Last night saw Bradley Wiggins crowned ‘BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012′ despite an extended field of competitors. Great Britain has experienced a stellar year of sport which included the London 2012 Olympic Games and of course, a historic win by Wiggins and Team Sky at Le Tour de France.

The annual event has a range of awards from ‘Unsung Hero’ usually given to non sports stars who help members of their community to achieve their potential, to ‘International Personality of the Year’ which was taken home by Usain Bolt this year. Due to London 2012 being such a success for Team GB the normal shortlist for the main award was extended from 10 to 12. Some felt there should have been a separate title for Olympic competitors but this had the potential to water down the main award and I’m glad they chose the format they did. Contenders for this years main event included sailing legend Ben Ainslie, heptathlete and all round babe Jessica Ennis, the sensational Mo Farah, golf supremo Rory McIlory and track king Sir Chris Hoy.

The shortlist is compiled by a panel of male and female sports editors and journalists but the final vote goes to the public and is always hotly contested. Although not greatly appreciated outside the UK, for British sports stars the award is a big deal. London’s Excel Centre hosted the awards dinner last night and it looked immense! I have never seen a bigger sports awards ceremony and it did justice to the fantastic year of sport we have witnessed in 2012. And who better to award Wiggo the main prize but Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge or Kate Middleton to those not eligible for a stay in The Tower.

This award has been scooped by 3 cyclists in the last 5 years (Sir Chris Hoy 2008, Mark Cavendish 2011, Bradley Wiggins 2012) and goes some way to illustrate the upsurge in popularity of cycling in Britain. The only question now is if Wiggins does defend his Yellow Jersey in July despite initially stating he would focus on the Giro, can he make 2013 even more epic and take the top public voted sports award for a record second year in a row!?

UPDATE

Below is a link to a video that emerged on the BBC website of Wiggo jammin’ at the after show party! Such a dude!

When was the last time something really amazing happened in pro sports.  Yeah, I know there has been a lot of cool plays and amazing acts of athleticism….but when is the last time we’ve seen a Hero?

I’m not just talking about cycling this time.  Think about all sports and let me know the last time a real, honest to goodness, Hero existed. (I think that Jens Voigt might be the closest thing we’ve seen in a long time.) Sports figures have become more like celebrities, and when we’re not reading about the latest doping scandal or wild antics, there are some decent quality sports being played.  But what I’m looking for is a Hero.  Not someone who throws the winning touchdown pass with 3 seconds to go in the game…..something much, much bigger.

What I want is a real Hero to emerge.

If you’ve got kids, there’s no doubt you’ve seen the movie…Cars.  Well, you know how Lightning stops just a few feet before the finish line…giving up the Piston Cup so that he can go back and help his crumpled up fellow competitor, The King?  Thats the kind of Hero I’m talking about.  A Hero that will do something so incredible in their sport that the whole world sits up and takes notice.  An action so great, that it is talked about for decades to come.  Yeah, I know it might sound corny, but we need a Hero to do something as great as this.

I think the world of sports needs it.  We need a Hero.  Why, you ask?  Well, our kids need a positive influence and role model that they can build their future on.  The rest of us could use a little dose of positive influence as well.

But who’s it going to be….and how is it going to take place?  I’m willing to see this happen in any sports genre, but it sure would be fantastic if we see it coming from a Pro Cyclist.  Who’s it going to be?  Let me see you script this one together.