SI Sportswomen of the Year

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Curses, SI
Magazine Gives Its Sportswomen of the Year Award
To U.S. Women's Soccer team, ignoring another, better candidate.
By George Stahl

NEW YORK (AQB)--In the biggest sell out since CBS put windows on its silly morning show, Sports Illustrated surrendered its better judgment to the whims of pop culture and commercialization, and named the U.S. women's soccer team as its Sportswomen of the Year.

Here are the facts: The women's team was one of two clear favorites to win this year's women's World Cup, the other being China. Basically, China and the U.S. are as dominant in international women's soccer as Katie Couric and Matt Lauer are in morning news programs. There are no equals.

And, because the World Cup was in the United States, most experts gave the U.S. the advantage and predicted they would beat China in the finals.

So what happened? The U.S. and China basically charged through the field and met in the finals, which the U.S. won by the slimmest of margins - blocking or scoring (take your pick) one more penalty kick after two hours of scoreless play.

This was not exactly the 1980 U.S. hockey team (which, by the way, are the only other team to win SI's award). The hockey squad overcame long odds to win their gold medal. The women's soccer team, on the other hand, barely accomplished what was expected of them.

Now, did the team's quest grab the country's attention? Absolutely. Did the team's success inspire young girls across the nation? Certainly. Is this worthy of being named Sportswoman of the Year? Nope.

Again, the team barely did what was expected of them. It was the media and sage marketing - remember those clever Nike commercials - that made them America's darlings.

If more people knew of the United States' superpower position in international women's soccer - it's almost like the Dream Team in international basketball - then more probably would have shrugged off the win as another example of America's athletic dominance in the world.

SI prides itself on saying that its award is for those who achieve great things on and off the field of battle. The magazine, who last year honored Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, believes its winners symbolize in character and performance the ideals of sportsmanship.

And that's why this year's selection is so disappointing, because there was a clear winner staring the magazine in the face and the magazine spit in his face.

Lance Armstrong.

Here're the facts: Armstrong this year won one of sport's most grueling competitions three years after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of testicular cancer that had spread to his abdomen, lungs and brain. The survival rate among men with testicular cancer that advanced is 40 percent to 50 percent.

Not only did Armstrong survive, but he came back to win the exhausting Tour de France - a 21-day marathon that Armstrong had completed just once before his cancer, finishing 36th in 1995.

Not only did Armstrong win the race, but he dominated it. He finished first in four of 21 daily stages, including all three time trials, which are solo races against the clock. He completed the 2,288-mile journey in 91 hours, 32 minutes, 16 seconds, for a record pace of 24.97 miles per hour, and beat his nearest challenger by seven minutes and 27 seconds.

Not only did Armstrong dominate the race - becoming just the second American to win the world's most prestigious cycling event - he did it in such a way that he helped erase memories of the doping scandals that plagued the 1998 Tour.

In sum, Armstrong showed tremendous courage in coming back from a nearly fatal disease to win one of the toughest sporting events in the world.

He serves as inspiration for cancer sufferers worldwide through his remarkable tale and his organization, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which provides education and support to cancer patients and their families, and raises funds for cancer research.

Armstrong's only two mistakes were that he accomplished this remarkable feat at the same time as the U.S. women's soccer team was beating up third-world countries in soccer, and that he didn't have any nifty commercials to rally America's awareness.

If Barbara Walters - of all people - could figure out that Armstrong was the most fascinating person this year, then how come Sports Illustrated didn't realize that he was the true Sportsmen of the Year?

Photo of Sports Illustrated cover from cnnsi.com

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