# 2023 SI Sportsperson of the Year **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 3, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475 "2023-07-03T00:49:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/21 "2023-08-31T18:30:15Z")
That injury to Ohtani pretty much knocks him out of the running. Personally, I would give it to the City of Las Vegas, and put players/executives from the Golden Knights, Aces, Raiders, and A’s on the cover. Somebody needs to start a “move the Kings to Las Vegas” rumor… However, I think the favorite is Mahomes. Possibilities: Messi - but men’s soccer still isn’t that big of a deal; how many times has it been on the cover at all, and of those, how many were Pele? Griner - but she’s hardly been mentioned since being released. Way too early look at 2024: I’ll say the same thing that I did in 2021 - if she wins the Olympic all-around gymnastics title, they seriously consider Simone Biles. Then again, if Sydney McLaughlin wins the 400 as well, they go with my other standby - all of the women on the USA Olympic team. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/22 "2023-08-31T19:19:19Z")
> [@Darth\_Sensitive](#): > > On top of Messi winning a world cup, he’s moving to Miami and spiking ticket prices across the league as well as subscriptions to streaming. > > If Inter Miami can drag themselves into the playoffs out of last place in the league and make noise there, or possibly in the Leagues Cup with Liga MX (which hasn’t started before his arrival, so no hole to dig out of) there’s a not bad argument for him. He may not be able to make the playoffs, but boy has he made a splash in Miami. They won League’s Cup with the sidelines filled with celebs. And Inter Miami now has more instagram followers than every other team in the US except for a couple of NBA teams (Lakers I know are one). I think Messi is definitely in the running and may just get it. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/23 "2023-08-31T20:39:40Z")
If the award should go to “the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement” then Messi really has to be the clear choice. Griner could make it as “athlete prominent in the news”, but not based on the above. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/24 "2023-08-31T21:08:22Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > That injury to Ohtani pretty much knocks him out of the running. Agreed. Too bad, too, because he’s turning a whole sport on its ear. > [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I think Messi is definitely in the running and may just get it. Considering the impact he’s making in MLS, I agree. > [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](#): > > In all likelihood though, the award will go to Mahomes Mahomes is an obvious choice, but he was a partial winner just three years ago, and a QB (Brady) just won it in 2021. > [@flurb](#): > > PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan If Rory McIlroy had managed to win just one of the majors he almost won this year, he might be a good candidate for standing up to Monahan while also refusing to take the Saudis’ blood money. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/25 "2023-08-31T21:08:49Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Way too early look at 2024: I’ll say the same thing that I did in 2021 - if she wins the Olympic all-around gymnastics title, they seriously consider Simone Biles. Then again, if Sydney McLaughlin wins the 400 as well, they go with my other standby - all of the women on the USA Olympic team If Noah Lyles repeats in Paris the triple gold medals he just won at the World Championships in Budapest - winningthe 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay - he’d have a strong case; no one’s done this since Usain Bolt. Courtney Dauwalter is running the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc this weekend. If she wins it, then choosing anyone other than her would be a travesty - six weeks after setting a course record at the Western States Endurance Race, she did the very same thing at the Hardrock 100, arguably an even tougher 100 mile race. _Nobody_ is dominating their sport the way she is this year. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/26 "2023-08-31T21:41:29Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Courtney Dauwalter is running the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc this weekend. If she wins it, then choosing anyone other than her would be a travesty - six weeks after setting a course record at the Western States Endurance Race, she did the very same thing at the Hardrock 100, arguably an even tougher 100 mile race. _Nobody_ is dominating their sport the way she is this year. I’m old enough to remember when Mary Decker won SotY for a similar reason – she was dominating women’s distance running like no one ever had. Women’s track in the 80s wasn’t huge – when has it ever been? – so it’s not utterly impossible that someone from a fringe sport like ultramarathon could win. She seems like a great candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/27 "2023-09-01T02:26:37Z")
Max Verstappen is becoming a plausible pick, much as I dislike him. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/28 "2023-09-01T07:43:56Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > If Noah Lyles repeats in Paris the triple gold medals he just won at the World Championships in Budapest - winningthe 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay - he’d have a strong case; no one’s done this since Usain Bolt. That’s one Olympics in a row where no one did it. It’s not like it’s a massive drought. I think Lyles is the best sprinter since Bolt. However, Bolt never won the ‘award’ despite winning 3 golds at multiple Olympics and World Champs. If Lyles DOES win it (and I’m a track and field fan) - just call it '‘The US Sportsperson of the year’. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/29 "2023-09-02T18:09:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Max Verstappen is becoming a plausible pick, much as I dislike him. If he wins tomorrow, I would say a very strong pick. Sadly, no sticks or balls in Formula One. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/30 "2023-09-02T19:00:30Z")
Courtney Dauwalter just won UTMB, her third 100+ mile, 30,000+ vertical change race in three months, the first person ever to win Western States, the Hardrock 100, and UTMB in one calendar year. There’s no other athlete having the kind of year she is. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/31 "2023-09-03T00:02:23Z")
Are we picking who we feel deserves to win or who will win? There is no way someone from a niche sport is going to win. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/32 "2023-09-03T00:20:51Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There is no way someone from a niche sport is going to win. Cyclists Greg LeMond (1989) and Lance Armstrong (2002) won the award, and arguably, road cycling is pretty niche in the U.S., especially compared to the big five team sports (gridiron football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer). That said, both men _did_ get a lot of publicity in the U.S. for winning the Tour de France, and even if cycling is a niche sport here, it’s still far more visible than ultramarthon running. I agree, even if an ultramarthoner is having an amazing year, SI isn’t going to give it to an athlete whom most Americans have never heard of, in a sport that most of them haven’t heard of, either. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/33 "2023-09-03T00:30:57Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Are we picking who we feel deserves to win or who will win? There is no way someone from a niche sport is going to win I know. It just pisses me off that an athlete who is having a historic, once-in-a-lifetime year is going to be passed over just because her sport isn’t as popular as football or basketball. Also because (IMHO), running a 100-mile mountain race is _much_ harder, and much more impressive, than being one member of a team that wins a Super Bowl or a World Cup. YMMV, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/34 "2023-09-03T15:59:57Z")
Yeah, but most Americans have at least head of road cycling and the Tour. I have never heard of UTMB, Western States or the Hardrock 100 and have no idea what “vertical change racing” is. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/35 "2023-09-03T16:00:39Z")
That was pretty much exactly what I was saying. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/36 "2023-09-03T18:30:43Z")
Let’s see if Caleb Williams wins a second Heisman. That might get him a few votes. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/37 "2023-09-03T18:34:53Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Let’s see if Caleb Williams wins a second Heisman. That might get him a few votes The timing of that is problematic. SI usually announces their winner around December 7th; the 2023 Heisman Award winner will be announced on December 9th. If Williams wins the Heisman this year, it’ll come too late to affect SI’s decision. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/38 "2023-09-03T21:11:09Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > have never heard of UTMB, Western States or the Hardrock 100 and have no idea what “vertical change racing” is. 30,000 ft of vertical change (“vert”) means the runners climb and descend 30,000 ft over the course of the race. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/39 "2023-09-04T14:25:54Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Let’s see if Caleb Williams wins a second Heisman. That might get him a few votes. I don’t think a college athlete has ever been SOTY, except maybe someone who was in the Olympics that year as well. Coaches, yes, but not athletes. Archie Griffin won two Heismans, and he didn’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475/40 "2023-09-04T14:34:09Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t think a college athlete has ever been SOTY, except maybe someone who was in the Olympics that year as well. Terry Baker? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-si-sportsperson-of-the-year/986475.md?page=3)