Cav surely a shoo-in for BBC Sports Personality of Year?

[auscyclefan94]

I'm not talking about the award - I'm talking about the usage of the word personality, which to reiterate, in this context simply means person, but sounds less stilted.

If you honestly believe words can only have 1 meaning and must be context blind, then it's a shame you've chosen to close off the entire world of literature to yourself.

I never said that but why use the word 'personality' for an award which for most people has a totally different meaning? People generally associate personality of what I have defined it not how the award has. Best Sportsperson of the Year would be perfectly fine.

 

[hatcher]

The funny thing is, it's the only definition 99% of the people in the world use. And can you sound more denigrating?

"Personality" is still very much used to mean "person". Certainly in the UK, which in this situation is all that matters.

TV personality Matthew Wright, for example.

 

[hatcher]

I never said that but why use the word 'personality' for an award which for most people has a totally different meaning? People generally associate personality of what I have defined it not how the award has. Best Sportsperson of the Year would be perfectly fine.

The award is nearly 60 years old. Tradition > lazy public unwilling to take the extra millisecond of thought it would take them to realise how often they actually use "personality" to mean "person".

 

[B_Ugli]

Wow what an amazing night for Cycling the UK and indeed UK sport in general (and I am fairly cynical at the best of times).

I watched the aftershow interviews and it was good to see the interviewers pointing out with Steve Redgrave the professionalism of most of the Athletes featured. In stark contrast to the footballers featured on the National news shortly afterwards!

Cavendish mentions frequently the amount of people he sees out on road bikes etc and how cycling is now booming in the UK.

His outstanding achievements aside I really hope he gets behind pushing for safer cycling on UK roads, and a war on potholes, and dangerous car drivers. That's got to be a good thing for everyone in the future

 

[El Pistolero]

The award is nearly 60 years old. Tradition > lazy public unwilling to take the extra millisecond of thought it would take them to realise how often they actually use "personality" to mean "person".

I guess no one should be surprised, after all you're still riding on the left side of the road and using an old metric system.

 

[Dancing On The Pedals]

When the award was first introduced back in the 1950s, there was already an awards ceremony which had a Sports person of the year, and therefore the BBC couldn't, for legal reasons presumably, have the same award name. Therefore, sports personality. Even though the name obviously implies that the winner will have a personality, it is essentially an award for whoever has achieved the most that year.

I read the bit about the origin of the name in a newspaper earlier this week, and I now can't find the article, but suffice to say, the personality bit of the title was a compromise in the 1950s, and has stuck ever since.

 

[El Pistolero]

When the award was first introduced back in the 1950s, there was already an awards ceremony which had a Sports person of the year, and therefore the BBC couldn't, for legal reasons presumably, have the same award name. Therefore, sports personality. Even though the name obviously implies that the winner will have a personality, it is essentially an award for whoever has achieved the most that year.

I read the bit about the origin of the name in a newspaper earlier this week, and I now can't find the article, but suffice to say, the personality bit of the title was a compromise in the 1950s, and has stuck ever since.

Kinda like the whole Omloop het Volk and Ronde van Vlaanderen thingie then.

 

[Captain_Cavman]

You're all wrong, there clearly is an element of 'Personality' involved. Winners generally have to bring something more than just achievement; there is an ambassadorial role too. And Cavendish is a superb ambassador for cycling in Britain because he's media friendly, interesting, passionate, funny, and of course, a winner.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I guess no one should be surprised, after all you're still riding on the left side of the road and using an old metric system.

Lolocaust.

Driving on the left is statistically proven to be safer, unless 90% of people in Belgium are left handed.

And what the hell 'an old metric system' means, other than that you don't know what metric means, I have no idea.

 

[Four Winds]

I was never that confident he'd win but was very pleased he did. He was by far the most deserving on an achievment level, but it's also a popularity contest. Hence some ball kicker like Ryan Giggs won 2 years ago because loads of United fans jumped on a band wagon and phoned in. I don't think anyone ever thought Giggs had a dazzling personality even before the true Giggs was revealed. There were many more deserving "personalities" in both senses of the word that year. I guess I look at it as an award for people who have personalities or are personalities!!!!

I think golf and cricket are more popular sports but Donald/Clarke/McIlroy and Strauss/Cook probably took votes off each other as well.

Thought it was funny that he was unusually lost for words for a few mins but still managed to waffle on for ages! At least he didn't have a pre-prepared speech to pull out of his pocket. And he probably got some of the ladies' votes after his wee bit about being an expectant dad.

 

[The Hitch]

I think golf and cricket are more popular sports but Donald/Clarke/McIlroy and Strauss/Cook probably took votes off each other as well.

Even if you add all the Cricket and golf votes together, and make it a "Cricketgolf" or perhaps "Boringsports" candidate, Cav still would have won.

 

[Cobblestoned]

 

[Thomsena]

You're all wrong, there clearly is an element of 'Personality' involved. Winners generally have to bring something more than just achievement; there is an ambassadorial role too. And Cavendish is a superb ambassador for cycling in Britain because he's media friendly, interesting, passionate, funny, and of course, a winner.

I like Cav. But media friendly? Really?

 

[El Pistolero]

Even if you add all the Cricket and golf votes together, and make it a "Cricketgolf" or perhaps "Boringsports" candidate, Cav still would have won.

Because Cav has such an interesting racing style in cycling, right?

Cav is just as boring as golf, if not more so.

 

[Captain_Cavman]

I like Cav. But media friendly? Really?

As in friendly towards the media, not some recluse who won't talk to journalists and can't say anything worth writing down when he does.

