SPOTY Who will it be
Discussion
Surely it's completely pointless putting money on anyone other than the favorite as it's voted for by the public and the way that the bookies manage their odds depend on who's putting money on who.
i.e. The bookies favorite is the favorite because that's who people are going to vote for.
i.e. The bookies favorite is the favorite because that's who people are going to vote for.
BMWBen said:
Surely it's completely pointless putting money on anyone other than the favorite as it's voted for by the public and the way that the bookies manage their odds depend on who's putting money on who.
i.e. The bookies favorite is the favorite because that's who people are going to vote for.
Depends - some freaks have been thrown up.i.e. The bookies favorite is the favorite because that's who people are going to vote for.
For example, 96 - smart money said Steven Redgrave. Damon Hill won.
Edited by Vocal Minority on Wednesday 28th November 21:22
CarCluster said:
Very tough, I reckon Wiggins, Ennis, Farah in the top 3 with Mr. Murray an outside chance for a top 3 (any other year he would be a shoe-in?). They've all done very well they should all get a prize!
That's the amazing thing this year; Murray may not even get in the top three (let alone win it) despite being the first British male winner of a tennis grand-slam tournament in three-quarters of a century (as well as winning Olympic gold and silver medals and getting to the final of Wimbledon too)...go back 15 years and Greg Rusedski won SPOTY on the back of reaching the US open final!Yiliterate said:
CarCluster said:
Very tough, I reckon Wiggins, Ennis, Farah in the top 3 with Mr. Murray an outside chance for a top 3 (any other year he would be a shoe-in?). They've all done very well they should all get a prize!
That's the amazing thing this year; Murray may not even get in the top three (let alone win it) despite being the first British male winner of a tennis grand-slam tournament in three-quarters of a century (as well as winning Olympic gold and silver medals and getting to the final of Wimbledon too)...go back 15 years and Greg Rusedski won SPOTY on the back of reaching the US open final!fandango_c said:
It's not amazing. Wiggins, Ennis and Farah have shown that they are the best in the world at their chosen sports. Murray isn't.
Think you're missing the point here - Murray's achievements this year have been absolutely immense, (arguably) eclipsing those of a number of previous winners (e.g. Rusedski), yet these may not even be enough to get him into the top three due to the other superb achievement of those you mention (plus others; Chris Hoy - most decorated British Olympian, Ben Ainslee - most successful Olympic sailor, etc, etc).Regarding your comment about him not being the best in his chosen sport, well, I'll admit I'm not particularly familiar with how the ATP rankings work. However, there were five big tennis tournaments this year (the four grand slams and the Olympics) and he won two of them, with Djockovic, Federer and Nadal each winning one apiece. IMHO, that makes 2012 his year as much as anyone else's in his chosen sport...
Yiliterate said:
Think you're missing the point here - Murray's achievements this year have been absolutely immense, (arguably) eclipsing those of a number of previous winners (e.g. Rusedski), yet these may not even be enough to get him into the top three due to the other superb achievement of those you mention (plus others; Chris Hoy - most decorated British Olympian, Ben Ainslee - most successful Olympic sailor, etc, etc).
Regarding your comment about him not being the best in his chosen sport, well, I'll admit I'm not particularly familiar with how the ATP rankings work. However, there were five big tennis tournaments this year (the four grand slams and the Olympics) and he won two of them, with Djockovic, Federer and Nadal each winning one apiece. IMHO, that makes 2012 his year as much as anyone else's in his chosen sport...
I don't think I'm missing the point. Yes Murray has had an absolutely immense year compare to British tennis players in the past (Rusedski), but the bar had been raised much, much higher for SPOTY compared to previous years, i.e. double gold medalists from the London games not being in the short list.Regarding your comment about him not being the best in his chosen sport, well, I'll admit I'm not particularly familiar with how the ATP rankings work. However, there were five big tennis tournaments this year (the four grand slams and the Olympics) and he won two of them, with Djockovic, Federer and Nadal each winning one apiece. IMHO, that makes 2012 his year as much as anyone else's in his chosen sport...
I understand your view on winning two out of five, but would you honestly say than Murray is the best tennis player in the world?
fandango_c said:
I don't think I'm missing the point. Yes Murray has had an absolutely immense year compare to British tennis players in the past (Rusedski), but the bar had been raised much, much higher for SPOTY compared to previous years, i.e. double gold medalists from the London games not being in the short list.
Yes, that was my point too. The amazing thing is how much success British Sportsmen/women have had in 2012; to the extent that there will be a number of people - potentially including Andy Murray - who won't even make the top three this time around whereas, in previous years, their achievements would have meant they would have been favourites for the main prize. My referencing of Murray was as a clear-cut example of this, given the contrast with Rusedski was both a direct comparison (two British male tennis players) and over a relatively short time-period (15 years). fandango_c said:
I understand your view on winning two out of five, but would you honestly say than Murray is the best tennis player in the world?
Well, it really depends on how you choose to define this. If you take the view that determining the best player in the world should be based on achivements over an extended period (say, 3-5 years) then clearly Murray would be behind the big three. However, as per the above, I think Murray's record this year is at least the equal of the RF, RN and ND. Further, if you look at 'current form' (i.e. putting greater emphasis on the more recent results), Murray's case looks even stronger; he won the last two big tournaments (US Open, Olympics) and reached the final of the one before that (Wimbledon). So, I would certainly say a decent argument could be made for him being tennis's 'the man of the moment'...Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff