DG_ThenNowForever Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/...ce-mcmahon.htmlMy choice for Sportsman of the Year is World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vincent Kennedy McMahon.Yes, that Vince McMahon. The guy who brought you the XFL and called Bob Costas an "elitist" during a contentious interview five years ago. The guy who, on multiple occasions, dropped his pants on national television so his wrestlers could join the "Vince McMahon Kiss My Ass Club."While the choice may seem absurd on the surface, here's why McMahon has earned my vote: the WWE's Tribute to the Troops tour.Dozens of wrestlers, crew members and assorted employees have embarked over the past four years on a five-day USO-style sweep through the Middle East to entertain the troops. According to McMahon, the trip has replaced Wrestlemania as the most important event on the WWE calendar."The smiles on the faces of those men and women over in Iraq is something that is very dear to our heart," McMahon says. "They are the most appreciative audience that we will play to all year long."...When I tune into WWE each Christmas, however, I see hundreds of exhausted soldiers, many on their third and fourth tours of duty, forgetting that they have to spend another holiday away from their families and enjoying themselves as they eat, sleep and hang out with professional wrestlers. And for that, McMahon earns my Sportsman of the Year vote.I have to say that I totally agree. As much as I hate the war in Iraq, it warmed my heart to see the footage of WWE in Iraq and how important their presence was to our troops. You might say that WWE is using their Iraq tours for good publicity -- and it definitely is that -- but they do put themselves in risky situation just by being there. And if you've seen the specials, you know what how much the troops appeared to enjoy the wrestlers being there.Again, no matter your opinion on the war, our troops deserve the utmost of respect. I'm sure the holidays are hard for them, and it's great the WWE is able to give back in such a direct way. 1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said: and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrdevil Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 One problem though, it's sportsman of the year. Neither Vince McMahon nor the WWE are sportsmen or sports respectively. Now if you want to name him actor of the year or something along those lines fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 It's not sports, it's sports entertainment!Whenever they say something like "Ric Flair is one of the greatest sports entertainers in history," you gotta hang your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFoA Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Eh, they still call Flair a wrestler.It's guys like John Cena who are the sports entertainers. Â Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceCap Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 You guys are saying it wrong. It's "sportzzzz entertainment." The "zzz's" make it sound cool. I miss WCW. PotD 26/2/12 1/7/15 2020 BASS Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal Regular Season Champion 2021 BASS NFL Pick'em Regular Season Champion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJTank Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 My choice is that kid I forgot his name the autistic boy who scored 20 points in 4 minutes thats what sports is all about. www.sportsecyclopedia.com For the best in sports history go to the Sports E-Cyclopedia at http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audiodrama Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 My choice is that kid I forgot his name the autistic boy who scored 20 points in 4 minutes thats what sports is all about.I totally agree that it was an inspiring story about a truly remarkable young man, but I don't see how it makes him Sportsman of the Year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclopsis Joe Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 He's a man, who does things about sports.Sports...manSportsman.Bingo. I don't speak for democrats, democrats don't speak for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG_ThenNowForever Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 My choice is that kid I forgot his name the autistic boy who scored 20 points in 4 minutes thats what sports is all about.Ugh. J-Mac? He threw up a bunch of shots and hit some of them. From that, somehow, he has sold t-shirts and signed a movie deal. Forgive me if I can't connect those dots. 1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said: and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrdevil Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 He's a man, who does things about sports.Sports...manSportsman.Bingo.But he doesn't do things about sports thus he can't be a sportsman. The WWE and Pro Wrestling are not sports, it's tv and theatre. Sure it's not Shakespeare but it is theatre non the less. Who knows maybe in a few hundred year they will look back on the Vince McMahon and the WWF/WWE as this ages Shakespeare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG_ThenNowForever Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 It depends on your definition of sport, I guess. Is WWE legitimate competition? Of course not. No one says it is anymore.However, WWE IS indeed a display of athleticism full of talented athletes. I'm pretty sure that's mostly beyond dispute.If you look at sports as a competition, then you have Craig Sadler being a sportsman while, I don't know, Triple H isn't. To me, that doesn't make sense. 1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said: and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclopsis Joe Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 He's a man, who does things about sports.Sports...manSportsman.Bingo.But he doesn't do things about sports thus he can't be a sportsman. The WWE and Pro Wrestling are not sports, it's tv and theatre. Sure it's not Shakespeare but it is theatre non the less. Who knows maybe in a few hundred year they will look back on the Vince McMahon and the WWF/WWE as this ages Shakespeare.So who is your nomination? A poker player? I don't speak for democrats, democrats don't speak for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrdevil Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 To me a sport is are an athletic competition. Pro Wrestling obviously fails the competition aspect of that definition. As such poker players are also excluded as they fail the athletic part. I don't know who I would nominate, I haven't looked it over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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