Schumacher not most popular in Deutscheland?

[KC]

World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher finished 3rd as most popular sports personality in his native country behind 800m Olympic gold medalist Nils Schumann and cyclist champion Jan Ullrich.

I, for one, was honestly surprised at this. I know that Olympic medalists are very popular and cycling is very popular worldwide, but third place after what he achieved for Ferrari and himself this year is amazing.

[Speed Demon]

Oh, I don't know. Schumi hardly goes out of his way to ingratiate himself to people, does he?

I don't expect it bothers him overmuch though!

[Roy2]

After winning the 1997 title Villenueve was voted Canada's Athlete of the Year. You should have heard the howls from legions of stick and ball sports reporters. Drivers aren't athletes, the car does all the work, Larry Walker (Cdn major league baseball player) deserved it more, and on and on.

The masses do not begin to comprehend the sport. What's astounding is that JV was given the award. Most sports writers don't have a clue, an inkling, an iota of comprehension of what it takes to drive a F1 car at race winning speed and control. Those writers (I think it was voted by sports writers) who decided it for Villenueve had the wit to realize that his accomplishment was on the world stage, that he'd won a world championship, and that it therefore transcended what Larry Walker did on the North American stage, if only in terms of prestige.

Had fans done the voting a curler probably would have won. Whoops, I'm forgetting. In 1997 the baseball player Larry Walker would have won.

[Speed Demon]

Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill were both voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year on several occassions (both at least twice, I think).

I rather suspect Steve Redgrave might win that this year, though!

[Speed Demon]

Larry Walker? Who!!!!!

[Roy2]

You mean you never heard of him before? This is the personage who should have been Canada's Athlete of the Year in 1997, for heaven's sake.

What's the matter with you folks in Britain (and I daresay anywhere else in the world, other than the good old USA), not having heard of our Larry?

He is an athlete, JV isn't. He doesn't have a car to do all the work for him. He had the best year (MVP I believe) of anyone in baseball in 1997. It's a travesty that he didn't win the award over that runty little Quebecer.

Never mind that no one outside of NA has ever heard of him (except perhaps in Japan and Venezuela where for some strange reason they follow baseball). Larry Walker was robbed.

I'm totally envious of Deutchland where they had the sense to vote for Nils and Jan, household names over here.

[LYM]

Could the reasons be:
1.) TGF does not live in Germany anymore?
2.) He has won the championship, on behalf of an Italian team and the expense of a German carmaker?
3.) TGYF also lives outside Germany?
4.) Hakkinen has higher exposure in the Deutschelund?

[KC]

How can anyone say that a race car driver is not an athlete? These guys are as fit as any tennis professional, and 99% of the baseball players out there. Sure, they do not have the pure bulk of the high impact sports players, but that does not keep the popular media from calling tennis players athletes, or golfers athletes. If the car did all the work, then I would be in F1 right now.

[R]

I also was surprised TGF only came third in this vote. One would think after all those years of trying to win the WDC for Ferrari, and finally achieving it, that he would win such a vote.

Or do we just assume he's more popular in Germany than he actually is?

[Gerard]

I think it's important to understand that the panel that votes for the sports personality of the year is made up of journalists and other sports personalities.
Not the German public.

Formula One is more popular than ever in Germany and this year, people who watched the F1 World Championship outnumbered those watching football.

So the outcome of this contest is not representative for what the German public thinks.
Schumacher, however was voted ADAC’s motorsport personality of the year for the second time.

[Interlagos]

Formula-1 drivers have to be fit in order to drive, so I'd consider Villeneuve an athlete. Larry Walker, if that was his MVP year, should have gotten it.

[Roy2]

I was joking about JV not being an athlete. That race drivers aren't athletes is an absurdity popular among the hordes of the uninitiated. They should get a chance to see Schumacher working out.

If Walker won his MVP in 1995, the year JV won Indy and the CART title, a strong Cdn Athlete of the Year case could be made for him against JV. But the year was 1997, JV won the WDC, a genuine championship of the WORLD. Baseball is not a world sport, not even close, a fact which is hard to grasp over here where we are innundated by it. Walker's name recognition outside of NA is close to zero, while JV's is much greater. It was just Walker's bad luck to have his great year in 1997.

JV's feat put Canada on the world map. Walker's, as great as it was, was unknown to most of the world. It wasn't possible to decide between these completely different sporting accomplishments, other than by making such distinctions. The panel choosing JV was apparently sophisticated enough to do so.

[Jeanburrasca81]

The reason is simple:
M.Schumacher is not and never was the most symphatic person in sports. Another point is that the germans, like the italians, like their constructor more than their drivers. Mercedes is the german name for the McLaren-Mercedes, only Mercedes counts. Therefore Hakka is liked better than Schumi. Germans traditionnaly aren't big motorsports-fans. They like athletics and swimming more. At the moment also bicycles. That's it! It's simple, isn't it?