Bbc Sports Personality

[Guest]

This is the basic criteria in regard to BBC SPOTY. As the saying goes something like "...if the cap fits wear it.."and so beit for the SPOTY in regard to speedway presumably.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4Z5SvK744sgV419kxgJG929/terms-and-conditions

[fatface]

I don't really expect Tai or another other British world champion from a minority sport to be nominated unless it is something truly exceptional. Having said that, it did seem like a particularly flawed SPOTY this year. Andy Murray is a top sportsman, no doubt about that. But he had a below par year in the Grand Slams (he was thrashed by Federer at Wimbledon) and the Davis Cup (despite the BBC hype) ain't all that big. The best player he beat throughout the whole run was 10th ranked Tsonga. No Federer, Nadal or Djokovic. In fact Federer and Wawrinka gave it a miss this year for Switzerland, which shows were it really sits in the priorities of the very best. Just because we have been rubbish at tennis for 80 years doesn't make it a greater achievement this year. I also felt a bit uncomfortable at the pandering to the hosts. Northern Ireland winners in unsung hero, coach and lifetime achievement categories. All worthy contributors, but it did seem slightly more than coincidental that they all won in Belfast. If next year's awards are in Truro, Chris Harris might be in with a shout...

[ancient mariner]

I don't really expect Tai or another other British world champion from a minority sport to be nominated unless it is something truly exceptional. Having said that, it did seem like a particularly flawed SPOTY this year. Andy Murray is a top sportsman, no doubt about that. But he had a below par year in the Grand Slams (he was thrashed by Federer at Wimbledon) and the Davis Cup (despite the BBC hype) ain't all that big. The best player he beat throughout the whole run was 10th ranked Tsonga. No Federer, Nadal or Djokovic. In fact Federer and Wawrinka gave it a miss this year for Switzerland, which shows were it really sits in the priorities of the very best. Just because we have been rubbish at tennis for 80 years doesn't make it a greater achievement this year. I also felt a bit uncomfortable at the pandering to the hosts. Northern Ireland winners in unsung hero, coach and lifetime achievement categories. All worthy contributors, but it did seem slightly more than coincidental that they all won in Belfast. If next year's awards are in Truro, Chris Harris might be in with a shout...

 

.... you'll be watching it in black and white

Edited December 22, 2015 by ancient mariner

[macinter]

How does Andy Murray win it?

 

 

Because its tennis. Posh sport. Not hard to figure out. The BBC is supposed to be an impartial organisation but it is about as impartial as Donald Trump. This is the mob which has twice awarded their "prestigious" trophy to a member of the Royal family.

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2015 by macinter

[lucifer sam]

What strikes me as very odd was the massive decline in Lewis Hamilton's vote from 12 months ago. Winning a third world title is a better achievement than winning a second and moves him into the ranks of the all-time greats.

 

How odd that he received a mere fraction of the votes he did 12 months ago. Nothing to do with the BBC's announcement the following day that they are dropping F1, I suppose?

 

A cynic would suggest that someone is making up the voting figures.

 

All the best

Rob

[macinter]

Got to stop repeating myself.

[Humphrey Appleby]

But he had a below par year in the Grand Slams (he was thrashed by Federer at Wimbledon) and the Davis Cup (despite the BBC hype) ain't all that big.

Yes, but the Davis Cup on the BBC...

 

Without wishing to knock the achievement of the team, Andy Murray was involved in 11 of the 12 rubbers that Great Britain won during the David Cup campaign. In fact, he won 8 of the 12 single handedly.

 

The Davis Cup seems to be more of a Best Pairs than team competition.

[OGT]

_{Motorcycle racing of all kinds were given shoddy treatment, in line with expectations.}

 

_{Johnny Rea blitzed the World Superbike championship, and even though SPOTY was being hosted in Northern Ireland where his is from, he only got a passing mention.}

 

_{It will take a MotoGP champion by a British rider to get them to give more than a few seconds to any two-wheel sport in the ceremony.}

 

_{It's not just bike racing that missed out. There was a British Couple who won some badminton world championship recently. First time ever that a British pair had done so. They were not even mentioned in passing.}

I know you mean the top class, but we did have a MotoGP champion this year, the first for 38 years, Danny Kent in Moto 3.

