A few years back, I asked for public input on the Observer’s annual lists for the top five teams and athletes of the year. It’s not like a major, world-changing event happened that year — I just thought it would be fun to do something different.
Well, guess what did happen this year? I’m not gonna waste your time and mine by rehashing what COVID did right now because any of you could buy the Dallas Cowboys tomorrow if you had a dollar for every time you’ve read about it. Plus, I’ll have to mention exactly what happened to the local sports world in my annual recap column anyway. My point is that this is probably the most appropriate year ever for me to open top five nominations back up to the public.
I do have a general idea of who all could be on the list and where they could fit in the rankings. Some of these really are no-brainer decisions. Others have more competition involved and I’m going to spend a good chunk of the next few weeks brainstorming on them. That’s what I’d love your help with.
There are plenty of talented athletes and hardworking teams in the area who deserve some kind of recognition for their hard work this year and I’d like you readers out there to help me pick them. Maybe you’ll help me find them. Maybe you’ll help remind me of them. It’s been a long year and I honestly don’t know how my brain hasn’t turned into mush without a vacation. Whatever it is, I’d love your input.
I like these rankings to be as merit-based as possible, so I have specific criteria that I follow every year. Here’s what I look for:
Success — the better the team or individual athlete did in a season, the better chance they have of earning a higher spot. Stats may not tell the whole story, but they also don’t lie.
Perseverance — OK, maybe an athlete or team didn’t go as far as they wanted. But did they have obstacles to overcome? Did they improve greatly from their previous season? Did they do something notable off of the playing field that made an impact in the community? I love a feel-good story as much as anyone and this fills in the blanks left by those aforementioned stats.
Like I said earlier, I have a pretty good idea of how this year’s rankings could turn out. I know quite a bit already. But I don’t know everything. A ton of coaches don’t even bother putting their teams’ stats on MaxPreps. I’m certain there are feel-good stories I haven’t heard of yet for one reason or another. I still catch people by surprise whenever I mention our sports department has only one writer and our editorial staff has two total. That’s where you come in.
If you’d like to tell me about an athlete or a team you feel deserves such a shout-out this year, drop me a line by 5 p.m. Dec. 18 at jkline@plantcityobserver.com with the team/athlete name and why you’re nominating them.