Lloyd is, deservedly, a nominee. http://www.si.com/sportsmanofyear/2015/11/11/sports-illustrated-2015-sportsman-year-contenders She should win it. Let me start by saying I have never been a particularly big fan of Lloyd, for a lot of reasons that I don't need to discuss here. But, performance at the highest level is performance at the highest level. In addition to an unprecedented performance in a championship match, she and Morgan Brian led a turnaround that ended with the USA winning in dominant fashion when halfway through the tournament the greatest player of all time was excoriating their under-performance. And, in the process, her team achieved the highest TV viewership for a match in their sport, for the second time in history regaining for the USWNT the distinction that the most widely watched soccer game in this country's history was played by its women's team. For social significance, it is hard to match that. Rhonda Roussey has been a dominant athlete. But MMA does not draw and unite the country like the USWNT does. Lloyd should win it. If she does, she will be the first individual woman on a team sport to do so.
Grant Wahl makes the case for Carli: http://www.si.com/sportsmanofyear/2015/11/10/sports-illustrated-2015-sportsman-contender-carli-lloyd
Ronda Rousey is certainly the greatest women's fighter in history. Carli Lloyd achieved something only a man has achieved in a long standing sport... my vote goes to Lloyd
One sports journalist's take: http://onlyagame.wbur.org/2015/11/14/sports-illustrated-sportsman-candidates
Interesting; does anyone know if Littlefield is a soccer guy? If not, his choices might give insight into what non-soccer journalists are thinking.
Littlefield is definitely a soccer/baseball guy. He actually pulled back on soccer coverage several years ago on his show Only a Game as he seemed to be ahead of his listeners.
First, let me state the obvious that if I ran Sports Illustrated, the next 192 covers would feature the USWNT with the heading “Still World Champions!!!!!!!”. In reviewing the past recipients: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Illustrated_Sportsman_of_the_Year There appears to be the following factors (duh) that contribute to the winners: 1) Great year 2) Life time achievements 3) Feat was accomplished for the first time ever -or- 4) Been a longgggggg time since the feat was accomplished I think they are going to give it to the four-legged animal even though we know in our minds, our hearts and our souls who is the rightful winner. Good Luck Carli.
Carli needs 85,893 votes to catch up to the Royals... 1. Vote for Carli. 2. Clear your cookies. 3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 indefinitely.
Chin up McSkillz: "For the first time, fan voting is included in the process (although how that will impact the eventual winner is not known). Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 12, and the winner of the poll will be announced Dec. 13. The Sportsman of the Year will be announced Dec. 14." Hopefully, being a Bad A** Mo Fo in the biggest event in your sport is a significant, heavily weighted criteria in the process.
Except for this one time .......... ---(but it must be a "Team" thing, it never works for them individually)
Well, the good news is that the popular vote doesn't decide the award. Sports Illustrated's editors will make its (very tough) selection next month, but we want our readers to have their say.
Lloyd had a great year. Lifetime achievement as Golden Ball winner, solidified as consistent great big-game player. First hat trick in women's final, first in any final in 49 years, and all three of hers actually went in. Plus, her third was the goal from longest distance in any final, men's or women's. Oh, and no individual woman in a team sport has ever won it. Don't count Lloyd out.
I had those in mind when I said "solidified" as consistent great big-game player. This was not the first time she came up big in a huge match.
In the "even a stuck clock is right twice a day" category is this missive from Hope Solo (who can perhaps be forgiven for asserting that Lloyd is the "lone player" to score a hat trick in a final, since Geoff Hurst (a) scored his in 1966, before Solo was born, and (b) did not actually put all of his goals into the net, as subsequent analysis of the footage has shown). http://www.si.com/sportsmanofyear/2015/11/12/hope-solo-carli-lloyd-sportsman
Serena was selected, which is only the third time a woman has been selected individually and the first time since 1983 (previous female winners were Chris Evert and Mary Decker). I'm a bit disappointed it wasn't Lloyd, as the editors seemed to ignore the fan vote anyway.
I am disappointed that Lloyd did not get it. I say this as someone who has never been a particularly big Lloyd fan. Look at the title of the award's last three words - "of the year." If it were a lifetime achievement award, I would say Serena over Lloyd. Williams is likely the greatest women's tennis player ever; Lloyd is not the greatest women's soccer player ever. But, the "of the year" qualifier screams out for Lloyd. She scored a hat trick in the World Cup final. Williams did not win the slam. Her hat trick came in the first 16 minutes - perhaps the greatest finals blowout performance in any major team sport, ever (I have a post in July about that). Her hat trick in the final was only the second in 85 years of competition, men's or women's. And, unlike the first one, all of her goals indisputably went in the net, so you can make an argument that Lloyd was actually the first true hat trick. And, her third goal was the goal from furthest distance in any World Cup final, men's or women's. That would be the equivalent of Williams serving harder than Djokovic. Now let's talk impact. The game in which Lloyd tallied this hat trick was the most widely watched soccer game in this country's history, men or women. None of Williams' matches can claim that. In addition, the viewing record was established only one year after a men's game took it away from a women's record that had stood for 15 years. Besides, giving Lloyd an individual honor in a women's team sport would have been a more groundbreaking distinction than giving it to a tennis player.