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Original poster

Sports Personality of the Year - jaw-on-floor at this quote......

98 replies

Lottapianos · 12/09/2012 17:00

..... in response to so many athletes having excelled this year and the dilemma of who should win the overall award.

'There could be a female personality of the year, which I don't think would detract from the main award.......' said James Hutchison, from sports prediction website Superbru (read in Metro)

The main award? THE MAIN AWARD????? Shock

I had to read that quote about 10 times before I could believe it was real. Holy crap. I have kept the newspaper I read it in and I feel like taping the page on my fridge to remind myself every single day of just how unimportant women are to some people. How on earth must Jessica Ennis and Rebecca Adlington and Ellie Simmonds and Victoria Pendleton feel reading that sort of rot???

I'm not even a sports fan but this has made me scream. A lot. Angry

OP posts:
kim147 · 13/09/2012 11:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Uppercut · 13/09/2012 11:18

seeker
"So almost by definition, you can't be inspired by a sports woman?"

Respect, easily. Be inspired, unlikely.

TheDoctrineOfSnatch
"I would prefer that it isn't split by gender. Johnnie Peacock would beat Andy Murray in a race, for example - it's already judged on a wide range of criteria."

Eh? Comparing people with different specialisms via direct competition is pointless.

kim147
"How would you define "best" sportsperson of the year anyway?"

Not my problem. Let a public vote decide.

seeker · 13/09/2012 11:20

"seeker
"So almost by definition, you can't be inspired by a sports woman?"

Respect, easily. Be inspired, unlikely"

Because a man could beat them?

seeker · 13/09/2012 11:21

And you couldn't be inspired by a paralympian either?

TheDoctrineOfSnatch · 13/09/2012 11:26

But you are comparing people who excel in two different sports - the women's 100m and the men's are just as much two different events as the men's 100m and the men's 400m, say.

OneHandFlapping · 13/09/2012 11:44

Was going to write what seeker wrote, but she beat me to it.

Uppercut · 13/09/2012 11:54

seeker
"So almost by definition, you can't be inspired by a sports woman?"

Respect, easily. Be inspired, unlikely"

Because a man could beat them?

And you couldn't be inspired by a paralympian either? "

I'm not repeating myself. And it's unlikely I'd find a paralympian inspiring.

For the time being this is not against the law.

TheDoctrineOfSnatch
"But you are comparing people who excel in two different sports - the women's 100m and the men's are just as much two different events as the men's 100m and the men's 400m, say. "

Someone wins. Someone loses. There may be caveats to that but it's a basis for a fairly sound comparison.

kim147 · 13/09/2012 11:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

grimbletart · 13/09/2012 11:58

Would obviously take a lot to get Uppercut off the sofa by the sound of it.

Uppercut · 13/09/2012 12:03

grimbletart
"Would obviously take a lot to get Uppercut off the sofa by the sound of it."

I'm about 20 lbs overweight, it would only take 6 weeks (at most) to lose, but thank you for your concerned ad hominem.

kim147
"So who would you vote for, Uppercut, and why?"

Already answered.

scandy · 13/09/2012 12:03

Each to their own but personally I think women's sport tends to be quite boring to watch. Less skilful, less intense somehow. Like women's football, it's so... zzzz. Maybe it is because we women prioritise other, more important things in life than sport. But having a men's and a women's award is not a bad idea, as long as the men's award wasn't classed as the main one, which would clearly be nonsense.

grimbletart · 13/09/2012 12:06

My ad hominems are always most concerned Uppercut. I feel your pain.

seeker · 13/09/2012 12:12

Scanty- I presume you also think women have no sense of humour, shouldn't read the news because they lack gravitas and shouldn't be in politics because their voices are too shrill?

HiHowAreYou · 13/09/2012 12:14

Many people judge women's football to be more interesting to watch than men's, for a number of reasons. To say it's boring is such nonsense it's making steam come out of my ears!

drjohnsonscat · 13/09/2012 12:16

ummm uppercut, there are plenty of sports where women outperform men or are on course to - but they don't get the coverage. Ultra marathons being the best example. And gymnastics is also a good example - men and women don't do quite the same disciplines because the men have more strength but the women have more nimbleness. Both are valued in gymnastics. You might want to be aware that the world's most legendary gymnasts are women - Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci. Men cannot move like that. They can do other things but not that.

I don't know why you wouldn't find a paralympian inspiring. I saw the Oscar Pistorius 400m final at the stadium and it was bloody amazing I can tell you.

But agree with the OP. The BBC's sports personality shortlist this year has really shown itself to be a complete cock-up given how amazingly women did in the Olympics.

Uppercut · 13/09/2012 12:29

drjohnsonscat
"ummm uppercut..."

Uppercut
"Be inspired, unlikely"

You appear to be confused; 'unlikely' does not mean 'never'.

drjohnsonscat
"I don't know why you wouldn't find a paralympian inspiring. I saw the Oscar Pistorius 400m final at the stadium and it was bloody amazing I can tell you."

I saw him in the 100m final against Usain Bolt. He came last.

kim147 · 13/09/2012 12:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

albertswearengen · 13/09/2012 12:37

I don't think a different male/female one is a bad idea as long as the female one is presented last so it doesn't look like it is secondary. No one thinks the male actor is any better than the female actor at the Oscars.

However I did laugh during the Olympics that the commentators were getting themselves in a lather over it. I mean these people won gold medals at the Olympics it is laughable to think they would be horribly disappointed just because they didn't win the BBC Sports Personality of the year.

mamalovebird · 13/09/2012 12:37

I don't like the term Sports 'personality'. I think it should be sports 'performance' of the year.

drjohnsonscat · 13/09/2012 12:51

yes Usain Bolt would come last in the 1500m. Not his discipline. What's your point?

TheDoctrineOfSnatch · 13/09/2012 13:05

No you didn't uppercut. He reached the 400m semi final and also was in the SA 4x400m relay final.

TheDoctrineOfSnatch · 13/09/2012 13:06

I think personality is to acknowledge wider activities eg promoting sport in the community, as well as performance.

Uppercut · 13/09/2012 13:26

TheDoctrineOfSnatch
"No you didn't uppercut. He reached the 400m semi final and also was in the SA 4x400m relay final. "

I got the race he failed in mixed up. You're correct, and I stand corrected, as he didn't even manage to make the 400m final.

Even worse than I thought.

drjohnsonsca
"yes Usain Bolt would come last in the 1500m. Not his discipline. What's your point? "

My point is that he's the best in his discipline. It really isn't that hard to understand.

grimbletart · 13/09/2012 13:31

I understand that the BBC is doing it slightly differently this year with a 'long' list that will be whittled down to a short list because of the special circumstances.

drjohnsonscat · 13/09/2012 13:34

uppercut are you being willfully obtuse? I said OP was amazing in his discipline and you responded that he came last in the 100m (which is not his main discipline). So the off-discipline observation was yours in the first place.

I'm definitely not awarding you sports commentator of the year award. Although you might get a lifetime's achievement award for wannabe contentious but actually just all-over-the-place commentary.

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