By Simon Webb (@Sim0nWebb)
This Sunday sees the return of that pre-Christmas TV favourite, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY). With it, comes that pre-Christmas tradition of discontent at the 10 nominees on the shortlist. There was a time when this would be confined to a few newspaper columns (sometimes in contradiction to the list of nominations supplied by the sports editor of the same paper) and pub talk.
Now thanks to social media and e-petitions, everyone can be a disgruntled activist.
In previous years we’ve had vocal campaigns against a lack of women and disabled athletes on the list, both of which were important points which needed to be made.
In the days following the announcement of the 2014 SPOTY shortlist, my Twitter feed was full of references to the omission of Sam Burgess. As SPOTY day approaches, I’m anticipating this one to return.
Even MPs, who you’d have thought would have more important things to do, have got involved, with the Parliamentary Rugby League Group backing a fan campaign to boycott the BBC vote. Greg Mulholland MP (Leeds North West) even tabled a motion in the House of Commons over the issue, although quite what was meant to happen as a result of that is anyone’s guess. Interestingly ‘Early Day Motion 574’ highlights the 2013 World Cup as a factor in why Burgess should be selected for an award based on 2014 performance. I’d like to think had England won the World Cup, there would have been recognition for this on last year’s programme.
There is no argument that Sam Burgess was one of the biggest sports stars in Australia, his legacy set in stone forever by his man of the match, playing with a broken cheek bone for 79 minutes, performance in the NRL Grand Final. There is no doubt that were Channel9 to hold a similar vote for overseas sports people, he would be the heaviest of favourites to have the trophy flown over to Bath.
Whilst it was without question a fantastic performance which should have received greater coverage in the UK than it did, I don’t believe it is enough to see him included in the SPOTY top 10.
Is winning a domestic championship really enough for inclusion on a list of the 10 best British sports performers in 2014? I don’t see anyone from St Helens, Manchester City, Celtic or Northampton Saints on the list either. In fact a look back through recent shortlists show that it is unusual for domestic titles to be considered sufficient for inclusion over those who have succeeded on a European or World stage.
Mulholland’s motion “notes other footballers play their sports in competitions outside the UK”. At the risk of being pedantic there is only one footballer on the list, and Gareth Bale is listed for his achievement in winning the Champions League, an international competition, all be it one that involves clubs rather than countries.
2014 has seen the Winter Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup as the biggest global events with British interest. I could list ten worthy nominees from those alone.
Twitter being the platform for people to rant, I’ve seen some strange things said on the subject of the absence of Sam Burgess. There’s the opinion that were he a Rugby Union player he’d have been a certainty for inclusion. Well, I’ve got news for anyone who holds that view. It may have escaped your notice – and I confess this has past me by until recently - Johnny Wilkinson not only won a domestic title in France, but the European Cup too. I’ve looked very closely but I can’t see his name anywhere amongst the 10 and I don’t think a broken cheek bone would have altered that.
It seems to me that deep down this argument is fuelled by the continued belief that Rugby League is under represented in sports coverage in general, and not so much about whether Sam Burgess is more deserving of a place in the top 10 than footballers, Winter Olympians, swimmers, runners or F1 drivers.
Although far from perfect, better national scheduling for the Super League Show is long over due, the BBC does a pretty decent job of bringing rugby league into a football saturated world, far better than virtually every national newspaper it should be pointed out. Two matches a week on national radio (all be it digital), a simulcast of the ABC coverage of the NRL final for the first time and rating pulling coverage for the recent 4 Nations amongst their contribution to the sport’s profile in 2014, alongside their long history with the Challenge Cup.
And, given that the shortlisting panel is not exclusively BBC employees (The Independent, Express Newspapers, Sunday Times and Sport Scotland were represented), it seems illogical to direct complaints solely at the corporation.
If the focus on Sam Burgess during either the TV show or Radio 5 broadcast which runs alongside it, is on his move to union more than his achievements in the NRL in 2014, then the BBC have some justifying to do, but, whilst moderately disappointing, I don’t consider the Burgess omission to be worthy of outcry.