[fatface]

What strikes me as very odd was the massive decline in Lewis Hamilton's vote from 12 months ago. Winning a third world title is a better achievement than winning a second and moves him into the ranks of the all-time greats.

 

How odd that he received a mere fraction of the votes he did 12 months ago. Nothing to do with the BBC's announcement the following day that they are dropping F1, I suppose?

 

A cynic would suggest that someone is making up the voting figures.

 

All the best

Rob

I wouldn't say it was related to the BBC pulling out of F1 (quite rightly too in my opinion).

 

The F1 championship is still one of the great sporting titles, but I think people recognise that it isn't really that competitive. This year only two guys had the horsepower to win it. The World Heavyweight Championship is also still one of the great sporting titles too, but I would also reserve judgement on where this places Tyson Fury in terms of sporting greatness. At the moment, I'd be more inclined to say he is closer to being the worst heavyweight champion ever than one of the best.

 

Personally I think Jessica Ennis should have won SPOTY. She's the best in a truly global sport, she came back from giving birth and is a great role model to boot.

[orion]

Because its tennis. Posh sport. Not hard to figure out. The BBC is supposed to be an impartial organisation but it is about as impartial as Donald Trump. This is the mob which has twice awarded their "prestigious" trophy to a member of the Royal family.

? the public voted for the royal family not the bbc ..not sure if had noticed but the royals are popular ....don't forget those posh people who have won of it late like Bradley Wiggins,.Ryan Giggs and Tony McCoy ....it always amazes me was guff people come up with just because they have liitle understanding that speedway is not popular to people outside the hard core fans .

Edited December 22, 2015 by orion

[The White Knight]

? the public voted for the royal family not the bbc ..not sure if had noticed but the royals are popular ....don't forget those posh people who have won of it late like Bradley Wiggins,.Ryan Giggs and Tony McCoy ....it always amazes me was guff people come up with just because they have liitle understanding that speedway is not popular to people outside the hard core fans .

POSH!!! :shock: :shock:

 

It "always amazes me" - how I have to decipher some Posts in order to grasp their meaning.

[orion]

POSH!!! :shock: :shock:

 

It "always amazes me" - how I have to decipher some Posts in order to grasp their meaning.

Whoosh

[Marksman]

Andy Murray was a much deserved winner, I was in Belgium for the Davis Cup final and his appreciation of the thousands of British fans in attendance was fantastic, he was still there in the arena walking round the crowd taking pictures signing autographs etc. for more than 90 minutes after the trophy was presented. A fine example of a Sports Personality in my eyes.

[Endeavour]

Andy Murray was a much deserved winner, I was in Belgium for the Davis Cup final and his appreciation of the thousands of British fans in attendance was fantastic, he was still there in the arena walking round the crowd taking pictures signing autographs etc. for more than 90 minutes after the trophy was presented. A fine example of a Sports Personality in my eyes.

Well said.

[fatface]

Andy Murray was a much deserved winner, I was in Belgium for the Davis Cup final and his appreciation of the thousands of British fans in attendance was fantastic, he was still there in the arena walking round the crowd taking pictures signing autographs etc. for more than 90 minutes after the trophy was presented. A fine example of a Sports Personality in my eyes.

I like him. He's a nice guy. But despite the clumsy title of Sports Personality, most would accept that the award should go to the British sportsperson who has achieved the most in the calendar year. And as much as the white, middle-class media who almost exclusively cover sport in the UK shout about it, sorry but I can't accept the Davis Cup win was the greatest British achievement in this sporting year. I'd have Ennis, Farah, Froome, Fury and Peaty all comfortably ahead of him this year.

[lucifer sam]

I like him. He's a nice guy. But despite the clumsy title of Sports Personality, most would accept that the award should go to the British sportsperson who has achieved the most in the calendar year. And as much as the white, middle-class media who almost exclusively cover sport in the UK shout about it, sorry but I can't accept the Davis Cup win was the greatest British achievement in this sporting year. I'd have Ennis, Farah, Froome, Fury and Peaty all comfortably ahead of him this year.

