Sports Personality Of The Year - Andy Murray ?

Will Murray win it?

If not then why not?

If I remember rightly didn't we give it to Greg Rusedski for reaching the final of USO 1997 ?


Bet365(dot) com odds:-

Bradley Wiggins - 8/13
Andy Murray - 4/1
Mo Farah - 11/2
Jessica Ennis - 12/1
David Weir - 28/1
Ellie Simmonds - 80/1
Rory McIlroy - 100/1
Chris Hoy - 100/1
Lewis Hamilton - 175/1
Ben Ainslie - 200/1
Sarah Storey - 250/1
Jason Kenny - 250/1
Greg Rutherford - 250/1
Victoria Pendleton - 250/1
Laura Trott - 275/1
Tom Daley - 300/1
Alistair Brownlee - 350/1

Greg wasn't up against numerous gold medal winners, Britain's first Tour de France winner and a golfer though. I'd love Murray to get it but I think David Weir deserves it more. It'll be interesting to see the results though!!

I'd give Young SPOTY to Laura though, she absolutely deserves it over the diver.

Robson and Daley both became too old for young SPOTY a couple of years ago. You have to be under 17 at the start of the year. I appreciate it was won by a girlie golfer last year, but I reckon it will be again this year.

It's actually a relatively close run thing with the bookies between Wiggins, Farah and now Murray. I reckon Wiggins still should win, but I wouldn't be upset if either of the other two did.

They've actually managed to include some women this time round!

Had to laugh at two of the rank outsiders though - John (rude boy) Terry and Kevin (megamouth) Pietersen.

Seems that Andy is second favourite behind Bradley then Mo then Jessica.

First British slam winner in 76 years is pretty impressive, but Wiggins is the first British tour de France winner EVER. The fact that he also has a gold medal like Murray should clinch it for him.

You also have to bear in mind that the whole country will have gone nuts over Mo Farrah and Jess Ennis. Most of Britain will have seen and been engrossed in those moments.

So incredibly, Murray might not even get in the top 3! Not that he'll care I'm sure. I'm not sure SPOTY was on his list of objectives for 2012 to be honest.

djlovesyou wrote:Robson and Daley both became too old for young SPOTY a couple of years ago. You have to be under 17 at the start of the year. I appreciate it was won by a girlie golfer last year, but I reckon it will be again this year.

It's actually a relatively close run thing with the bookies between Wiggins, Farah and now Murray. I reckon Wiggins still should win, but I wouldn't be upset if either of the other two did.

Ah I didn't know that, thanks.

I think the top three should comprise, Farah, Murray and Wiggins.

Although Wiggins achievements were fantastic, I have a few reservations regarding the gender bias in his sport, the team nature of the sport, and the closeness of other British riders to him.

Murray stands out alone in elite Tennis with regard to Britain, beat the all-time tennis GOAT on his favorite surface over a five set match to win the Olympics, and then beat the defending champion at the US Open.

With regard to Mo Farah ... his achievements too has been unbelievable. Winning the 10 km and 5 km Olympics - normally dominated by Africans.

So I am edging towards Murray first, Farah second, and Wiggins third as personal choices.

I suppose McIRoy should also have a shout - winning a major and becoming No 1.

What edges it for me with regard to Murray is him beating the absolute best in what is considered to be the strongest ever era (fitness etc) - Federer on grass and Djokovic on the hard court.

ps I suppose Murray will likely win the SPOTY next year as he is likely to win another slam and might get close to being No 1 ... although I shouldn't think about this in deciding my personal choice for this year. So I am sort of split between Murray and Farah but will go with Murray (probably).

In fairness, Wiggins stands out alone in elite cycling with regard to Britain.

He also won Paris-Nice, Romandie and Le Dauphine this year, along with his Olympic gold.

Although as you said, cycling is a team sport, his season is still pretty stellar in world terms as well as in British terms.

You don't win any major races in cycling without a strong team

I suppose it is always difficult choosing between different sports. I might end up not voting because of the difficulty in choosing between these three. For the time being I am wavering on the side of Murray - but I can probably still be convinced on any of the three.

Olly wrote:You don't win any major races in cycling without a strong team

That's certainly not true. It certainly helps, but Contador has won many races with either a very weak team or most of the team (and the DS) riding for someone else.

It's just that the best riders tend to ride for the best teams. Kinda goes with the territory.

djlovesyou wrote:

Olly wrote:You don't win any major races in cycling without a strong team

That's certainly not true. It certainly helps, but Contador has won many races with either a very weak team or most of the team (and the DS) riding for someone else.

It's just that the best riders tend to ride for the best teams. Kinda goes with the territory.

Yes but Contador is a very special rider. In general you need a strong team to win a race. Anyways this isnt a discussion for this particular topic...

