Oh, sorry. Best female athlete of the year--according to the Associated Press.
Still--good job. First individual soccer player to earn that honor and she beat out her nearest competitor--Hope Solo--by many many votes.
Still I was a little surprised that Yani Tseng didn't get more consideration. She was the fourth-highest vote-getter. (Maya Moore was third.) But I don't know what the criteria is. (The article failed to note that.) And if popularity or the creation of a national stir is on the list of considerations, well then it's more understandable.
I guess voters figured that this was Wambach's year--though she will--barring injury--be playing in the Olympics this summer--another potential stage for excitment and "heroics." And I am sure Yani Tseng can win 12 tournaments again, 2 of which were majors (one--the LPGA Championship--which she won by 10 strokes) and 5 of which were LPGA events. And she did win the United States Sports Academy's female athlete of the year award, after all. And was the LPGA's Rolex Player of the Year--which I think comes with some $$.
Wambach's award engenders a certain amount of melancholy. The WPS is fighting to stay viable despite the post World Cup excitement. Wambach herself has been shuttled among teams; not because of trade deals but because of teams collapsing. And there is question about how many national team players will commit to a WPS team this year given the forthcoming Olympic Games--further endangering the league.
But lest I be seen as lacking in the appropriate amount of seasonal joy:
GOOD JOB, ABBY WAMBACH!
1 comment:
To me, Yani Tseng was the completely obvious pick for this award, yet I didn't expect her to get it. But she so deserves it.
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