# SI Sportsman of the Year 2017 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 2, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484 "2017-11-02T12:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/41 "2017-11-07T19:45:37Z")
I still wonder why they didn’t choose the Cubs last year. Although, admittedly, there were numerous books and magazines available right after the win.But, I’m sure SI could have sold plenty of magazines with a Cubs cover, probably more than they did with LeBron and the Cavs. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/42 "2017-11-09T00:12:47Z")
It won’t happen but it should probably be given to Draymond Green. He’s the penultimate athlete as modern athletics currently exist. - He’s a dominant force and wins championships. - He plays defense to complement the offense of the team. Still he can score. - He does stupid stuff. - He runs his mouth when he shouldn’t. - All players and fans of opposing teams hate him. Yet, they would love to have him on their team. What more defines a great athlete as sports exist today? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/43 "2017-11-13T17:03:43Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I still wonder why they didn’t choose the Cubs last year. Although, admittedly, there were numerous books and magazines available right after the win.But, I’m sure SI could have sold plenty of magazines with a Cubs cover, probably more than they did with LeBron and the Cavs. The correct choice last year would have been Usain Bolt, but he’s not American so they snubbed him. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/44 "2017-11-14T07:20:05Z")
Just received my November 13th issue of SI and it has Springer and Altuve on the cover. This is the regular weekly issue and SI has also put out a newsstand World Series special edition. This leads me to believe that SI won’t pick an individual Astro player for Sportsperson of the Year, if they want to honor them, it’ll be a Houston Strong joint pick with Watt and Altuve. It’s kinda odd for SI to feature baseball on the cover in the middle of November, last week’s issue was the college basketball preview. Colin Kaepernick Is GQ’s 2017 Citizen of the Year. I’ve been reading GQ for years and don’t remember GQ ever having this award. Of course, this was covered on social media and news websites today, nothing gets more clicks than Kaepernick. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/45 "2017-12-04T22:32:27Z")
Apparently, it will be announced Friday 12/8 at 8 PM Eastern on NBC Sports Network. The show will also present the following awards, which have already been announced: Muhammad Ali Legacy Award - Colin Kaepernick SportsKid of the Year - Maxwell “Bunchie” Young (the 10-year-old offered a football scholarship at Illinois) Rising Star - Joel Embiid Performance of the Year - Maya Moore Hope award - Carlos Beltran ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/46 "2017-12-04T22:55:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **R. P. McMurphy** : > > It won’t happen but it should probably be given to Draymond Green. He’s the penultimate athlete as modern athletics currently exist. Why wouldn’t they skip over him and pick the ultimate athlete, then? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/47 "2017-12-04T23:57:59Z")
I think it should go to Vontaze Burfict. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/48 "2017-12-05T14:03:02Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > It’s going to be Altuve, or the Astros has a whole, especially after what’s happened in Houston this year. > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > If you’re taking that into consideration, you might as well give it to JJ Watt for all he did for the Houston area and his 30 some-odd million dollars he raised It wasn’t my first guess (I said Brady) but you and I seemed to have been quite on the ball! ---
**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:** [December 5, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/49 "2017-12-05T14:54:32Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > This leads me to believe that SI won’t pick an individual Astro player for Sportsperson of the Year, if they want to honor them, it’ll be a Houston Strong joint pick with Watt and Altuve. And, this prediction (as Sir T-Cups alludes to in the previous post) was exactly right. > **[SI's 2017 Sportsperson of the Year: J.J. Watt, José Altuve](https://www.si.com/sportsperson/2017/12/05/si-sportsperson-year-2017-jj-watt-jose-altuve)** > > J.J. Watt and José Altuve both helped to lift up the city of Houston after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. They are SI's 2017 Sportsperson of the Year honorees.  ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/50 "2017-12-10T15:08:22Z")
Altuve would have been a solid choice in any ordinary year, but Houston’s travails put him over the top. Watt is a great guy, but has he played at all in 2017? Can you honor an athlete SOLELY for his humanitarianism even if he hasn’t played a down? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/51 "2017-12-10T16:28:10Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Can you honor an athlete SOLELY for his humanitarianism even if he hasn’t played a down? Yes. What would prevent you from doing so? (Watt played 5 games this year - not that it mattered.) ---
**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:** [December 10, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/52 "2017-12-10T18:45:11Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Watt is a great guy, but has he played at all in 2017? Can you honor an athlete SOLELY for his humanitarianism even if he hasn’t played a down? How much tennis did Arthur Ashe play in 1992 when he got the award? Remember, it’s Sportsman (well, Sportsperson) of the year, not Athlete. A number of coaches have won this award. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/53 "2017-12-14T08:35:30Z")
i knew it: SI would cheap out and throw in JJ Watt with Altuve because of the Houston thing.������ ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/54 "2017-12-14T08:44:42Z")
I can only imagine the phone call to Altuve: SI: José, congrats, you won SI Sportsman of the Year! Jose: WOW, THANK YOU GUYS! SI: One thing . … since JJ Watt raised $25 million for hurricane victims and despite he only played 5 games, versus you playing 140 and winning the World Series, we are going to ask you to share the award with him. You DONT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HIM SHARING YOUR AWARD WITH A HUMANITARIAN, DO YOU??? Jose: uh … . .sure . . ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/55 "2017-12-14T18:48:12Z")
As far as I know, the Sportsperson of the Year issue is one of the few SI issues that doesn’t have regional cover variations. So, I understand why they went with the Houston Strong theme. Looking at the list of past winners, Altuve would be an honoree with the least national profile in several years. > **[Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Illustrated_Sportsperson_of_the_Year)** > > Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the vast majority of winners have been from the United States. Both men and women have won the award, originally called "Sportsman of the Year" and renamed "Sportswoman of the Year" or "Sportswomen of the Year" when app... ---
**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:** [December 14, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/56 "2017-12-14T21:05:01Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > As far as I know, the Sportsperson of the Year issue is one of the few SI issues that doesn’t have regional cover variations. Few? The only ones I can think of are the sports preview issues (MLB, NFL, NBA, College Football, College Basketball, and maybe NHL). ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484/57 "2017-12-14T21:14:54Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I can only imagine the phone call to Altuve: > > SI: José, congrats, you won SI Sportsman of the Year! > > Jose: WOW, THANK YOU GUYS! > > SI: One thing . … since JJ Watt raised $25 million for hurricane victims and despite he only played 5 games, versus you playing 140 and winning the World Series, we are going to ask you to share the award with him. You DONT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HIM SHARING YOUR AWARD WITH A HUMANITARIAN, DO YOU??? > > Jose: uh … . .sure . . I mean, it’s called “Sportsman of the Year” not “MVP” or “Best Player”. To me, that encompasses more than just “won a championship” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-sportsman-of-the-year-2017/800484.md?page=2)