It's kinda half on the topic as to whether Murray's achievements are better than Wiggins', cause it's an interesting point as to whether Wiggins could have won without such a super strong team.

The answer to this is very comfortably (the only discussion point there being as to whether Froome counts as being in the race or not.)

Whatever happens though, it's still touch and go as to who wins. Any of them deserve it.

I'd actually like to see one of the paralympians awarded SPOTY - I think that would be a fantastic declaration by the British public, but it is probably a vain hope.

Like David Weir. The media were all over Chris Hoy when he won his 3 gold medals in Beijing. David Weir wins 4 (FOUR!) in London and gets barely anything.

The Special Juan wrote:Like David Weir. The media were all over Chris Hoy when he won his 3 gold medals in Beijing. David Weir wins 4 (FOUR!) in London and gets barely anything.

Yes absolutely. It would be great to see Weir win.

as long as it's one of Wiggins, Murray, Farah or Weir I'll be pretty happy. There's a case for McIlroy too I guess. Don't think Ennis has quite enough, great though her performance (under huge pressure) was.

My personal vote goes for Wiggins, who in addition to being the first Brit to win (or even podium) the TdF, won the OG, three other week road races (two of which - Paris-Nice and Dauphine - are really top level), and is unbeaten in long TT (ie not prologues) this year. Arguably the greatest year by a British sportsman ever IMO.

As I said though, loads of people deserve it this year, been a cracking year for British sport.

To be fair i'm amazed McIlroy isn't up there. He is world number one ahead of one of the top 3 famous sportsmen on the planet, he won another major and has won two huge events in the last two weeks. Golf for some reason (probably because the BBC hardly covers it these days) hardly get's a look in at SPOTY. Golf and tennis are two of perhaps the 5 or 6 biggest sports in the world in terms of exposure, popularity and depth of talent. These two imo should battle it out with Wiggins. The Olympians were incredible, but is winning a few medals really such a big deal to compare it to winning a tour de france or a major in golf and tennis when there are 128-150 competing. I personally don't think so.

They may as well announce it now. Mo Farrah will win.

you think? Wiggins is quite heavy favourite with the bookies.

monty junior wrote:To be fair i'm amazed McIlroy isn't up there. He is world number one ahead of one of the top 3 famous sportsmen on the planet, he won another major and has won two huge events in the last two weeks. ...

I haven't really looked at Rory McIRoy - but you're right. He was having a poor run of form and then suddenly he crushed the field at the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island by a record eight shots surpassing the seven-stroke win in 1980 by Jack Nicklaus. He was the first Britain since 1919 to win it.

I probably put him fourth on my list. I am still not sure where to place Ben Ainslie winning his fourth consecutive gold medal in the sailing.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:you think? Wiggins is quite heavy favourite with the bookies.

What do bookies know when it comes to a public vote? The public love Farah. How could they not.

Precisely, the only thing counting against him is unlike in the likes of tennis the UK has a lot of very good golfers and have won two other majors since 2010 (all from Northern Ireland incredibly). But in terms of achievement he's right up there with the best Britain has had to offer this year. One thing's for sure with the current crop of British talent we will never have another farce like 2006.

hawkeye wrote:

What do bookies know when it comes to a public vote? The public love Farah. How could they not.

Betting exchanges are essentially 'public votes'. The public don't exactly hate Wiggins either - did you see how many people were on the street when he won the Time Trial?

How about Zanardi for overseas sports personality - loses two legs in a motor racing accident, almosts dies, comes back, and this year aged 45 wins two gold medals and a silver at the Paralympics. For me he beats Usain Bolt by miles.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/19519141

The Special Juan, Nore Staat, time please etc

Don't you think it would be a good idea if there were special categories for disabled athletes.?

e.g:- Disabled athlete of the year and overseas disabled athlete of the year. Just to ensure that these people get recognition for their efforts.

Murray doesn't have much of a personality, so maybe it should be called "Sportsperson of the year" this time around. (Okay, before the Murray fans fly into a rage, this was just a joke.)

T'anorak. Well, there's actuallty more in your remark than some might think, as the BBC is at pains to point out that it is not Sports ACHIEVEMENT of the year but SPOTY. Probably why Gazza won it one year for doing little more (well, quite a lot more really) than crying.
On the personality criteria, it seems more likely that Farah will win it than Wiggins. As for Murray, he should pick a year (preferably non-Olympic) when there is not this much competition around and then win it.
Doubt whether there's been a year when there have been so many GENUINE contenders.

erictheblueuk wrote:The Special Juan, Nore Staat, time please etc

Don't you think it would be a good idea if there were special categories for disabled athletes.?

e.g:- Disabled athlete of the year and overseas disabled athlete of the year. Just to ensure that these people get recognition for their efforts.

