I have never understood the idea of the BBC's annual Sports Personality Of The Year award.
It's the word 'personality' which confuses me. If you want to show me twelve sportsmen and ask me which one I think the best, fine - go ahead. (For the record, that's easy - that's Sir Ben Ainslie, all day long.*)
But the BBC aren't asking me who is the best sportsman; they are asking me which sportsman has the best personality. How am I supposed to know that?!
You can't know somebody's personality unless you know that person really well. And you can't choose the best out of twelve people based on personality unless you know all twelve of them really well. Do you know anyone who knows all twelve of these nominees really well? Nope, neither do I.
* You may not agree, but you're wrong. Objectively (ie. without taking 'personality' into account), Ben Ainslie has achieved more than any other nominee - but because he didn't do it in a 'popular' sport, he never gets a look in. Just another reason why democracy sucks.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to leave a comment - give your feedback, answer a question, start a debate, make a point, or simply hurl abuse... It's up to you! ;)