Yes. Let them reap the rewards
Hands up if anyone thinks the All Whites deserve their Team of the Year nomination at next year’s Halbergs. Anyone who budged belongs in the same group as the dimwit who nominated our men’s national football side, a mob which failed to get a single shot on target during their failed World Cup playoff matches against Peru last month. That’s how you tarnish an awards ceremony. The same goes for the judges who thought it was a smart idea to name All Blacks pivot Beauden Barrett as the World Player of the Year last month.
But the ridiculous decisions of a few people shouldn’t erode the importance of (most) awards ceremonies.
Players and teams should be celebrated for outstanding performances. Let them pose on the red carpet, partner in hand, and reap the rewards.
The Halbergs, and most awards ceremonies for that matter, aren’t often without contentious decisions, but the annual congregation of our country’s best athletes is usually quality viewing and justified reward.
If sporting codes want to host an annual awards ceremony, and most do, good on them.
However, the same can’t be said about individual teams and their fixation with putting on cringe awards nights after forgettable seasons – think this year’s Southland Stags.
Believe it or not, they held an awards night after losing all 10 of their Mitre 10 Cup championship games and being outscored 154-454 in the process.
It’s no wonder some people believe sports awards are a waste of time.
A season like the one the Stags produced probably should have prompted Southland Rugby general manager Andrew Moreton to flag their annual celebration this year.
Blues and Warriors fans probably wouldn’t have minded if their teams hadn’t celebrated mediocrity again and again in recent years.
But hey, at least nobody in their respective organisations felt the need to make a mockery of the Halbergs by nominating themselves for Team of the Year.
On the other hand, successful teams such as netball’s Southern Steel or the Super Rugby champion Crusaders should have puffed their chests out when announcing the winners of their annual awards nights this year.
It’s just be nice to see some restraint from others.