EVERY year end since 2006, I have handed out my own personal column awards called, The Brewskies. Sort of a dubious awards conferment on the scandalous, controversial, and plain dumb sports folks and events of the year.
With sports hardly played, what is there to hand out, right?
Oh, a lot.
Let’s start off with this award.
I Think We’re Alone Now Award
CUE in that hit song by Tiffany from way back in 1987…. We can understand many things shutting down during the coronavirus outbreak. The French Ligue 1 though ended their season on March 13 and its officials announced on April 28 that the season would not resume and Paris St. Germain was awarded the title despite having played only 27 matches (although they were 12 points ahead of second placer, Marseille).
The funny thing was of all the big European football leagues, it was Ligue 1 presidents who proposed a resumption of the season. The German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, English Premier League, Spanish La Liga as well as top tier competition from Portugal, Belgium, Holland, and Austria to name a few resumed and had a clear cut champion.
While Ligue 1 was in hibernation, club presidents sat and fired broadsides at league officials who instead pointed to the national government as the source to blame.
Most Helpful Award
THIS one without a shadow of a doubt goes to VAR or the Video Assistant Referee in the English Premier League. VAR has been nothing but a negative impact on the game with more wrong calls than correct ones. We’ve lost count! Let’s just say every week there is some bad call about a finger, a badge, or an armpit being offside.
VARy frustrating indeed.
Farmer of the Year Award
THIS one goes to Aldin Ayo and the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers who went into this illegal bubble to train for a season that never came. How they made it through so many checkpoints and quarantine regulations is anyone’s guess. And they were there for what—to appreciate farming techniques? Sure they had them, says the former UST coach who resigned (albeit not right away) after this illegal bubble controversy. But his lieutenants are still there so who knows—a comeback is in the offing perhaps?
Unfortunately, they will not be able to harvest anything right away as almost the entire team has de-camped for other programs.
Goals and Controversies Award
I CAN’T recall a footballer having so many controversies. Maybe the late Diego Maradona had a lot more when he was alive, but for Lionel Messi who owns the scoring record for most goals scored for one club.
The Argentinean, who has played for only one team in Barcelona for his entire professional career broke Brazilian great Pele’s scoring feat of 643 goals with Santos from 1956 to 1974 for a total of 665 matches.
Lionel Messi took the record after he scored in a 3-0 win by Barcelona over Villadolid.
Goals aren’t the only one this scoring machine is racking up. He is always embroiled in controversy whether it’s a red card for Argentina during his debut to accusing CONMEBOL for corruption to spitting at players or fighting with a former teammate turned manager to declaring he is leaving his club instead stays.
Oh, there’s a lot more on this and that could fit an entire column and more.
Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore Award
EASY. This goes to Novak Djokovic which hurts because he is currently my favorite tennis player.
To his lack of adherence to Covid-19 guidelines to his misconduct in the Australian Open to his hitting a line judge in the US Open, it has been a year to forget for the man they call The Joker.
Joaquin Phoenix might have won an award for his portrayal of the Joker but this tennis star is losing fans and turning off people. Me included.
And lastly, there is this…
Club of the Year Award
TO Global Football Club. Controversies and non-payment of salaries goes hand in hand with this team. How local football officials don’t even bother to clean up this mess is beyond me. How they can have this joke of a team operate with dubious owners is also beyond me and logic. How many lawsuits does this club have? I hear they just lost another.
Simply a model on how not to form a football club.