Yes. The question is should there be a short list for the disabled athletes and a public vote.

A separate question: should there be a separate sportsman and sportswoman of the year - again with separate short lists and public votes.

I think the issue is a celebration of sport in all its categories - giving air time to men, women and the disabled. It would also flag up whether there were weaknesses in British sport that need to be addressed (e.g. gender and disability bias in opportunities and support). The BBC is paid for by the British public, so there is a public service onus on them.

erictheblueuk wrote:The Special Juan, Nore Staat, time please etc

Don't you think it would be a good idea if there were special categories for disabled athletes.?

e.g:- Disabled athlete of the year and overseas disabled athlete of the year. Just to ensure that these people get recognition for their efforts.

Very good question. I think for this year there should be 3 categories: Olympic, Paralympic and then the usual category. For example, Farah could win the Olympic category, Weir could win the Paralympic category and Murray/Wiggins/McIlroy could win the other category, therefore everyone gets the recognition they deserve.

As for the rest of the time, yes I think there should be a category, but I'm sure someone would kick up a fuss about discrimination even though SPOTY were rewarding paralympic athletes.... Up until this year, I bet 80% of the British public couldn't name a single paralympic athlete in the world, aside from maybe Pistorius. Think of everything Peter Norfolk has won, yet probably no one had heard of him until this year. Even better, what about Esther Vergeer? Phenomenal!!

sirfredperry wrote:T'anorak. Well, there's actuallty more in your remark than some might think, as the BBC is at pains to point out that it is not Sports ACHIEVEMENT of the year but SPOTY. Probably why Gazza won it one year for doing little more (well, quite a lot more really) than crying.
On the personality criteria, it seems more likely that Farah will win it than Wiggins. As for Murray, he should pick a year (preferably non-Olympic) when there is not this much competition around and then win it.
Doubt whether there's been a year when there have been so many GENUINE contenders.

The word 'personality' in the name of the award has nothing to do with the personality of the person involved, it's just a more grammatically elegant (perhaps old fashioned) way of saying sportsperson of the year, or sportsman/woman of the year.

Although it's generally used in language to describe the traits and character of a person, in this case, it simply means the 'quality of being a unique person' (as the dictionary describes it).

I don't think Murray is lacking in personality, but it's just (after the Daily Mail hatchet job) he has become wary of saying anything beyond the most basic 'media trained' responses for fear of being mis-represented.

Anyway, with regard to SPOTY, I'd go with Wiggins narrowly ahead of Murray with Mo third.

I don't see why there is a need to have separate categories for male and female competitors or to separate out the Paralympians. A short-list of 10 for this year can be phonomenally strong:
Wiggins
Murray
Farrah
Weir
McIlroy
Ennis
Ellie Simonds
Sarah Storey
Johnny Peacock
Ben Ainslie

And that misses off a load of deserving nominees - Hoy, Kenny, Trott, Kath Granger, Rutherford, the dressage lass (Bechtelsteiner?) etc.

Absolutely phenomenal year for British sport, even if our footballers and cricketers haven't shone.

Oh, and to come back to the tennis aspect slightly, a question:
Who out of Andy Murray and Rory McIlroy is punching more above their weight in the girlfriend stakes?

Du Jardin won two golds in horsing (I think Bechtelsteiner won one). There's too many deserving people, I wouldn't like to make the choice. Sadly I don't see Murray winning it, I know how disliked he is south of the border. It will go to Wiggins and his silly sideburns.

Definitely has to be Rory.

I'd be amazed if Wiggins doesnt win. As good as Murray's results are his overall persona isnt as strong as Wiggins...and Wiggins results clearly are at least as strong.

Its amazing that for some years when the winner of SPOTY has been dubious, filled by a vacuum of achievement, this year we truly are spoilt for choice. Kind of a shame really. If we took the Olympics out of it who would win? Still Wiggins I suspect.

Rory? Well he's the #1 golfer going out with ex-#1 WTA player. Murray is #3 tennis player...seems a more level playing field where Rory is concerned.
Maybe the question should be who is punching more above their weight - Caroline or Kim? Who is Kim, what does she do?

The thing people are missing about Murray is that one of Scotland's national pastimes is voting for fellow Scots in TV phone votes.

Stick a deep fried mars bar from Perth in the final of Britain's got Talent and it would beat an English act, even if that act was a dog slam dunking a basketball while perfectly reciting the final act of Hamlet.

Sure DJ....so Sir Chris Hoy will get a lot of votes too then

Have to say that I have never really bought into the SPOTY. The whole conception of 'Personality' and it's meaning to the winner went out of the window decades ago. Maybe they could call it Sport Achievement Of The Year. Be a more accurate description of the criteria of the public's vote.

