Posted on 12/05/2017 11:39:25 AM PST by drewh
We will remember 2017 as much for what athletes strove to achieve off the field as for what they achieved on it. And that was no small bar to clear. New champions were crowned, notably the Houston Astros, who ended the second-longest World Series drought by winning the first in the franchise’s history, while old champions (the Patriots, the Warriors, the Lynx, the Penguins) solidified their places in the pantheon.
Even in a year of sublime individual performances—Brady and KD, Deshaun and Fed, all of them considered for this award—athletes spoke loudest in their actions and words off the field. .
This issue is intended to celebrate a new generation of athletes who care, in all senses of the word: caring about humanitarian efforts, about social and political justice, about their communities and about their crafts.
Which brings us to the 2017 Sportsperson of the Year honorees, J.J. Watt and José Altuve. By the third week of September, less than a month after Hurricane Harvey had devastated Houston and its surrounding region, Watt had raised more than $37 million in relief aid. The SOTY candidacy of the Texans’ defensive end was unaffected by the gruesome, season-ending leg injury he suffered in Week 5. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year—the best defensive player of his generation, really—could have had the best season of his career, or the worst. His place as a Sportsperson of the Year had already been engraved. “Nothing J.J. Watt has achieved in his career, or might still achieve, will measure up to what he did for Houston,” says MMQB Editor-in-Chief Peter King.
(Excerpt) Read more at si.com ...
>>Jose Altuve was a great choice. I’ve never heard of JJ Watt.<<
JJ Watt broke out from a now-almost extinct sport named “football,” derived from the British sport of Rugby. He spent a lot of time and personal effort raising funds for hurricane relief for Houston and other stricken communities. His honor is not based on his nor his tea’s on-field performance.
I have never heard of this Cricket player “Jose” — did he do anything to support his community at the level Watt did?
JJ Watt deserves the award. He created a true charity, from the heart, that raised millions of dollars that got to the people it was supposed to.
That’s noble, but is it a sport?
I don’t know the criteria. Check with the editors.
He has also been a gold glove-winning second baseman. Add to that the fact that Altuve is only 5'6" in a sport dominated by physically bigger men. If the game is on the line, I'd rather have Altuve up to bat than anyone.
What’s a sportsperson?
Ah. An extremely gifted athlete at cricket.
I believe there is a difference between sportsman and athlete.
Perhaps I am alone in that thought.
But then, why did they not call it “Athlete of the year?”
After a little research,looks like both were good choices.
>>After a little research,looks like both were good choices.<<
I will 100% take the word of a fellow FReeper.
God bless ‘em both! :)
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