 

And don't forget Hannah Cockroft, despite the BBC's attempts to ignore Paralympic Sport.

 

All the best

Rob

Edited December 22, 2015 by lucifer sam

[orion]

I like him. He's a nice guy. But despite the clumsy title of Sports Personality, most would accept that the award should go to the British sportsperson who has achieved the most in the calendar year. And as much as the white, middle-class media who almost exclusively cover sport in the UK shout about it, sorry but I can't accept the Davis Cup win was the greatest British achievement in this sporting year. I'd have Ennis, Farah, Froome, Fury and Peaty all comfortably ahead of him this year.

Surely the public did thou ...that is why Murray won ,,I respect that you don't think that is the case my choice would have been Farah by the way ...but the bottom line is the public thought otherwise .

[SPEEDY69]

What strikes me as very odd was the massive decline in Lewis Hamilton's vote from 12 months ago. Winning a third world title is a better achievement than winning a second and moves him into the ranks of the all-time greats.

 

How odd that he received a mere fraction of the votes he did 12 months ago. Nothing to do with the BBC's announcement the following day that they are dropping F1, I suppose?

 

A cynic would suggest that someone is making up the voting figures.

 

All the best

Rob

 

F1 is boring that's why - the title was won by one team and one of their pilots was always going to win. I've never liked Hamilton anyway, all for the Brits is he? He moved to Switzerland so that he didn't have to pay his fair share to the NHS, Schools and other essential UK infrastructure and now lives in Monaco, a well known tax haven.

[fatface]

Surely the public did thou ...that is why Murray won ,,I respect that you don't think that is the case my choice would have been Farah by the way ...but the bottom line is the public thought otherwise .

There's no argument from me on that. The public did vote for it, can't argue with that. I actually would prefer it to be decided by experts to get a more appropriate winner, rather than a mere popularity contest. I also suspect Murray benefits hugely from being Scottish in this type of vote. I suspect the Scots are much more inclined to pick up the phone and vote for their man rather than us English are.

 

What Mo Farah has achieved and goes onto achieve is incredible. We have waited 30 years for a world-class male distance runner. Now we have an absolute all-time great and I think he's rather taken for granted. Don't want to sound like a t0sser, but here goes..I used to be the media manager for Team GB and I've worked with a few of these people. Mo, in particular, is a very nice fella.

[Reviresco]

Farah is a strange case. He is possibly the greatest male athlete to ever represent GB & NI, seems very popular amongst athletics fans and portrays a wholesome family man image. Whether the Salazar case and the wider drug implications within the sport have had an effect or whether he is not seen as truly British due to his being born in Somalia and having part of his family left behind there, I don't know. Maybe people are just fed up with the 'Mo-Bot',,,?

 

Is the 'born overseas, lives overseas', viewpoint a reason why Froome does not appear as popular as recent winners from the sport of cycling? That and the sport's continuing association with drugs.

 

Jess Ennis has now featured four times in the top three and is as good and popular as any previous female athlete, but will she ever win one now? Maybe athletics simply isn't as popular as it once was during the days of Thompson, Foster, Ovett, Coe, Cram, etc.

 

No doubt Murray would've been the recipient of a 'Scottish Vote', but he did - almost single-handedly, win the Davis Cup back for Britain and appears to be a very proud, sporting Brit and respectful of the National Anthem. The way he broke away from the team's celebrations in Belgium to console his opponent and the Belgium team, was admirable. Similarly, Kevin Sinfield would appear to have received a Rugby League Vote this year.

 

Hamilton, I can understand why he and F1 are not as popular this year as last. Fury probably blotted his own copybook before the voting.

 

It is amazing to think that speedway, in the shape of Barry Briggs, managed two runners up spots in the '60's and that in itself is a sign of how the sport's popularity has waned since then. People have mentioned the work that Tai does for GOSH, but it shouldn't be forgotten that Murray and others do similar charity work, possibly not quite as heralded as Tai's as well. Even if the the unlikely was to happen and a speedway rider found himself on the nominated list, it would still take a huge number of votes to obtain a podium place, let alone a win, and I don't know if the speedway family is big enough to achieve that these days.