BBC SPOTY 2025

[TopDeck113]

Given that his world championship is so recent and the collective petrol-head vote, I reckon the winner will be Norris.

I'm voting for Kildunne.

[cdbearsfan]

Nobody who relies on having the best car/bike/horse should win.

[Brazilian Villain]

Rory McIlroy should be in the overseas section seeing as he represents the Republic at the Olympics. Winner should be Littler or Kildunne.

I assume Jon Crofts will be on soon to say it should be a cyclist.

Penny Farthing would have made the shortlist, but there were already three women on it.

[UK Redsox]

Home - Kildunne by a mile for me

Away - Ohtani. What he is doing is unheard of in baseball

[cdbearsfan]

I'd say the baseball player has about as much chance of winning it as I do.

[Brazilian Villain]

I'd say the baseball player has about as much chance of winning it as I do.

Agreed, in the good old days baseball players made shots that were heard 'round the World.

[lovejoy]

International (World) shortlist probably came out one week too late for one of the contenders on the public vote.

Mariona Caldentry (Spain/Arsenal Footballer)
Terrence Crawford (USA Boxer)
Armand Duplantis (Swedish Pole Vaulter)
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA Athlete)
Sholeu Ohtani (Japanese/Dodgers Baseball)
Mohammed Salah (Egyptian/UnderTheBus Footballer)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cwypxw44ykxo

Difficult to see past Duplantis

Yeah Duplantis for me, I wonder if the last contender, will make a personal appearance!

No Tadej Pogacar? 

Pogacar is undoubtedly the finest active sportsman in the world. The fact he doesn't make this list is astonishing. The BBC criteria (I've read them) reference winning the major sporting event in that sport (the Tour de France is the most watched event in the world every year). He won the Tour, the World Championship and 3 monuments and was top 3 in all 5 monuments as well as winning the 6th unofficial monument in Strade Bianchi. I mean what more can the bloke do?
I'm in boycott territory here.

[Somniloquism]

If the BBC had any of the main cycling events apart from the Worlds, they might put more cycling in. I also wonder how much all the big drug scandals has knocked on to that as well.

[lovejoy]

Whereas athletics and boxing have no drugs issues at all.
If its sports personality for sports we have the rights to then they should make that clear.

[cdbearsfan]

What's Pogacar done that's impressive? From Wikipedia he seems to have won Tour de France and that's it. Someone wins the Tour de France every year. He doesn't seem to have won the Italian or Spanish ones which, I understand, are the second and third biggest ones. Did he break the world record? Does Tour de France have world records?

[Somniloquism]

Who stated that other sports haven't had drugs issues? But the scandals in cycling have been multiple and widespread around most professional teams in the past. And when you do have someone who seems to be doing the impossible, in a sport where the previous people who did the same were found out later on, then it might have a sway. And the BBC do include people from sports they don't cover, (I don't think they do Baseball for example), but they do seem to favour ones they have already got rights to show footage from.

But anyway, I'm just giving potential reasons why he isn't involved, but I also think he should be included. Not enough for me to post that I'm going to boycott about it as I never vote in these unless it was a Villa vote anyway.

[PeterWithesShin]

BBC do show baseball, but no darts and don't think they do any F1 either do they?

[cdbearsfan]

Looking at past winners on Wikipedia, cyclists have won the main award five times, more than rugby union, rugby league, golf and snooker combined, despite probably having far fewer followers than any of them in the UK. I think you'd struggle to argue that cycling is unfairly overlooked, tbh.

[dcdavecollett]

Disappointed that there are no TS players in the selection.

[lovejoy]

What's Pogacar done that's impressive? From Wikipedia he seems to have won Tour de France and that's it. Someone wins the Tour de France every year. He doesn't seem to have won the Italian or Spanish ones which, I understand, are the second and third biggest ones. Did he break the world record? Does Tour de France have world records?

I’d sit this one out if I were you, you don’t know what you are talking about.