PDA

View Full Version : sports illustrated


ldiatone
11-06-2015, 05:16 PM
http://www.si.com/horse-racing/video/2015/11/05/american-pharoah-worthy-of-sportsman-of-year

thaskalos
11-06-2015, 05:23 PM
WOW!!

And I was of the opinion that the Pharoah would only have a minor effect on the popularity of our game. :eek:

Overlay
11-06-2015, 05:32 PM
I'm not saying that American Pharaoh wouldn't be a worthy recipient, but I wouldn't be optimistic about him getting it. The last three times that there was a Triple Crown winner -- all of which, in my opinion, had a better "story line" than American Pharaoh (Secretariat's overwhelming victory in the Belmont (in addition to being the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years); Seattle Slew going through the Triple Crown undefeated; and Affirmed's rivalry with Alydar) -- the winners of that year's Sportsman of the Year were Jackie Stewart, Steve Cauthen (whom I concede comes close for his incredible breakout year -- and at least represented horse racing, in addition to riding the Triple Crown winner the following year), and Jack Nicklaus.

And, speaking of Steve Cauthen's award, I can still remember the outraged letters from readers that Sports Illustrated received (and printed), asking how in the world you could call a jockey an athlete. (Imagine what those same people might have said if the award had been given to a horse instead of a human. :) )

Overlay
11-06-2015, 11:24 PM
I'm not saying that American Pharaoh wouldn't be a worthy recipient, but I wouldn't be optimistic about him getting it. The last three times that there was a Triple Crown winner -- all of which, in my opinion, had a better "story line" than American Pharaoh (Secretariat's overwhelming victory in the Belmont (in addition to being the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years); Seattle Slew going through the Triple Crown undefeated; and Affirmed's rivalry with Alydar) -- the winners of that year's Sportsman of the Year were Jackie Stewart, Steve Cauthen (whom I concede comes close for his incredible breakout year -- and at least represented horse racing, in addition to riding the Triple Crown winner the following year), and Jack Nicklaus.

And, speaking of Steve Cauthen's award, I can still remember the outraged letters from readers that Sports Illustrated received (and printed), asking how in the world you could call a jockey an athlete. (Imagine what those same people might have said if the award had been given to a horse instead of a human. :) )
Oops! :blush: My apologies to the connections of American Pharoah. I need to remember to (mis)spell his name correctly!