Roger Federer Should be Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year

[callitout]

But he probably wont be because he's not American and tennis isnt popular enough.
His dominance this year is so far above the other contenders, I still hope he'll get it. I even heard the guys on ESPN radio saying he should get (but probably wont for aforementioned reasons). We'll see. They'll probably pick Tom Brady.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

Tom Brady is so overrated! He is lucky to have the best coach in the NFL, and the best defence(up until this year)in the NFL. This year he is being brought back down to earth and it has been a joy to watch. The truly greatest quarterback in the NFL today, Peyton Manning is now shining. Tom Brady Sportsman of this Year, through all sports, ROTFL! Yes he did win it though, not a surprise.

 

[tangerine]

Dry your tears. Pete Sampras never made the Sportsman of the Year list either.

And Tom Brady is a brilliant quarterback for the NE Patriots. He deserves the SI title.

 

[Kevin Patrick]

I bet you my house that Federer won't win it. The guy's never even been on the cover.
The only tennis players ever to win that are Ashe, Evert, & King.
Sampras won 14 majors & was on the cover only 3 times. Agassi had 8 majors & was on the cover 3 times. Mac won 7 majors & was on the cover 7 times(see the pattern?) Borg was on the cover many times as well. Tennis is dead in the US(& has been for about 15 years)

A better question is, when will he get on the cover? If he wins the calendar slam at the US Open next year, he might have a shot.
The only tennis players to be on the cover in recent years(2000 on) are Kournikova & Sharapova & Serena.

And,it's not just an American thing. If Vijay Singh won 3 majors in a year, he'd win it. Golf is so much more popular(& foreign golfers play in the US a lot more than foreign tennis players do)

 

[callitout]

Brady is great, and I aint crying for Roger just giving my opinion that he is by far the most dominant in his sport of any athelete over the last year. Peyton Manning cant get it because he hasnt won anything. It always goes to a champion. I think Arthur Ashe is the last tennis player to win.

 

[Kevin Patrick]

They can give it to teams as well, callitout. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Spurs get it.

And Ashe got it in '92/93 when he was diagnosed with Aids. It wasn't exactly due to his tennis accomplishments.
Evert in '76 was the tennis player to get it based on merit.
I wouldn't be surprised if Mac got serious consideration in '84 even with his antics.

 

[morgan102]

Tom Brady is so overrated! He is lucky to have the best coach in the NFL, and the best defence(up until this year)in the NFL. This year he is being brought back down to earth and it has been a joy to watch. The truly greatest quarterback in the NFL today, Peyton Manning is now shining. Tom Brady Sportsman of this Year, through all sports, ROTFL! Yes he did win it though, not a surprise.

Yeah, yeah, Manning fans, just where are his Super Bowls to back that claim, eh? Kudos to Tom for each and every time he has won it and will win it. But, if Federer didn't get it for a banner year last year, the odds aren't so great for him as he continues to try and convince SI that he is a true sportsman.

 

[drexeler]

Tom Brady is so overrated! He is lucky to have the best coach in the NFL, and the best defence(up until this year)in the NFL. This year he is being brought back down to earth and it has been a joy to watch. The truly greatest quarterback in the NFL today, Peyton Manning is now shining. Tom Brady Sportsman of this Year, through all sports, ROTFL! Yes he did win it though, not a surprise.

Usually I agree with your analysis, but I think you are off the mark on Tom Brady. His playoff record is unmatched, and he has a better passer rating in his 5 years than Manning. See this: http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Article.php?Page=106

Just like Federer, he has a good chance of going down as the greatest ever by the time he retires.

 

[legolas]

its all about TO, jk

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

Usually I agree with your analysis, but I think you are off the mark on Tom Brady. His playoff record is unmatched, and he has a better passer rating in his 5 years than Manning. See this: http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Article.php?Page=106

Just like Federer, he has a good chance of going down as the greatest ever by the time he retires.

While that is true, Manning has been by far a higher quality quarterback in 2003-2005 than he was prior to that. Will Brady make that kind of drastic jump in his own play from 2004 onwards as Peyton did starting from 2002 to 2003? I hugely doubt it.

