A lot of people say they don’t care about the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards but the amount of controversy that follows it would suggest that it is still a big deal.
I loved watching it as a kid.
I’ve been lucky enough to get an invite as well, and it is a great night. Everywhere you look there’s a big name athlete or somebody from showbiz.
With the awards themselves you can read a million and one things into the results if you want to.
I bet every governing body will try to figure out what it means to their sport. Golf will definitely be one of them.
I was pretty shocked when I saw that Danny Willett finished last of the nominees and only got a bit over 2,000 votes.
I’m sure the fact that there is less and less golf on TV these days is part of the reason but it might also be something to do with the fact that the Masters, which Willett won, was at the start of the year.
It just depends who people connect with, I suppose.
There’s no doubt that the show focuses in on the back-story more than it used to. It’s part a sport show and part X Factor.
Nick Skelton and Alistair Brownlee definitely ticked the back-story box in a way that others maybe didn’t.
It might be an idea to shorten the list from 16 to about eight. Finishing 16th makes it look like you’ve failed, when you’ve actually had an incredible year to be on the list in the first place.
Anyway, nobody could argue with Andy Murray being the winner!
* The jet lag from our last long trip of the season is just about wearing off.
Japan was brilliant.
Without a doubt, it was one of the best events I’ve ever competed at.
The Japanese people really get behind their sporting competitions – the public and the media.
You get an incredible reception and the amount of journalists at press conferences has to be seen to be believed.
There were literally hundreds there. Apart from the Olympics, you wouldn’t see that at any other competition.
The actual tournament was a bit similar to the Europeans as far as we were concerned.
We were unbeaten until the semi-finals and then lost to Sweden.
But, as we did at Braehead, we won the third/fourth play-off. So, at least we can say that we finished 2016 with a win.
We’ve got about a three-week break now from competition but there will be plenty of practice and training before we head to Switzerland on January 11.
There will definitely not be any practice on Christmas day though!
I’m looking forward to spending time with the family as much as always.
My brother Glen will be a happy boy because his team beat David Murdoch’s in their final in Japan.
The battle to get to the Olympics for the men is going to be brilliant for the sport next year, and Glen’s team have given themselves a great chance of winning it.
