Agree, and the degree of commitment especially fitness in an F1 drivers case surely is much greater than a golfers, just look at some of em, although McIlroys achievement runs Lewis pretty close, but not quite, Little Black kid from North London becoming second time F1 WDC, yea right, brilliant !!!! Well done Lewis. I can play golf, but I couldn't drive an F1 car
How many "Britains" does Joey Barton think there are?! "What precedent does that set. Bad day in our history" What is he on?! Jeez. Lewis came from a council flat and rose to the top of a rich man's sport. I'm not sure whether that sets a precedent but surely he's a better role model than Barton with his string of violent offences on the pitch. As for a "bad day in our history": yeah, Joey, it's right up there with the Hola massacre of the Mau Mau. Attention-seeking twat.
"but I don't earn all my money here"."I race in 19 different countries, so I earn my money in 20 different places and I pay tax in several different places, and I pay a lot here as well," "I am contributing to the country and, not only that, I help to keep a team of more than 1,000 people employed. "Good reply: And Who the hell is Joey Barton,-------------------------- Oh a footballer, a violent footballer, I'll say no more,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Barton Some role model, eh? And yes, an excellent riposte from Lewis, or, possibly ,his 'people'
I am an F1 fan first but I personally feel that Rory's achievments deserved it this year - however I think that F1 is more of a team sport than an individuals. What I would say is that I was shocked at how few people voted (only 600,00 which is less than 1% of the population) considering XFactor got over 10 million votes. I'm not sure how this compares to previous years, but it devalues what is percieved as such a big event if there so little interest from the general public. I dont see how 200,000 votes reflects the British public opinion, but then again (like politics) if you dont vote you cant moan at the outcome - and I didnt vote. Anyway, it tops of a brilliant year for Lewis and hopefully gives good exposure for motorsport over the coming months.
I think its originally a quote from a sunday times news paper interview... Actually it was done before he won the award.....He got his excuses in early, He is that quick.
All the Golf fans were probably asleep in front of the telly. Thats what they usually do. They have all woken up very grumpy too!
My obsessed housemate tells me the Xfactor app lets people vote 5 times for free, so 10 million votes doesn't seem quite so many when a quick google suggests nearly 2 million people have the app. I think both Hamilton and McIlroy's achievements were good enough to deserve to win, but for me Hamilton should have got it because he'll have fewer chances to win in the future. McIlroy is young, and on the up in a sport where you're reliant on nobody but yourself. He could have another 20 years in which to win SPOTY. Hamilton is highly unlikely to win another, he'd have to win the title in equally dominant fashion, but in 3 or 4 years time otherwise it'll be seen as a continuation of his 2014 season (or it'll seem like he's won it too recently). If he didn't win it this year, he'd need an utterly ridiculous season to be in a better position in the eyes of the public.
Everyone's fav. footballer went off on another Rant against Hamilton today.... Can anyone really be that thick? Is it an act? Does he need urgent psycho therapy? Or could it be.. he's a wee bit jealous?
Good to see we have someone of intelligence dealing with this matter. Edit: Irrelevance... Stupid auto-correct.
STRONG REACTION TO HAMILTON’S SPORTS PERSONALITY WIN, BUT IT SHOWS ENGAGEMENT OF F1 FANS Lewis Hamilton’s win in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday seemed to catch everyone except the voting public by surprise and the media reaction since has been at odds with the margin of his victory. Having twice been runner up in the past, Hamilton finally took the prestigious trophy on Sunday in a star studded ceremony in Glasgow. However, despite garnering almost twice as many votes as his nearest rival and bookies favourite, Rory McIlroy, the dominant result for Hamilton soon faced a barrage of criticism. The decision is left to the public, who had a short period of time on Sunday night in which to vote via mobile, landline or online. Hamilton was the clear winner, showing the F1 fans are far more engaged and pro-active than golf fans, not to mention probably more numerous. The result is no surprise to anyone who works in the UK sports media; in research F1 regularly comes out second behind football as the most popular sport on TV and radio. That hasn’t stopped criticism from people who feel that the achievement of winning two majors and a Ryder Cup outweigh winning the F1 championship in a dominant car. First among the critics are the Northern Irishman’s golfing colleagues. His Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley maintained a diplomatic respect for Hamilton but left no one in doubt as to his displeasure at the way the vote went in describing himself as “very disappointed” that McIlroy’s two golf major tournament wins in 2014 hadn’t helped him to secure the BBC award. “I don’t think that a golfer can have a better year than Rory did. Lewis Hamilton had a good year, too, but it would be difficult for any golfer to do better than Rory did this year. “He’s a great guy who takes his responsibilities as the world’s No 1 player very