 

[Siriuscat]

Amazing how when someone wins something someone somewhere has to denigrate it, awesome. IF we said Cadel won the tour by wheel sucking god knows how much fall out we'd see.

Point is this is a British media award handed out to who the public vote as most deserving, I voted once, my wife twice, so what. People who Excel deserve the recognition and accolades they get and yes maybe SPOTY is outdated and doesn't really say what it does on the tin BUT Cav is the perfect winner, best sprinter on the planet, world champ and green Jersey winner he can speak, he has a level of humility and knows his place in the team. He has a passion for his sport and how it's perceived in this country and that for me makes him a fantastic ambassador for cycling. If folk don't like that TOUGH!!

We'll trash the Oppy's next year if you like

 

[auscyclefan94]

Amazing how when someone wins something someone somewhere has to denigrate it, awesome. IF we said Cadel won the tour by wheel sucking god knows how much fall out we'd see.

Point is this is a British media award handed out to who the public vote as most deserving, I voted once, my wife twice, so what. People who Excel deserve the recognition and accolades they get and yes maybe SPOTY is outdated and doesn't really say what it does on the tin BUT Cav is the perfect winner, best sprinter on the planet, world champ and green Jersey winner he can speak, he has a level of humility and knows his place in the team. He has a passion for his sport and how it's perceived in this country and that for me makes him a fantastic ambassador for cycling. If folk don't like that TOUGH!!

We'll trash the Oppy's next year if you like

1. Saying he wheelsucked ic completely incorrect therefore I would pull someone up on it.
2. I am denigrating the award title, not the person winning the award in this case. We have a similar award in Australia which is similar to that but called something different.
3. I do not like Cav at all but my objection is nothing to do with my strong dislike of him and I don't necessarily agree that he is a great ambassador for the sport but each to their own.
4. Trashing the Oppy makes no sense unless you have a logical objection to an expert panel awarding it to the best cyclist of the year. We also have a public vote which was surprisingly won by Anna Meares not Cadel this year.

I hardly denigrated his acheivements though if I think something is stupid I am going to call it out even if it does offend people like you in this case. If you don't like it then go away.

 

[Siriuscat]

ACF my post was general, not specifically aimed at you, I used Cadel and the Oppys as examples because they are pretty well known globally.

We post on a global forum and as such language and intentions can be lost. It's a badly labelled award but it doesn't undermine the achievement.

 

[Hawkwood]

Because Cav has such an interesting racing style in cycling, right?

Cav is just as boring as golf, if not more so.

He has a very interesting style for a sprinter, it's probably what makes him so great.

Is the gold jibe based on any deep insight of yours?

 

[El Pistolero]

He has a very interesting style for a sprinter, it's probably what makes him so great.

Is the gold jibe based on any deep insight of yours?

He's boring, he does nothing for the last 200 meters. Might as well watch golf

Besides, I was only criticizing Hitch for calling other sports boring.

If you like him that's fine by me - I just think he's boring.

 

[The Hitch]

Besides, I was only criticizing Hitch for calling other sports boring.

And I was only joking.

BTW is it true that Cav has been named best none Belgian sportsman by you guys, twice?

 

[El Pistolero]

And I was only joking.

BTW is it true that Cav has been named best none Belgian sportsman by you guys, twice?

If you're talking about the international Flandrien award, then yeah. But that's not the same as best none Belgian sportsman as it is restricted to cycling only.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trofeo_Flandrien

 

[The Hitch]

If you're talking about the international Flandrien award, then yeah. But that's not the same as best none Belgian sportsman as it is restricted to cycling only.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trofeo_Flandrien

Cheers.

lol is it also restricted to non gt riders?

Well Cav said he was named Belgian overseas personality of the year twice. Struck me as a bit weird.

Guess it must have been this.

 

[sublimit]

Because Cav has such an interesting racing style in cycling, right?

Cav is just as boring as golf, if not more so.

But you have to admire his technique when he's going full bore in a sprint, plus its a bit naive to expect a designated sprinter to do turns on the front or do solo attacks or anything.

BTW Britain have the top 3 golfers in the world according to the world rankings. No wonder you find that sport dull.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

But you have to admire his technique when he's going full bore in a sprint, plus its a bit naive to expect a designated sprinter to do turns on the front or do solo attacks or anything.

BTW Britain have the top 3 golfers in the world according to the world rankings. No wonder you find that sport dull.

Why is it naïve to expect a designated sprinter to do something other than sprint? Most designated sprinters aren't as one-trick as Cavendish (mainly because that one trick is so good that the others need to develop other tricks to compete). Riders like Hushovd have whole other sides to them for the Classics; Abdoujaparov won his final TDF stage on a medium mountain stage by attacking his breakmates on a complex uphill finish. Freire won his first Worlds by going solo in the last km from a select group and even had a break-of-the-day solo escapade in California this year. Even Cipo soloed across to groups in Gent-Wevelgem. Cavendish isn't the complete klutz when it comes to non-flat racing that people sometimes say (the win into Aubenas in 2009 proves that), but realistically we learnt more about him as a cyclist in the Commonwealth Games RR than we did when he won the Worlds, because we already knew he could do everything he did at the Worlds.

The thing is, a "designated sprinter" can include a lot of riders with very disparate characteristics. Roman Feillu, Edvald Boasson Hagen, José Joaquín Rojas and even Peter Sagan can be called 'designated sprinters' at times. They will no doubt be asked to do things other than just sprint at some point. Even Greipel and Petacchi have got on the front for leaders, whether they be classics men (Greipel) or GT contenders (Petacchi) when asked. Cavendish is too good as a sprinter, and has thus far been in a team too focused on the sprint, to ask him to expend his energy doing that, so we simply don't know whether he can or not.