His playoff record is with an unbeatable coach and an unbeatable defence(not to mention the rest of the team which has virtualy no holes, receivers, kicker, blockers) he still had to play well, but there are multiple elite quarterbacks in the league who could have done the same thing with that team IMO. Do you really think any one of Manning, Favre, Culpepper, Pennington(if healthy), Hasselback, would not have had a very good chance to duplicate what he did had they played with New England those same year? Manning played on an Indianopolis team, that up to this year had very suspect defence for example. This year they dont and we see the results.

 

[random1]

Dry your tears. Pete Sampras never made the Sportsman of the Year list either.

But Sampras never had a year as good as either of Fed's last two years, so the comparison doesn't hold.

And Tiger Woods has won it twice! He also has only won 3 out of 4 slams in one year, and golf isn't even a sport!!

Fed should have gotten it last year...

 

[monologuist]

Tom Brady is so overrated! He is lucky to have the best coach in the NFL, and the best defence(up until this year)in the NFL. This year he is being brought back down to earth and it has been a joy to watch. The truly greatest quarterback in the NFL today, Peyton Manning is now shining. Tom Brady Sportsman of this Year, through all sports, ROTFL! Yes he did win it though, not a surprise.

Brady is being brought down to earth?!! hehe that's funny...on a team that has been abolutely decimated with injuries including losing his star running back for most of the season, his #2 RB, his #2 WR, half his starting O-line, and 1/2 his starting defense, Brady is still managing to lead the entire NFL in passing yards, has a QB rating that is 3 pts higher than his career average, is throwing at the second highest completion percentage of his career, and with the exception of last week's debacle against the Chiefs, has only thrown 6 INT's all year. He's the sole reason the Patriots are still even leading their division and will almost certainly make the playoffs yet again. Yes it is true that the Colts are dominating the league this year, but even Carson Palmer is having a better year than Manning.

 

[MonkeyPox]

Golf isn't even a sport! Hilarious.

 

[drexeler]

While that is true, Manning has been by far a higher quality quarterback in 2003-2005 than he was prior to that. Will Brady make that kind of drastic jump in his own play from 2004 onwards as Peyton did starting from 2002 to 2003? I hugely doubt it..

Well, if Brady had James, Harrison, and Wayne as supporting cast, and a dome with perfect conditions to play in, he would put up similar numbers. Before Deion Branch came into his own & Dillon joined the team, the Patriots offense was not by any means elite. Yet Brady won two Super Bowls during that timeframe.

His playoff record is with an unbeatable coach and an unbeatable defence(not to mention the rest of the team which has virtualy no holes, receivers, kicker, blockers) he still had to play well, but there are multiple elite quarterbacks in the league who could have done the same thing with that team IMO. Do you really think any one of Manning, Favre, Culpepper, Pennington(if healthy), Hasselback, would not have had a very good chance to duplicate what he did had they played with New England those same year? Manning played on an Indianopolis team, that up to this year had very suspect defence for example. This year they dont and we see the results.

I believe no other QB could have 3 times in the last 4 years with the teams he had. Manning & Favre would have probably won one or atmost two.

Here's an article comparing Brady-Manning:
http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Article.php?Page=527&Category=7

 

[Brettolius]

but even Carson Palmer is having a better year than Manning.

Really? Why do you say that? One thing I will add as well that as a former QB I can really appreciate something Manning has taken to a completely different level than anyone else in history. That being that he is basically the offensive coordinator of that team. Completely runs the offense and calls all his own plays. Totally unstoppable.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

Brady is being brought down to earth?!! hehe that's funny...on a team that has been abolutely decimated with injuries including losing his star running back for most of the season, his #2 RB, his #2 WR, half his starting O-line, and 1/2 his starting defense, Brady is still managing to lead the entire NFL in passing yards, has a QB rating that is 3 pts higher than his career average, is throwing at the second highest completion percentage of his career, and with the exception of last week's debacle against the Chiefs, has only thrown 6 INT's all year. He's the sole reason the Patriots are still even leading their division and will almost certainly make the playoffs yet again. Yes it is true that the Colts are dominating the league this year, but even Carson Palmer is having a better year than Manning.

The reason the Patriots will make the playoffs is because of their division, nothing else. Otherwise the Bengals, Broncos, Colts, Chiefs, Chargers, Jaguars, and Steelers would easily be bumping them out. They are benefitting from an easy division this year, just as Jacksonville is benefitting from an easy schedule.

