Earlier today, I wrote that Sports Illustrated made the right choice in selecting Peyton Manning to be its Sportsman of the Year.
Dave Zirin disagrees. In his column for The Nation, he slammed SI’s selection. He made an interesting observation that it has become a quarterback’s award.
An award that used to be for trailblazers, social justice avatars, and people whose sense of fair play brought out the best angels in sports, had become the magazine cover equivalent of the SI Swimsuit issue: all image and no substance. You could easily envision SI’s editors slamming their desks shouting, “Find me a quarterback dammit! And he better have blue eyes and dimples!”
Since 2004, the magazine has had Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and Drew Brees as their Sportsperson of the Year. So what do they do to break the trend in 2013? They give it to Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning: the same Peyton Manning who in 2013 hasn’t done more than throw a bunch of touchdowns, make a ton of commercials, and choke in the playoffs. In other words, a typical Peyton Manning season.
Later, Zirin writes:
Yet another story that has defined 2013 was the growing awareness of head injuries in the National Football League. What about choosing Dr. Robert Cantu, the NFL’s concussion expert who said that he did not believe children under 14 should be allowed to play the sport? It is comments like that that turn Roger Goodell’s face a shade to match his hair. That would have been a bold choice.
Then there is tennis. There was once a time when it was not unusual to see a tennis player, particular a woman tennis player, named Sportsperson of the Year. This past year we had Serena Williams make her case as perhaps the greatest to ever take the court. If she had been chosen, Serena would have been the first solo woman to take the honor since Mary Decker in 1983. Seriously.
Zirin rattles off other candidates, all of whom deserve consideration.
However, as I wrote earlier, it is hard to overlook Manning and what he’s done. This isn’t a typical season for a 37-year old quarterback.