Why do umpires give Brownlow votes?

[greatwhiteshark]

The Brownlow is the biggest award in the game because it is promoted as such.

The MVP should be the biggest award in the game because that is the only true award.

Any award where your peers say that you are the best has to be the most rewarding award you can win.

the Brownlow is only huge because the media and the AFL back it to be huge, but lets face it if you were a player and the umpires think you are the best or your peers think you are the best, deep down which would you hold as higher if both were recognised equally??

It's a no brainer.

Umpires don't even have the ability to report players anymore, let alone pick who was the best player.

The Brownlow is the most over rated, over hyped award in Australian Sport. There for tradition purposes only and the general public buy it every year and will continue to buy it because Vlad tells them to.

 

[Furn]

Isnt part of the charm of the Brownlow that you never really know whos going to win it ?

All the awards have there problems because they are always someones opinion.

Even the MVP is dodgy because the players dont watch all the games, they are voted on either media hype or how players have played against them. There is also the players who dont vote or donkey vote to get their teammates over the line.

 

[Spurk]

From the past decade Riewoldt, Franklin and Tredrea are the only non midfielders worthy of the Brownlow imo. I think Tredrea won most of the other media awards in 04 but in 08 and last year when I thought Franklin and Riewoldt were the best players, Ablett cleaned up everything. So most awards lean towards midfielders anyway and rightly so most of the time.

Should be a medal for midfielders only.

Defenders can look better than they are from a boundary line gameplan ala 5/6ths of Collingwood.

Forwards can have a Carey paddock or constant delivery to work with.

If Betts won the Brownlow with 7 bogs and 15 no shows the award would be shot.

The media clowns have too many agendas and bias to vote on the award. Forever justifying statements or articles from the past.

Stuck with the umpires, but at least it's a form of a lottery and the umpires dont have a deal with the devil to fellate Malthouse and Collingwood for ratings/popularity.

 

[Ron The Bear]

The Brownlow is the most over rated, over hyped award in Australian Sport. There for tradition purposes only and the general public buy it every year and will continue to buy it because Vlad tells them to.

The Brownlow has long been the pre-eminent individual football honour and that has nothing to do with Demetriou. It is merely prestigious enough to remain unscathed despite the public having viewing access to every match and being able to form well-considered alternative opinions.

While those from other states have had to put aside their local traditions to be part of the AFL, the sense of football ritual remains strong in Melbourne.

 

[doppleganger]

The fact that the umpires (the UMPIRES, ffs!!) decide who wins the Brownlow severely devalues the medal for mine.

I've thought this since I could think and personally I rate the MVP (Coaches) and Norm Smith as much higher individual awards.

Good that you put forward the awards that you actually rate, and I agree the Coaches Award is a much better reflection of who the best player of the season has been.

If Dane Swan one day wins the Brownlow I'll stop regarding it whatsoever.

D.Swan is currently 2nd in the Coaches Award.

http://aflca.com.au/index.php?id=14&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=80&tx_ttnews[backPid]=9&cHash=550c600b77

1. Hodge 72 points
2. Swan 69 points
3. Sandilands 62 points
4. Chapman 57 points

Will you also disregard the Coaches Award if Swan gets it this year?? Looks like he is in with a massive chance!

 

[estibador]

Isnt part of the charm of the Brownlow that you never really know whos going to win it ?

I was just about to post this.

If the award was voted on by some 'impartial' panel of experts then we'd all pretty much know who was going to win before it happened. Most years there's generally one player who's acknowledged throughout the media as having the best year and he'd be duly handed the award at the end of the year. It would be a bit of a non event.

The Brownlow has its flaws, and I certainly don't regard it as any sort of proof that one player is better than another, but like you said it has its own charm due to its unpredictability.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

The fact that umpires do vote for the Brownlow is why I don't give a stuff who wins it. We watch umpires fumble and bumble their way through an entire season, making errors by the bucket full, then at the end of the year give them the responsibility of awarding the most presitgeous individual decoration in the game. Sometimes footy is weird.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

I'm surprised the Brownlow gets any respect at all.

It's voted on by the people we bag the shit out of week after week, and we claim they're ruining the game, have no idea etc. etc.

Yet we expect them to know who the best player on the day was? lol.

Coaches Award should be the most regarded. Yeah, not perfect, but coaches see the game differently to most, and I've rarely seen them get it wrong.

Media generally just says "You got the most posessions? you were best on ground".

Coaches don't fall for that trap.

 

[AG]

Coaches don't fall for that trap.

Yeah they do. The top 10 of the coaches awards is roughly the same for every other award. Defenders just don't win awards and forwards rarely do.

 

[demondavey]

This thread is silly. Quite simply, the Brownlow is adjudicated by the umpires. That's the criteria set. If that changed, it wouldn't be the same award.

Just like the MVP awards are adjudicated by a different body.

You'd be better off lobbying for the MVP to have more prestige.

No worries, let umpires keep giving the votes. But change the way they give the votes. Eg: umpires can work to a roster system so that the ones that are not working that particular day can sit up in a box overlooking the ground and give votes. So if you work on the friday night, give votes in the box on Saturday, if your working saturday, give votes on the sat night evening game. How many umpires are there? Then if you have logisitcal problems, you can call on previous umpires or members of the umpiring fraternity. I mean, that could still be a way that it keeps it an umpires award without having the umpire to adjudicate and give votes

 

[Topper Harley]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownlow_Medal

Granted the source isn't great, but have a read.

The point of the brownlow is that's it's voted by the umpires. If you take it away from them you'd ruin the award and make it like every other media award.

 

[big_e]

I agree. There's nothing wrong with having awards voted by other people as well, but leave the Brownlow as it is.

On a side note, players and media people don't watch every game of the year, so having them sit down sit the end of the year and decide who wins a prestigious award is probably more prone to being won by someone being hyped than a Brownlow.

 

[big_e]

And the reason Carey never won a Brownlow is because he was frequently a knob to the umpires, and therefore not a "fair" player.

 

[Marklar_33]

oh dear god.... that is only this year you genius... go back and have a look at the previous winners of the coleman and how many goals have been kicked. My argument is how can someone like Franklin kick 100+ goals in a home & away (averaging about 5 in 08 i think) and not be considered a top three selection?

That wasnt your argument at all...you said Gilham deserved votes for conceding 2 goals in a game...my argument is thats only 1 away from an average turnout for a forward these days

 

[Dont be a lemon]

The Brownlow is a fine award. I'm just surprised it gets enormous attention.