This Sunday sees the return of that pre-Christmas TV favourite, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY). With it, comes that pre-Christmas tradition of discontent at the 10 nominees on the shortlist. There was a time when this would be confined to a few newspaper columns (sometimes in contradiction to the list of nominations supplied by the sports editor of the same paper) and pub talk.
Now thanks to social media and e-petitions, everyone can be a disgruntled activist.
In previous years we’ve had vocal campaigns against a lack of women and disabled athletes on the list, both of which were important points which needed to be made.
In the days following the announcement of the 2014 SPOTY shortlist, my Twitter feed was full of references to the omission of Sam Burgess. As SPOTY day approaches, I’m anticipating this one to return.
Even MPs, who you’d have thought would have more important things to do, have got involved, with the Parliamentary Rugby League Group backing a fan campaign to boycott the BBC vote. Greg Mulholland MP (Leeds North West) even tabled a motion in the House of Commons over the issue, although quite what was meant to happen as a result of that is anyone’s guess. Interestingly ‘Early Day Motion 574’ highlights the 2013 World Cup as a factor in why Burgess should be selected for an award based on 2014 performance. I’d like to think had England won the World Cup, there would have been recognition for this on last year’s programme.
There is no argument that Sam Burgess was one of the biggest sports stars in Australia, his legacy set in stone forever by his man of the match, playing with a broken cheek bone for 79 minutes, performance in the NRL Grand Final. There is no doubt that were Channel9 to hold a similar vote for overseas sports people, he would be the heaviest of favourites to have the trophy flown over to Bath.
Whilst it was without question a fantastic performance which should have received greater coverage in the UK than it did, I don’t believe it is enough to see him included in the SPOTY top 10.
Is winning a domestic championship really enough for inclusion on a list of the 10 best British sports performers in 2014? I don’t see anyone from St Helens, Manchester City, Celtic or Northampton Saints on the list either. In fact a look back through recent shortlists show that it is unusual for domestic titles to be considered sufficient for inclusion over those who have succeeded on a European or World stage.
Mulholland’s motion “notes other footballers play their sports in competitions outside the UK”. At the risk of being pedantic there is only one footballer on the list, and Gareth Bale is listed for his achievement in winning the Champions League, an international competition, all be it one that involves clubs rather than countries.
2014 has seen the Winter Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup as the biggest global events with British interest. I could list ten worthy nominees from those alone.
Twitter being the platform for people to rant, I’ve seen some strange things said on the subject of the absence of Sam Burgess. There’s the opinion that were he a Rugby Union player he’d have been a certainty for inclusion. Well, I’ve got news for anyone who holds that view. It may have escaped your notice – and I confess this has past me by until recently - Johnny Wilkinson not only won a domestic title in France, but the European Cup too. I’ve looked very closely but I can’t see his name anywhere amongst the 10 and I don’t think a broken cheek bone would have altered that.
It seems to me that deep down this argument is fuelled by the continued belief that Rugby League is under represented in sports coverage in general, and not so much about whether Sam Burgess is more deserving of a place in the top 10 than footballers, Winter Olympians, swimmers, runners or F1 drivers.
Although far from perfect, better national scheduling for the Super League Show is long over due, the BBC does a pretty decent job of bringing rugby league into a football saturated world, far better than virtually every national newspaper it should be pointed out. Two matches a week on national radio (all be it digital), a simulcast of the ABC coverage of the NRL final for the first time and rating pulling coverage for the recent 4 Nations amongst their contribution to the sport’s profile in 2014, alongside their long history with the Challenge Cup.
And, given that the shortlisting panel is not exclusively BBC employees (The Independent, Express Newspapers, Sunday Times and Sport Scotland were represented), it seems illogical to direct complaints solely at the corporation.
If the focus on Sam Burgess during either the TV show or Radio 5 broadcast which runs alongside it, is on his move to union more than his achievements in the NRL in 2014, then the BBC have some justifying to do, but, whilst moderately disappointing, I don’t consider the Burgess omission to be worthy of outcry.