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Ssb - o'sullivan fails bbc personality test

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  • Ssb - o'sullivan fails bbc personality test

    It was no great surprise to me that Ronnie O’Sullivan was not named on the shortlist for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.


    This is no fault of O’Sullivan but a reflection of the way snooker is still viewed by many sections of the media.


    SPOTY used to be the concluding moment of the BBC Sports Review of the Year, which did what it said on the tin: reviewed the sporting year, in the company of those British sportsmen and women who had made it so memorable.


    When the name of the programme changed, so did its focus. It is now an awards show in which personalities dominate over sport.


    For over 40 years the voting system for SPOTY was very simple: you voted for whoever you liked. Whoever got the most votes won.


    In more recent years it was changed to a pre-chosen shortlist of ten, from which the public could choose.


    For there to be a shortlist, there has to be people choosing the shortlist, and this is where things went bad for snooker.


    Because years ago, when it was a free vote, snooker fared really well. Steve Davis appeared in the top three more than anyone else. In 1988, after becoming he first player to complete the triple crown of world, UK and Masters titles he won the main award, although he was playing in a tournament in Belgium so could not accept his prize in the studio.


    Stephen Hendry would also appear in the top three but no snooker player since has got close.


    O’Sullivan, in the year he returned from a long sabbatical to win a fifth world title, deserved proper consideration. He didn’t get it. His name was put forward to the selection panel but they quickly dismissed it.


    Hendry, a member of the BBC snooker team but very much his own man, told the Daily Star: “There’s a snobbery towards snooker that has always been there. Ronnie’s a personality. When you take the whole title ‘Sports Personality’, you couldn’t really get much more of a personality than Ronnie. And in terms of sporting achievement I would like to see someone else take a year off and then come back and win the major title in their chosen sport.”


    One of the problems is that, since National Lottery funding transformed British sport, we are actually very good at a number of sports. So it’s a lot harder than it once was to get on the list.


    But a glance at the people who chose this shortlist was a clue as to the sort of sports they would consider. There was an overwhelming middle class bias and also representatives of sports whose competitors then found themselves among the final ten.


    O’Sullivan is one of the biggest personalities in any sport. He’s divisive, certainly, but his personality combined with his achievement in becoming world champion again deserved some recognition.


    Unlike most of the other contenders, he actually won his major title on the BBC.


    Of course some will say, who cares? It’s only a TV show. Yes, and it was a chance for snooker to gain some coverage outside its own bubble on a programme watched by general sports fans and some people who don’t much follow sport.


    If snooker can’t get a player on the final list in a year like this then it surely never will.


    More...

  • #2
    Totally agree...

    Whilst I am wholeheartedly biased.... Snooker is a sport that still demands prime time coverage throughout the year on major channels (BBC, Eurosport et al) and that's despipte the hundreds of channels now available!

    I can't rememmber the year but I think Hendry saw this coming and had a few choice words for the BBC folloewing one of the SPOTY shows in the early noughties!
    Wish I cued as consistently as this fella!
    :snooker:

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    • #3
      ronnie didn't fail anything, if that's the shortlist, he is lucky not to be on it

      the title should be renamed to something like "bbc fails yet again in sports personality of the year contest" etc.

      Comment


      • #4
        You should email the BBC. When they realise who they are dealing with, i am sure they will change.
        Originally Posted by arbitrage View Post
        ronnie didn't fail anything, if that's the shortlist, he is lucky not to be on it

        the title should be renamed to something like "bbc fails yet again in sports personality of the year contest" etc.
        Highest Match Break 39 (November 10th 2015)

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        • #5
          How can Andy Murray win it then ?.........he has as much personality as a wet fish !!

          Mr Monotone...........sends me to sleep when he speaks .
          Still trying to pot as many balls as i can !

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          • #6
            Originally Posted by arbitrage View Post
            ronnie didn't fail anything, if that's the shortlist, he is lucky not to be on it

            the title should be renamed to something like "bbc fails yet again in sports personality of the year contest" etc.
            Agree 100%. Another stupid popularity contest which doesn't reflect who actually is the 'sports personality' of the year.
            "You have to play the game like it means nothing, when in fact it means everything to you" Steve Davis.

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            • #7
              Never put up Phil Taylor but he has only won the World Title 16 years !

              Probably because the BBC don't show his Darts organisation .
              Still trying to pot as many balls as i can !

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              • #8
                ronnies out spoken, with a stint in the priory, family break up, and family members inside would not sit well with the sporting elitist, who are looking for flawless perfection from there heroes to join in in their post human denture adventures

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                • #9
                  http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbo...=fake&Q19=fakePost human denture adventures - like it


                  Click on this link for a laugh and try and beat my score - I did ok at it actually got 15 out of 20
                  Last edited by Byrom; 13 December 2013, 11:57 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally Posted by Byrom View Post
                    http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbo...=fake&Q19=fakePost human denture adventures - like it


                    Click on this link for a laugh and try and beat my score - I did ok at it actually got 15 out of 20
                    I got 100% correct however...

                    When I clicked on the link it showed me a face... I answered.... and then it finished showing me the remaining pictures with the correct answers!

                    Am guessing your score was 14 or 15 out of 20 depending on wether you got the last one right?

                    The eye's have it me thinx!
                    Wish I cued as consistently as this fella!
                    :snooker:

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                    • #11
                      I always thought SPOTY wrongly titled and I emailed the BBC to say it should be named 'Sports Achiever of the year' or something similar. You could have an extraordinary sportsman that portrays nil personality or a great personality that only does quite well and their title was to me a misnomer.

                      It seems snooker along with motorcycle racing only gets a passing mention even when we do have a champion of that sport because now there are so many sports we do well in to choose from.

                      I wonder how English cricket will fair? They didn't lose The ashes at home but they sure are going to get whitewashed away from home.

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                      • #12
                        I love snooker but it never even entered my head that Ronnie would be anywhere close to this list.

                        Andy Murray has to win this. Greatest achievement by a British sportsman for a long time.

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                        • #13
                          He has enough personality ..but probably not for the bbc.
                          Cuemaxx snooker channel on youtube

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                          • #14
                            Originally Posted by arbitrage View Post
                            ronnie didn't fail anything, if that's the shortlist, he is lucky not to be on it

                            the title should be renamed to something like "bbc fails yet again in sports personality of the year contest" etc.
                            Of course he failed it. He's an addict who can't stay sober even during tournaments. We last witnessed this at the UK when the genius rushed to celebrate his birthday the day before like a 17 year old and lost his match the following day. Of course the people who REALLY know him say that only "he trolled" and if he really, really, REALLY would've wanted to win it then plah plah plah...

                            Would've been a joke if he'd been nominated.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              This has never been about personality, two horses have won it !! Says it all.
                              This is how you play darts ,MVG two nines in the same match!
                              https://youtu.be/yqTGtwOpHu8

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