Spieth up for SI's Sportsman of the Year

[Gunther]

The 12 candidates have been selected by SI for 2015 Sportsman of the Year.  Jordan is not faring well in the voting to this point, with only 3%.  

While there are a number of worthy nominees, I believe Spieth should warrant strong consideration for this award given the singular accomplishments he achieved this year, such as youngest Masters winner since 1922 or somesuch, youngest to hold a Masters and US Open title, most money ever made in one season, et. al.  It was the best single season in golf since 2000, IMO.

Will be tough to beat American Pharoah given that he actually won the Triple Crown where Spieth fell short of the slam.  Pharaoh is currently leading in votes with 46% and he thrilled the nation with his Belmont win, me included, but come on, he's a horse.

2nd place is the KC Royals with 30%.  I don't get this nomination at all.  It's a team that won the World Series, a team does that every year.  I'm not aware of any records they broke on their way to the title. Neither the Pats nor Warriors were nominated so I don't get why the Royals were.  Bounce em.

Vote here if you'd like.

http://www.si.com/sportsmanofyear/2015/11/11/sports-illustrated-2015-sportsman-year-contenders

Edited December 8, 2015 by Gunther

[Baog]

35 minutes ago, Gunther said:

2nd place is the KC Royals with 30%.  I don't get this nomination at all.

I don't get the nomination of a team either but the voting doesn't surprise me. Royals fans are rabid internet voters. At one time, all 8 regular Royals players were leading the all-star vote.

Spieth's accomplishments this year, while impressive because he is young, don't match the overwhelming dominance of many of the other individuals' listed.

[jbishop15]

48 minutes ago, Gunther said:

The 12 candidates have been selected by SI for 2015 Sportsman of the Year.  Jordan is not faring well in the voting to this point, with only 3%.  

While there are a number of worthy nominees, I believe Spieth should warrant strong consideration for this award given the singular accomplishments he achieved this year, such as youngest Masters winner since 1922 or somesuch, youngest to hold a Masters and US Open title, most money ever made in one season, et. al.  It was the best single season in golf since 2000, IMO.

Will be tough to beat American Pharoah given that he actually won the Triple Crown where Spieth fell short of the slam.  Pharaoh is currently leading in votes with 46% and he thrilled the nation with his Belmont win, me included, but come on, he's a horse.

2nd place is the KC Royals with 30%.  I don't get this nomination at all.  It's a team that won the World Series, a team does that every year.  I'm not aware of any records they broke on their way to the title. Neither the Pats nor Warriors were nominated so I don't get why the Royals were.  Bounce em.

Vote here if you'd like.

http://www.si.com/sportsmanofyear/2015/11/11/sports-illustrated-2015-sportsman-year-contenders

I'd vote for American Pharaoh. It's a silly award anyway, so limiting to humans only is kind of pointless.

The Royals have had a borderline sports-tragic run since the late eighties. Winning a World Series now, especially considering how far away they were five years ago, is pretty damn impressive. 

[saevel25]

I don't think teams should count for this. I think it's a cop-out in to adding people to an award that should be for the achievements of a single athlete. 

[newtogolf]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

I don't think teams should count for this. I think it's a cop-out in to adding people to an award that should be for the achievements of a single athlete.

I agree, it's Sportsman, not sportsmen.  Under that same thought process I wouldn't consider a horse worthy either even though he was a Triple Crown winner.

I'm surprised there isn't a Sportsman and Sportswoman as Simone, Rhonda and Serena certainly deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments but likely don't have much of a chance given the magazine is read predominantly by men.

[jamo]

46 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

I'm surprised there isn't a Sportsman and Sportswoman as Simone, Rhonda and Serena certainly deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments but likely don't have much of a chance given the magazine is read predominantly by men.

Women are eligible. Billie Jean King (1972), Chris Evert (1976), Mary Decker (1983), Mary Lou Retton (1984), Judi Brown/Patty Sheehan (1987), Bonnie Blair (1994), the 1999 US Women's National Soccer Team, and Pat Summitt (2011) have all won. In 1999, they even changed the cover to read "Sportswomen of the Year" to fit the winners.

46 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

I agree, it's Sportsman, not sportsmen.  Under that same thought process I wouldn't consider a horse worthy either even though he was a Triple Crown winner.

I'm surprised there isn't a Sportsman and Sportswoman as Simone, Rhonda and Serena certainly deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments but likely don't have much of a chance given the magazine is read predominantly by men.

2 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I don't think teams should count for this. I think it's a cop-out in to adding people to an award that should be for the achievements of a single athlete. 

I have to disagree. Sports Illustrated came up with the award, it only makes sense for them to set the parameters. The first team to win it was the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team. They just change the name for the cover when a team wins it:

[Gunther]

I don't specifically have an issue with teams being nominated but there has to be a singular accomplishment attached.  

The KC Royals had a good season, as did the Pats, Warriors and others.  If the Cubs had won it, sure, nominate them as their travails have been legion for 100 years.  Same true for the Red Sox in '04.  No problem either with the '80 Olympic hockey team nor the 1st girls World Cup team. The Royals' accomplishment this year is nowhere near the level of those teams, in my mind.

Team vs. Individual debate notwithstanding, I think Spieth is getting a little short-shrifted in this.  Only 3% of the vote??  Is that a reflection of where golf is in popularity today?

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, Gunther said:

I don't specifically have an issue with teams being nominated but there has to be a singular accomplishment attached.  

The KC Royals had a good season, as did the Pats, Warriors and others.  If the Cubs had won it, sure, nominate them as their travails have been legion for 100 years.  Same true for the Red Sox in '04.  No problem either with the '80 Olympic hockey team nor the 1st girls World Cup team. The Royals' accomplishment this year is nowhere near the level of those teams, in my mind.

Team vs. Individual debate notwithstanding, I think Spieth is getting a little short-shrifted in this.  Only 3% of the vote??  Is that a reflection of where golf is in popularity today?

He is also a golfer, which lessens his chances unfortunately.

[Broke100Once]

Steph Curry is probably the overall best choice but SI might choose to wait on him since he's still pretty young and could conceivably win in 2016 as well.  Then again, the combo of the Warriors' championship and their unbeaten start to this season makes Curry the best choice as both the man of the moment and the man of the year.

Serena is a good candidate as this might be SI's last chance to award one of the iconic American athletes of this generation.  While I'd be shocked if she *didn't* win at least a couple more grand slams in 2016, this might be the best chance to reward her at her peak.

Spieth can wait.  He'll likely have plenty of chances to win this award in the future.

American Pharoah is a damn horse, people.  Let's not be silly. 

[boogielicious]

58 minutes ago, Broke100Once said:

Steph Curry is probably the overall best choice but SI might choose to wait on him since he's still pretty young and could conceivably win in 2016 as well.  Then again, the combo of the Warriors' championship and their unbeaten start to this season makes Curry the best choice as both the man of the moment and the man of the year.

Serena is a good candidate as this might be SI's last chance to award one of the iconic American athletes of this generation.  While I'd be shocked if she *didn't* win at least a couple more grand slams in 2016, this might be the best chance to reward her at her peak.

Spieth can wait.  He'll likely have plenty of chances to win this award in the future.

American Pharoah is a damn horse, people.  Let's not be silly. 

Carli Lloyd was pretty impressive in the World Cup too.

[Lihu]

Voted for Spieth.

[newtogolf]

Me too

[Broke100Once]

The choice is in, Serena William was named Sportswoman of the Year.  Hard to argue with the pick.

[PEZGolf]

On 12/14/2015 at 0:14 PM, Broke100Once said:

The choice is in, Serena William was named Sportswoman of the Year.  Hard to argue with the pick.

Agreed--no argument with Serena. BAN animals, including thoroughbred horses like American "Pharaoh" from consideration (plus, the owner could not even spell his name correctly and the horse was incapable of speaking up!). Jordan had my vote. Where did he finish? If he had won the Open Championship instead of Zach, I bet he would have beat Serena!