You are right that Palmer is having an even better year than Manning, and both are head and shoulders above Brady this year. If Brady being on a weaker team is an excuse for him, than Manning being on a weaker team, in every area except receivers, and possably RB, the last few years could certainly be his excuse for losing in the playoffs as well.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

Well, if Brady had James, Harrison, and Wayne as supporting cast, and a dome with perfect conditions to play in, he would put up similar numbers. Before Deion Branch came into his own & Dillon joined the team, the Patriots offense was not by any means elite. Yet Brady won two Super Bowls during that timeframe.

I agree, that is why I said their dominant defence and incredably complex-minded coach, were the main reasons New England were unbeatable for a few years.

I believe no other QB could have 3 times in the last 4 years with the teams he had. Manning & Favre would have probably won one or atmost two.

Fair enough, if you feel that way that is fine. Having watched the playoffs the last few years, and seen what New England went through, and having seen the quarterbacks I mentioned play, I feel differently, I still believe the 5 or 6 I mentioned all could have done the same thing if they were lucky enough to be on New England. I did not mention Donovon McNabb, who I believe is also overrated, and I would not put on that list.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

But Sampras never had a year as good as either of Fed's last two years, so the comparison doesn't hold.

And Tiger Woods has won it twice! He also has only won 3 out of 4 slams in one year, and golf isn't even a sport!!

Fed should have gotten it last year...

I agree. He would probably have to go 90-0 to win the award.

You are right that Sampras never had as great a year as Federer did in both 2003 and 2004. Only McEnroe in 1984 has had a better year than Federer's last 2 in the last 30 years.

 

[monologuist]

The reason the Patriots will make the playoffs is because of their division, nothing else. Otherwise the Bengals, Broncos, Colts, Chiefs, Chargers, Jaguars, and Steelers would easily be bumping them out. They are benefitting from an easy division this year, just as Jacksonville is benefitting from an easy schedule.

You are right that Palmer is having an even better year than Manning, and both are head and shoulders above Brady this year. If Brady being on a weaker team is an excuse for him, than Manning being on a weaker team, in every area except receivers, and possably RB, the last few years could certainly be his excuse for losing in the playoffs as well.

you 're missing my point...you claimed that Brady has come back down to earth this year and therefore has been exposed as merely a product of the players that surround him and his coach....while I'll agree that Brady is a questionable choice as sportsman of the year, particularly this year (he would have been a better choice last year or the year before b/c his team), Brady is actually quietly having an amazing season for himself, despite having his team decimated with injuries and having many of his weapons stripped away from him, having his protection in the pocket stripped from him, and having such added pressure placed on him as his defense has fallen apart and been unable to prevent other teams from running up scores. Given the circumstances, it is extremely impressive IMO that he has still been putting up numers on par with previous years when he had the dominant D, O-line, and won the Super Bowl. I think a lot of other Qb's would have seen their performance drop considerably under the same circumstances, probably all of them, besides maybe Manning and Palmer and McNabb. Hell, the Pats are still putting up 21 pts/game...plenty of points to win games, with Brady as their only real weapon, but the D is giving up over 23 pts/game...the main reason they are 7-5 is the fact that they are giving up 32 pts/game in the games they lost....hard to blame Brady for that (except his horrible game last week against the Chiefs)....he's carried the team to the modest success that they've been able to have this year at all....without him, they'd be scrapping for position to draft Reggie Bush. In fact, this is the year I've been most impressed by him b/c of his performance desipite how pathetic the rest of his team is.

 

[monologuist]

While that is true, Manning has been by far a higher quality quarterback in 2003-2005 than he was prior to that. Will Brady make that kind of drastic jump in his own play from 2004 onwards as Peyton did starting from 2002 to 2003? I hugely doubt it.

His playoff record is with an unbeatable coach and an unbeatable defence(not to mention the rest of the team which has virtualy no holes, receivers, kicker, blockers) he still had to play well, but there are multiple elite quarterbacks in the league who could have done the same thing with that team IMO. Do you really think any one of Manning, Favre, Culpepper, Pennington(if healthy), Hasselback, would not have had a very good chance to duplicate what he did had they played with New England those same year? Manning played on an Indianopolis team, that up to this year had very suspect defence for example. This year they dont and we see the results.

