Vote: Chan and Ando nominated as Athlete Of The Year

[Violet Bliss]

http://ussa.edu/ballots/athlete-of-the-year/#

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

A lot of greatness in those groups.

 

[Spun Silver]

Maybe, but I paid them no mind and voted for fabulous figure skaters!

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

Yeah, Djokovic's achievement was too much for me to ignore.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Honors like this serve to acknowledge and reinforce to the general public figure skating as a sport and skaters as athletes.

 

[Spun Silver]

I'm just thankful Mariano Rivera was not on the list because him I could not have voted against.

"English Gardner" - what a wonderful name. I will remember that. I love English gardens!

 

[SerpentineSteps]

"The women’s World Figure Skating Championship gold medalist won her second world title. She overcame 2010 Olympic champion Yu-Na Kim, and tsunami devastation to her homeland of Japan."

I get that both are impressive feats, but I find it kind of funny to equate Yu-Na to a tsunami. ("equate" might be the wrong word but you know what I mean).

 

[Bluebonnet]

Done! Can we vote multiple times? I voted. Then went back. I could still vote in the same way. So I did again. If I have time, I'd go back again.

 

[Spun Silver]

Ah, thanks, Bluebonnet. I voted again.

But in all honesty I can't do so a third time because Yani Tseng (never heard of her before, I don't follow golf) and Kohei Uchimura are calling out to me (as well as English Gardner!).

Go Patrick and Miki.

 

[Bluebonnet]

Yeah, Djokovic's achievement was too much for me to ignore.

I know. But Federer's loss to him at US open was too much for me to forget. I gave all my votes on male athletes to Patrick Chan. But I had to give some of female votes to Li Na. Don't really care any female athletes other than Ando and Li Na.

 

[PolymerBob]

Vote early ............ and vote often.

 

[fscric]

I don't think Patrick Chan and Miki Ando have much chance of winning. I just wish Novak Djokovic and David Beckham wouldn't win.

 

[lavender]

Tennis is my favorite sport now but I'm just not a Djokovic fan although he had such a great year. Love Kim Clijsters but I think the girl that won Wimbledon and the year ending championship should be on the list. I think I'm going to vote for the skaters this year.

 

[pangtongfan]

Neither deserve the award. I am not going to vote for them just because I like figure skating and they happened to be the best in a weakish year. Miki Ando won Worlds with a so so performance that wouldnt have won Worlds since the 80s. She would be a joke choice. Chan is too inconsistent still, even though he wins every event sometimes with lots of mistakes.

 

[DianaSelene]

I don't like either of these skaters. Neither is a champion deserving the award in my book.

 

[Spun Silver]

Aren't these athletes of the year awards? Patrick had a stellar last season and brought the quad back to skating. As for Miki - her FS was not her best, but she had an exquisite SP, so it's not fair to say her overall performance was "so so." To say nothing of carrying her country on her slight shoulders after the tsunami. I have nothing but respect and affection for this two-time World Champion!

 

[DianaSelene]

True but if a person doesn't like Chan and Ando, then he just doesn't like them.

 

[Bluebonnet]

The point is not only voting for the athletes you love. It is also an opportunity to raise the awareness for this sport as SF said.

 

[Spun Silver]

^ Right. I also wanted to make the point that this AFAIK is an athlete of the year award, not a lifetime achievement award. This was in response to the poster who said Chan had not yet built up a sufficient body of work to earn his/her vote.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Hey, this is America where even dead people can vote! Vote early and vote often....the vote has nothing to do with who is the best athlete. You cant compare an apple to an orange anyway. The vote has everything to do with what kind of support each sport receives....how rabid the fans are.....just like reality TV where the audience votes for the best singer or dancer....or the Amercian judicial system where learned law professionals discuss the case and the person's fate is decided by 6 butchers, 5 bakers, and a dingbat.