single year and Giggs wasn't even the best Briton in the Premier League nevermind sport in general.

 

And as for Murray, when he wins Wimbledon he will win Sports Personality of the Year but the US Open, without Nadal competing isn't enough to beat Wiggins though it was a great feat to win both that and the Olympic Gold and Silver.

[leeslover]

Ennis 1 Gold + I would leave her looking like a plasterer's radio < Victoria Pendleton 1 Gold, one silver and denied more with petty officaldom, and a glittering career at the top of her sport. And I would crawl 50 miles over broken glass to take a wank in her shadow.

 

That aside, Wiggins by a mile. Dominated one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and smashed the gold in the Olympics, and did it clean after chasing the tail of dopers most of his career. And he's a funny bastard.

[Guest Scratch2000uk]

To suggest the achievements of one of the sportsmen/women are somehow more deserving than another's, is silly. and does it really matter?

 

Looking at some of the previous winners, and their justification just confirms ( to me ) that it's a farce and a waste of my license fee money.

[rosa]

I'm sure Jessica Ennis's looks aren't doing her profile any harm but winning a heptathlon, in a home Olympics, under immense pressure and expectation, is a pretty impressive achievement. I think the reason it caught people's imagination so much is that they recognise the effort and dedication involved in winning an all-round event, and in having to put in world-class performances in disciplines that you don't have a natural aptitude for. That's not to say it doesn't take dedication and hard work to win single-discipline events - of course it does - but everyone loves triumph over adversity, and it's great seeing someone have a great performance in an event they've publicly admitted they're not that good at and they're worried about. Maybe she should have had a go at the 100m hurdles. Maybe she didn't want to risk it with her history of injuries. It certainly wouldn't be the greatest injustice ever if she won. I'm really looking forward to it, there are far bigger things to get annoyed about and the BBC spends money on worse things.

[leeslover]

the BBC spends money on worse things.

Thought it was job to say that on here?

 

Ennis has done very well to get to where she is, as you say injuries have hit her hard (switching take off foot in the long jump is massive). Daley Thompson was a huge star as a decathlete (OK, he turned up in the Pole Vault for a laugh and did the sprint relay sometimes) although he was at a higher level than Ennis. It's nice that we don't have to worry about it going to Steve Davis or some bloody F1 driver anyway.

[JoeP]

Thought it was job to say that on here?

 

Ennis has done very well to get to where she is, as you say injuries have hit her hard (switching take off foot in the long jump is massive). Daley Thompson was a huge star as a decathlete (OK, he turned up in the Pole Vault for a laugh and did the sprint relay sometimes) although he was at a higher level than Ennis. It's nice that we don't have to worry about it going to Steve Davis or some bloody F1 driver anyway.

 

Would rather it went to Steve Davis than Ryan bloody Giggs!

 

Wiggins to win with Andy Murray, Mo Farrah or Jess Ennis making up the other two.

[rudemedic]

I'm sure Jessica Ennis's looks aren't doing her profile any harm but winning a heptathlon, in a home Olympics, under immense pressure and expectation, is a pretty impressive achievement. I think the reason it caught people's imagination so much is that they recognise the effort and dedication involved in winning an all-round event, and in having to put in world-class performances in disciplines that you don't have a natural aptitude for. That's not to say it doesn't take dedication and hard work to win single-discipline events - of course it does - but everyone loves triumph over adversity, and it's great seeing someone have a great performance in an event they've publicly admitted they're not that good at and they're worried about. Maybe she should have had a go at the 100m hurdles. Maybe she didn't want to risk it with her history of injuries. It certainly wouldn't be the greatest injustice ever if she won. I'm really looking forward to it, there are far bigger things to get annoyed about and the BBC spends money on worse things.

Laura Trott won the pentathlon of cycling and another gold medal (plus she is also pretty - although I doubt you care about that). The Brownlee brothers won an Olympic gold, bronze and world championship between them at a true multi-discipline event. Plus Ally Brownlee would have come 9th in the Olympic 10,000 m. Her record of injuries doesn't matter as what did she do after the Olympics that any injury would have put her out of?

 

I don't mind her being nominatied I just don't see how she should win though given the list of people who didn't get nominated. Some of whom would be at least just as deserving if not more so.

[Zorrro]

I don't understand the Wiggins love-in at all. He rides a bicycle.

[Guest Scratch2000uk]

They got their gold medals they got their lucrative endorsement contracts, i hope a para Olympian wins it, at least that way it may ease the blow of them having their disablement benefits stopped eh?

[JoeP]

I don't understand the Wiggins love-in at all. He rides a bicycle.

 

He's ginger and he's got sideburns.

 

What's not to love...

[NewBlue]

Almost as bad as Zara Phillips winning it.

 

Probably fixed by the aristocracy and the bloody horse did more work than her. Giggs winning was almost as bad!

 

Ennis has not achieved as much as some of those not even on the list never mind on the list. Multiple medal winners have been shunned for her being the face of the Olympics because of her pretty face and the fact that she is mixed race.

 

At least Wiggins has made some history and beat a load of performing enhancing druggies on the way and also won the first medal in the Olympics for us.

 

I'll be voting for Wiggins just in the hope that Ennis doesn't win it. For the sake of us ugly folk! (Call me spiteful all you like haha) Well also because he deserves it more than everyone else, too!

Edited December 16, 2012 by NewBlue

[jsslatic]

What Ennis did is incredible, I don't understand the criticism or putting her down just because someone likes Wiggins or Farah more. Everyone on that list this year has achieved something brilliant this year and deserves recognition. I know it's a competition, but they're all excellent and there's no need to put anyone down.

[rudemedic]

What Ennis did is incredible, I don't understand the criticism or putting her down just because someone likes Wiggins or Farah more. Everyone on that list this year has achieved something brilliant this year and deserves recognition. I know it's a competition, but they're all excellent and there's no need to put anyone down.

Says the village idiot

[Zorrro]

He's ginger and he's got sideburns.

 

What's not to love...

 

Indeed, Mr. P.

[leeslover]

Laura Trott won the pentathlon of cycling and another gold medal (plus she is also pretty - although I doubt you care about that).

The Onmium is a bit of a laugh really, it was put in due to them buggering up the whole schedule to equalise the male/female ratio. Trott's Eliminator was perhaps my fave bit of the whole Olympics though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SPRxRNW9xc

I don't understand the Wiggins love-in at all. He rides a bicycle.

Dave Ragg will be along in a bit to take the bait

He's ginger and he's got sideburns.

 

What's not to love...

What Ennis did is incredible, I don't understand the criticism or putting her down just because someone likes Wiggins or Farah more. Everyone on that list this year has achieved something brilliant this year and deserves recognition. I know it's a competition, but they're all excellent and there's no need to put anyone down.

Indeed. Why put people down who have achieved when we've done well for once?

[rosa]

Would have been nice to end a great year of sport with David Weir winning and his shirt bursting open again as he collected the award, and Kate Middleton throwing up violently on Seb Coe, but you can't have everything.

[leeslover]

Would have been nice to end a great year of sport with David Weir winning and his shirt bursting open again as he collected the award, and Kate Middleton throwing up violently on Seb Coe, but you can't have everything.

Trying to get the lefty credentials back then ;) But is there honestly one of us who wasn't watching for Kate gipping? As much as he was an utter prick as a minister, Coe deserves it for what he has done between athlete and administrator - just to not be a complete disgrace when in a high ranking sports job seems to beyond nearly all of them.