seriously. We are lucky to have him. I don’t know why he didn’t win. I don’t know what the issues are but I don’t want to take away from Lewis Hamilton.” Others such as Ian Poulter and Luke Donaldson took to twitter to vent their displeasure at the decision while outspoken footballer Joey Barton – who has twice been convicted on charges of violence – described Hamilton as “a terrible role model for any Britain (sic).” Barton also criticised Hamilton’s decision to bring his dog Roscoe to the ceremony and claimed that Hamilton was a “tax exile”, suggesting that he shouldn’t have been eligible for the award, a theme taken up by many on social media. Speaking on the subject of tax on the day of the awards ceremony Hamilton said that, though he lives in Monaco, he does in fact pay significant tax in Britain as well as in various other countries. Luke Donald referred to a public outcry over the decision on twitter but then somewhat paradoxically suggested that this was because the public had been allowed to select the winner. His post read: “Lot of angry people on my timeline… Unfortunately as long as SPOTY *continues to be a public vote then this will continue to happen!” Ewan Murray of the Guardian newspaper pulled no punches in a stinging rebuke to the voters, saying that McIlroy was “unjustly denied” and describing the result as “unfair”. Ian Poulter branded the decision as “ridiculous,” saying that it was an the outcome that had rendered the award a “complete joke.” He also pointed out that Hamilton’s only serious challenge this year came from his own Mercedes team-mate. Hamilton himself expressed surprise as well as delight at the result and said that he would have voted for McIlroy. ‘I’m so proud and honoured to be among such great sporting talent,” he said. “I want to say a huge thank you to all the people who called in, I really wasn’t expecting it. “I could not have done this without my amazing team, my family, my dad who once had four jobs to help me, my brother. ‘I’ve been incredibly inspired by them. I never thought in a million years I’d be surrounded by such people. ‘Thank you to all the fans. I always say we win and lose together because I feel your love. I feel so proud to carry the Union flag and hope I will continue to make you proud.” With 209,920 public votes, Hamilton’s victory over second place McIlroy was convincing. The golfer, who the bookies at one stage priced at 9-1 on to win the award, trailed Hamilton with 123,745 votes while long distance runner Jo Pavey came third with 99,913 votes. Perhaps the outrage vented at Hamilton’s success is a measure of F1’s current status among competitors from other sports. Hamilton was the first racing driver to win the award since Damon Hill won his second BBC SPOTY in 1996. At that time, the appearance of Hill or Nigel Mansell in the final shakeup for the award was almost de rigeur. Hill and Mansell won the award in three of the five years up to 1996 and Mansell was third in 1993 having also won in 1986. Since 1996, Hamilton was runner up on two occasions – 2007 and 2008 – while Jenson Button was second in 2009. The last golfer to win the award was Nick Faldo in 1989. The other contenders for Sunday night’s award were Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale, dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin, boxer Carl Froch, skier Kelly Gallagher and her guide Charlotte Evans, swimmer Adam Peaty, gymnast Max Whitlock and skeleton racer Lizzy Yarnold.
Is there usually this much fuss over SPOTY? Why so many people bent out of shape? Maybe celebrities should take to social media and the press to slag-off each other following the Oscar's. Seriously, it's like a bunch of babies. Get over it, it's not like it means anything. Sheesh.
Don't remember there being this much fuss in the past. Not sure what it's all about, it's a public vote so it's not like judges went against popular opinion. Sometimes people just like to moan, loved this part
Never recall there being anywhere near this much fuss, but the clear favourite has often been beaten in the past. I get the impression that the BBC seem to think they know who the percieved winner is amongst the sporting establishment and forget that it is a public vote. However, I did mention previoulsy in this thread that when less than 1% vote it does devalue the thought process of it reflecting the British people. I think the comments made towards Lewis are unfair and unprofessional, but probably reflect that fundemental flaw in the process. I do think that some interesting points have been raised, but whether in the right context is obvioulsy debatable. My view is that Rory should have won and that an F1 driver is part of a team.
One just longs for the good old days when decent, respectable people won, like Torvill and Dean and Princess Anne; the sort one might meet at the church fête or Antiques Roadshow. One simply has no time for ex-council, faux-ghetto motherfuckers dripping in bling, more money than sense; what is the world coming to, I ask you? I mean, have you seen his earrings?!
Part of a team, but the BBC never recognise team achievements in F1 it seems. Whilst the Ryder Cup team won in 2010, 2002, 1995, 1987 and 1985, the last F1 team to win were BRM in 1962. That's pretty atrocious given the way Mercedes this year, Red Bull, Mclaren and Williams have all performed since then. Vettel won Overseas personality in 2013, but you have to go back to Lauda in 77 for the last racing driver to win. In that time Golf have had 6 wins, with 8 wins overall.