Pennington? RU Serious? Hasselback? Mentioning those guys in the same breath as Brady is criminal. Have you seen Favre play this year? The guy is way over the hill....his team is probably as run down as the Pats, and in a weaker conference and he's having the 4th most brutal season of any QB in the league and his team is in serious contention in the Reggie Bush race! Maybe Favre like 10 years ago! Even Culpepper inexplicably sucked majorly before he got injured this year. The only guys worth mentioning in the same breath are P.Manning, Carson Palmer, and McNabb, another guy who was still able to put his team in positions to win games this year despite having his team crumble like a deck of cards around him and playing with a hernia.

 

[dmastous]

Tom Brady is so overrated! He is lucky to have the best coach in the NFL, and the best defence(up until this year)in the NFL. This year he is being brought back down to earth and it has been a joy to watch. The truly greatest quarterback in the NFL today, Peyton Manning is now shining. Tom Brady Sportsman of this Year, through all sports, ROTFL! Yes he did win it though, not a surprise.

Brady brought down to Earth??? He's having his best year statisticly. The Patriots have been brought down to Earth due to injuries to many key players, and Brady has had to carry the load. He has no running game to speak of, he's lost his left tackle and guard. The vaunted defence has lost it's three best players for extended periods, and with Harrison gone my mother could throw on the secondary right now.
Yes the rest of the division is down right now but the Patriots are 7-5 after having played one of the most brutal opening 6 or 7 games any team has ever had to play. Even with all the injuries they have managed to stay afloat, and the main reason is Tom Brady's play. He and Payton Manning have switched roles this year.
Thru the years Manning has had incredible skill players all over the place. Great running back, a HOF reciever and two other excellent recievers to compliment them, and a good offencive line to protect him. Just no defence.
Over the same period what has Brady had? A bunch of smurf recievers and a revolving door for an offencive line, a good running back for one year, and stiffs all the other years.
The results: Payton Manning - 0 Superbowls, Tom Brady - 3 Superbowls.
This year Manning still has the same cast along with a very solid defence and Brady still has nothing in the skill area and, due to injuires, no more great defence.
The result will probably be a Superbowl for Manning and vindication. But Brady will make the playoffs and have a very good year statisticaly. Because he has to.

 

[Aykhan Mammadov]

I don't know should Fed be or not because I have no opinion about many other sports. Say football ( there Ronaldo has been called the best in Europe in 2005), running, swimming, boxing and many many other sports ...

 

[C_Smith]

Before I say this, I love tennis, and thinks Federer abosolutly dominants the sport but,

Tiger Woods deserves sportsman of the year more than he does. Yes this year.

In Majors this year Tiger won twice, placed second once and fourth once. Thats like 2 wins, 1 final, and 1 semi, better than Federer.

Tiger came within a couple hundred thousand dollars of setting the record for most money ever earned in one year.

Tiger has done alot more for golf than Federer has for tennis. If it weren't for Tiger, golf would be at the same popularity level as tennis. Because of Tiger, golf isn't coming up with things like "Cardio Golf" in desparation to get people to play. The difference between TV ratings when Tiger is playing and not playing are ridiculous.

 

[SydW]

Dry your tears. Pete Sampras never made the Sportsman of the Year list either.

Did Sampras ever have one particularly great year like Federers of 2004 or 2005? I thought Sportsman of the year assess their achievements of that particular year. JMac might be better comparison.

They should just call this the US Sportsman of the year. I don't understand why won't they split the awards to the US and International sportsman of the year. Having some of the most popular sports locally to compete with other more internationally known athletes for a local magazine sportsman of the year? No sense.

 

[tangerine]

Did Sampras ever have one particularly great year like Federers of 2004 or 2005?

Look over the list again and tell me how many tennis names you see on it? The answer is two: Evert and Ashe. Notice that there is no Agassi, Sampras, Connolly, Navartilova, Graf, Borg, Seles, Williams, McEnroe, Connors, Tilden, Becker, Court, or Lendl on it. If legends such as these never made the Sportsman of the Year cut, then why exactly should/would Federer?

They should just call this the US Sportsman of the year. I don't understand why won't they split the awards to the US and International sportsman of the year.

There is nothing on SI's cover to indicate that it represents international sports. It has never been an international sports publication, it's focus is North American sports.

