Park your indignation and simply wallow in it
It’s that time of year again. This week has seen the publication of the shortlist (or is it nominees?) for the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year charade that takes place every December and already we’ve got a raft of holier-than-thou journalists, representatives of B-list sports and inevitably the odd ex-sporting has-been or two queuing up to pitch in with their complaints about those who have – and have not – been featured.
For those interested or indeed away upon exotic holidays in the Far East and unable to get internet connections, here are the contenders:
Nicola Adams (Boxing); Gareth Bale (Football); Alistair Brownlee (Triathlon); Sophie Christiansen (Equestrian); Kadeena Cox (Athletics/Cycling); Mo Farah (Athletics); Jason Kenny (Cycling); Laura Kenny (Cycling); Andy Murray (Tennis); Adam Peaty (Swimming); Kate Richardson-Walsh (Hockey); Nick Skelton (Equestrian); Dame Sarah Storey (Cycling); Jamie Vardy (Football); Max Whitlock (Gymnastics); Danny Willett (Golf).
For completeness, the 12-member panel that chose the contenders consisted of:
Barbara Slater (Director, BBC Sport), Philip Bernie (Head of BBC TV Sport); Carl Doran (Executive Editor, BBC Sports Personality of the Year); Ryan Giggs; Victoria Pendleton; Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson; Amy Lawrence (Radio Five Live); Ore Oduba (BBC pan-sports presenter); David James (Sunday Mirror/Sunday People); Adam Sills (Daily/Sunday Telegraph); Alison Kervin (Mail on Sunday); Liz Nicholl (Chief Executive, UK Sport).
So far objections have been aired from various quarters about the omission of individuals Carl Frampton (boxing) and Chris Froome (three-time Tour de France winner) and two or three snooker representatives have complained that their sport has been badly and unfairly treated by not having at least one of its players included.
Children, children!
It’s only a subjective viewer-popularity contest – not some ‘absolute’ competition in which a panel of universally revered sports experts decide whose 2016 sporting achievement was greatest.
(Frankly, it might be better and more useful if it was).
Indeed, in this context, one could argue that it’s impossible anyway to decide which achievement excels above all others when so many varying activities somehow apparently qualify as sports: how on earth can anyone compare ‘like with like’?
I’d like to call upon all BBC television viewers, pundits, scribes and media outlets to recognise the annual BBC Sports Personality Of The Year show for what it actually is. A part-enjoyable, part-frustrating celebration of the nation’s recent sporting achievements which some viewers (and I count myself among them) never actively intend to watch but somehow often do – and then end up quite enjoying it – before then going on to scoff at the quirky choices that the Great Unwashed out there in voter-land have made.
In the last instance above no doubt my esteemed colleagues on the Rust’s political desk would point out that it’s a case of ‘as in sport, as in UK politics’!
The thing we all need to remind ourselves is the importance of not taking any of it seriously.
