Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

[pakillo]

Re: Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

Boring... I'd just totally agree with gh, mump and Flumpy.
And yeah, international media and mainstream media know so little about this sport (and many other sports) that sometimes I regret hearing some news from certain sources. I don't think Laureus Award is much better.

[gh]

Re: Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

i think the whole concept of "aoy" is really antiquated and not suited for a sport that is on the brink of obscurity. to be more precise, i think the criteria for "athlete of the year" should take into account the intangibles such as "what people are talking about" effect in addition to the actual performances. performance of the year is fine as is and perhaps that should remain as the track and field purist award while the athlete of the year would be a combination of performance at OG or WC, overall season and impact on the sport/buzz. ....

At the risk of making you fall over, I agree with much of what you're saying here. Baseball tumbled to this in the '50s when it turned selection for the All-Star Game over to the fans. The results were disastrous (see the '57 Reds), but they have continued to involve the fans. As do all the major pro sports, one way or another.

But one constant has been that the "real" honors (like MVP, like Hall of Fame) have remained in the hands of a more select group based on analysis of facts in an unemotional fashion.

USATF did something good this year in instituting "Fan's Choice Awards" to go along with its other honors. Involving the fans is most decidedly a good thing, particulalry in these days of mass comunication, where everybody has the option of easily making their voice heard. I have no problem with that.

But we continue to think that somebody needs to sort things out with the "antiquated" methodology of having people who really know the sport judging that season's performances based on performance alone. That's the role we're trying to fill here.

Go the "buzz" route and I'm sure we can find a year down the road where Bolt would win after retiring. (OK, slight hyperbole there)

[maroon]

Re: Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

thanks gh for your measured response. maybe what is a needed is a different nomenclature.

flumpy, no need to be so hostile. zellgadis has a very valid point -- doesn't it seem incongruous to you that almost every non- track and field source is making bolt it's athlete of the year? why is that happening? and it's not like bolt was far behind the winner in this magazine's own polling of experts. doesn't it speak to what the public want to see? shouldn't this be an opportunity for the marketeers working in the sport to try and figure what will get people to watch t&f instead of and just concluding that "the public are all stupid ".

[ZELLGADISS]

Re: Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

thanks gh for your measured response. maybe what is a needed is a different nomenclature.

flumpy, no need to be so hostile. zellgadis has a very valid point -- doesn't it seem incongruous to you that almost every non- track and field source is making bolt it's athlete of the year? why is that happening? and it's not like bolt was far behind the winner in this magazine's own polling of experts. doesn't it speak to what the public want to see? shouldn't this be an opportunity for the marketeers working in the sport to try and figure what will get people to watch t&f instead of and just concluding that "the public are all stupid ".

Yes marron.
The theme is that looks that Bolt for somebody did not get "very good season" when he got 3 gold OG with 3 wonderful times(2nd best time in history 100m(only he better),in 200 only he got in the past better time in big event, and in 4x100 WR).
And he was injuried only 1 month before of OG, he ran at 90% in London probably.
In adittion he won all his races in 100 and 200 in DL, winning Championship of 100 DL finally(in 200 he ran few events in DL)
It is very sure that Bolt made big things this year.
To tell that he gets all this awards by popularity or because he is BOLT , really sounds stupid.

If he does not get several gold medals or getting "normal" times he gets awards, it would be bad.
But getting all these things this year, his awards are with all justice.

[bobguild76]

Re: Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

i think the whole concept of "aoy" is really antiquated and not suited for a sport that is on the brink of obscurity. to be more precise, i think the criteria for "athlete of the year" should take into account the intangibles such as "what people are talking about" effect in addition to the actual performances. performance of the year is fine as is and perhaps that should remain as the track and field purist award while the athlete of the year would be a combination of performance at OG or WC, overall season and impact on the sport/buzz.

... in short, the iaaf got it right. t&fnews got it wrong, imo.

You contend that Track & Field is on the brink of obscurity. That may be true, especially here in the US, but voting Bolt and/or Felix as AOY, simply because they have more buzz, is not the answer. T&FN has long pushed for a comprehensive strategy, involving the bigwigs at USAT&F, athletes, coaches, meet directors, sponsors and the like, to address the issues of packaging and selling T&F. There is much to be done in this sports saturated environment, but not on the pages of T&FN AOY selection.

Track & Field News caters to the serious fan, not the online voters at NBC Sports. Yes, all of us wish there were more serious fans, and that T&F had a much greater place in the global sports consciousness. But if there in one publication that we hope NEVER changes its criteria when it comes to a serious deliberation of AOY, it is Track & Field News. After all, T&FN is the Bible of the Sport, and since when does the Bible change its criteria to cater to popular opinion?

Athlete of the Year is about who are the premier athletes for the entire season. Buzz is not taken into consideration for this honor. When I look back over the previous AOY selections, long after the buzz had gone from many great athletes, I have to say T&FN got it right better than any other T&F publication. Many years from now, when the serious T&F fan looks back at 2012, I think they will agree that Rudisha and Eaton had marginally better years in their respective events than did Bolt.

Your sense that T&F can and should do a better job of packaging and selling our product is right on. Lets all do what we can in this effort. Part of that is highlighting those with worldwide recognition such as Usain Bolt. He is, and will remain, one of the all time great Track & Field athletes and megastars. But let us also revel in the recognition that David Rudisha is the amazing Three-peat AOY!

[Trackrunner]

Re: Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

I know it is not intended but "buzz" factor aside I don't think Bolt's accomplishment should be belittled. He did what no one else before him had done - a double, double in perhaps the most competitive events in track and field by winning the 100/200 in consecutive Olympic Games and set an Olympic record in the 100 to boot. Save for the Jamaica Trials he was victorious all season on the circuit and put up some solid times.

With that said I am ok with Rudisha, Farah, Eaton, Merritt or Bolt being named AOY. All had remarkable seasons and it is going to be a highly subjective decision to give one the edge over the other. Rudisha's 800 WR at the Games - scintillating. Farah's 5K/10k gold medal runs - moments to be treasured. Eaton and Merritt's WRs combined with their London performance all excellent and worthy. Tough call.

[athleticshushmail]

Re: Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

We should be happy that Bolt is getting all these awards. It lets us actually watch the sport we love. If Eaton, Rudisha, or Merrit, were winning these awards, t and f would be getting a lot less exposure and would be harder to watch and collect. Trust me, I don't think David Rudisha is heartbroken that he didn't win athlete of the year. It would be one thing if Bolt were over rated but what he is doing is incredible and has never been done before in track. This is definitely a situation where the viewers win. We should stop complaining so much.

[Blues]

Re: Usain Bolt AGAIN Sportsman of the year in USA

Regarding athletes like Rudisha, Merritt, Eaton, Farah, etc., since the AOL in THIS particular contest is determined by the voluntary voting of general public sports fans, and since anyone can vote, and since the contest isn't track and field specific, it might be pretty tough for any track and field athlete who isn't a 100m champion to ever have a shot at winning.

Although Bolt is deserving, without his 2008 and 2009 accomplishments also in the public's mind he might not have won. This particular contest very well could have had similar results if it was sponsored by TMZ.com, with the winner being decided by open online voting by the internet masses, just like in this contest.

In defense of this particular AOL contest though, obviously the typical voters (several of the most highly regarded being shown below) are well qualified to choose the international athlete of the year in an objective, fair, and unbiased manner.. :wink:

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