In all honesty I think it will be Ennis that wins it due to the intense publicity she was faced with.

Murray faces way too strong of a field and competition. Also I do believe he doesn't attend the event due to commitments in Miami.

djlovesyou wrote:... Stick a deep fried mars bar from Perth in the final of Britain's got Talent and it would beat an English act, even if that act was a dog slam dunking a basketball while perfectly reciting the final act of Hamlet.

In the Korean Sports Personality of the Year, I think they would go for the dog

legendkillarV2 wrote:Have to say that I have never really bought into the SPOTY. The whole conception of 'Personality' and it's meaning to the winner went out of the window decades ago. Maybe they could call it Sport Achievement Of The Year. Be a more accurate description of the criteria of the public's vote.

The personality thing never went out of the window because it was never about personality. As I said earlier, it's just a posher way of saying sportsperson of the year.

Personally i'd give Bradley Wiggins the thumbs up for the award, followed closely by Mo Farah and Murray, simply because Bradley career is a long and distinguished one over both indoor track cycling and outdoors on the mountains, winning everything there is.

djlovesyou wrote:

legendkillarV2 wrote:Have to say that I have never really bought into the SPOTY. The whole conception of 'Personality' and it's meaning to the winner went out of the window decades ago. Maybe they could call it Sport Achievement Of The Year. Be a more accurate description of the criteria of the public's vote.

The personality thing never went out of the window because it was never about personality. As I said earlier, it's just a posher way of saying sportsperson of the year.

Well Henry Cooper won it in 1967 without lacing his gloves.

legendkillarV2 wrote:

Well Henry Cooper won it in 1967 without lacing his gloves.

He fought 3 times?

I'm not saying personality hasn't ever come into the decision (of course it's going to, people vote for their favourite a lot of the time), my point was that the title was never meant to have anything to do with personality.

I'd think:

1. Wiggins
2. Murray
3. Farah

First two close, third a long way back. Both Wiggo and Muzza have Olympic Golds - the question is what gets people going more, 1st ever TDF or 1st slam since Perry. I think you'd be surprised how big the latter is - it's a question a lot of people have been asking themselves for a long time, whereas the TDF has not had the same focus. I think Andy will have a better chance if (when?) he eventually wins Wimbledon.

Too right barry, if Murray had won the Wimbledon final and not the USO he would be a certainty to win it even if no one voted for him the BBC would still make him their winner. The fact that he has over 1 million followers on Twitter compared to Wiggins 600k and Farah 550k will probably give him an edge too. Not sure how many of those followers are UK based though, which may give Farah the advantage.

If I were a betting man I'd say get your money on Murray, for the following reasons;-

1:- He reached the AO SF losing to Novak a better player than him.

2:- He reached the Wimby final losing to Federer a better player than him. Also his tearful speech afterwards won him so many fans. He said in an interview that the support for him after Wimby was so staggering. It lifted him out of his depression and helped get him ready for the olympics. I think this support will translate into votes.

3:- He won Olympic singles Gold beating Federer and Novak in the process. Who were not only ranked above him but one is the current holder of the overseas SPOTY award and the other a multiple past winner.

4:- He also won a Silver Medal in the Olympic mixed event. I realy think this helped Robson to move on and help get good her results at USO 2012.

5:- He won a GS at USO 2012 of cousre again beating Novak a player better than himself.

6:- He still has 2 masters events and the End of year WTF to play. Which will keep him in the public eye especially if he does well in them.

7:- I think almost the whole of Scotland will vote for him. Like they did for Hoy in 2008 when Hamilton was favourite for winning the F1 title.

8:- Wiggo, Farah, Ennis, Weir were favourites for their events. Given the level of Murrays opposition he was not the favourite for his events.

djlovesyou wrote:

legendkillarV2 wrote:

Well Henry Cooper won it in 1967 without lacing his gloves.

He fought 3 times?

I'm not saying personality hasn't ever come into the decision (of course it's going to, people vote for their favourite a lot of the time), my point was that the title was never meant to have anything to do with personality.

I see your point. I feel they just need to change the wording in it.

8:- Wiggo, Farah, Ennis, Weir were favourites for their events. Given the level of Murrays opposition he was not the favourite for his events.

Being the favourite and handling the expectations are unanimously more respected than being an underdog and coming through a weaker field.

erictheblueuk wrote:...He still has 2 masters events and the End of year WTF to play. Which will keep him in the public eye especially if he does well in them. ...

Not sure Wiggo was favorite for TdF outside of Britain.

By the rate at which fuel prices are increasing at the pump, we could all be cycling by the end of the year. This might keep Wiggo in the public eye.

latest Odds:-


Bradley Wiggins - 10/11

Andy Murray - 10/3

Mo Farah - 53/10

Jessica Ennis - 14

David Weir - 33