 

[chaognosis]

Federer isn't going to be Sportsman of the Year only because not enough people care. Other than that, he's perfectly deserving of the title. (Tiger Woods had a shot as well, though he's already won the damn thing twice.)

I think Brady was an excellent pick, though. Now's the perfect time to reward him for his UNDER-rated contributions to one of the great football dynasties of all time.

 

[tykrum]

For those arguing over the merits of Tom Brady, its not just him in contention. I think pretty much every SI writer picked someone different for their 'sportsman', Tom Brady is just the one featured right now. And so you guys know, Jon Wertheim picked Federer. In fact here is the list:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/specials/sportsman/2005/archive/index.html

Actually Kim Clijsters was picked by someone named Elizabeth Newman also.

 

[theace21]

It would be a good call by SI. Don't say people don't care about tennis - SI has a mind of its own - in 73 (I think), they gave it to a HORSE!!!

 

[SydW]

Look over the list again and tell me how many tennis names you see on it? The answer is two: Evert and Ashe. Notice that there is no Agassi, Sampras, Connolly, Navartilova, Graf, Borg, Seles, Williams, McEnroe, Connors, Tilden, Becker, Court, or Lendl on it. If legends such as these never made the Sportsman of the Year cut, then why exactly should/would Federer?

Isn't that what my second point of my original post was about? Tennis competing with the locally much more favourite sports, not going to win, so the point is?

Did I say Federer should have won it when all other tennis greats haven't? You used Sampras as an example and I asked you which particular year among Sampras career was as great as 2004 or 2005 of Federer. In my mind, JMac of 1984 would be a better comparison. Why give me a long list of other tennis players who never won this award?

There is nothing on SI's cover to indicate that it represents international sports. It has never been an international sports publication, it's focus is North American sports.

Which is why its attempt to include other more internationally known stars or sports to compete for this Sportsman of the year knowing they will never win more awkward. Hence my point.

I don't give a **** of whether Federer or the long list of tennis players you had listed there win this award or not.

 

[chaognosis]

For those arguing over the merits of Tom Brady, its not just him in contention. I think pretty much every SI writer picked someone different for their 'sportsman', Tom Brady is just the one featured right now. And so you guys know, Jon Wertheim picked Federer. In fact here is the list:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/specials/sportsman/2005/archive/index.html

Actually Kim Clijsters was picked by someone named Elizabeth Newman also.

I'm pretty sure Brady is the official SI Sportsman of the Year. Those other athletes were nominated by various writers but didn't get the final nod.

 

[tykrum]

I'm pretty sure Brady is the official SI Sportsman of the Year. Those other athletes were nominated by various writers but didn't get the final nod.

Oh, okay, I guess I haven't checked my snail mail in awhile for the mag. I just assumed that it was too early for SI to have their annual issue, and didn't actually check. I guess what they say about the word assume is true.

And that's not who I would have picked, but whatever.

 

[Brettolius]

Before I say this, I love tennis, and thinks Federer abosolutly dominants the sport but,

Tiger Woods deserves sportsman of the year more than he does. Yes this year.

In Majors this year Tiger won twice, placed second once and fourth once. Thats like 2 wins, 1 final, and 1 semi, better than Federer.

Tiger came within a couple hundred thousand dollars of setting the record for most money ever earned in one year.

Tiger has done alot more for golf than Federer has for tennis. If it weren't for Tiger, golf would be at the same popularity level as tennis. Because of Tiger, golf isn't coming up with things like "Cardio Golf" in desparation to get people to play. The difference between TV ratings when Tiger is playing and not playing are ridiculous.

Was Tiger even ranked number 1 all year? Didn't think so. Please compare their overall record for the year as well. Federer won every tourney outside of Grand Slams he entered except for TWO. Freaking ridiculous!

 

[tangerine]

You used Sampras as an example and I asked you which particular year among Sampras career was as great as 2004 or 2005 of Federer. In my mind, JMac of 1984 would be a better comparison.

True. McEnroe would've made a better analogy. I brought up Sampras simply because everybody is always comparing Federer to him and I know that the Fedfanatics are dying to see Roger break all of Pete's records.

Which is why its attempt to include other more internationally known stars or sports to compete for this Sportsman of the year knowing they will never win more awkward.

SI includes non-American players who ring a bell with the majority of American sports fans. Federer could win the US Open five years in a row and the American public still wouldn't know who he was.