Earps finished ahead of Stuart Broad (right) and Katarina Johnson-Thompson (left) Photo: PA/David Davies She deserved it with her heroics on and off the field
If saving a penalty in England's first senior World Cup final appearance in 57 years wasn't enough to win the nation's hearts, celebrate the save with furious cries of “fuck it!” throughout the Universe, this will probably be the case.
However, putting aside that particularly dramatic moment in Sydney, there is a whole world of reasons why Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps is a very worthy winner of the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
England's victory over Belgium, something unusual happened at Leicester in October. The crowd began chanting in unison for the goalkeeper while she hadn't even made a recent save. “Mary, Mary, Mary,” echoed around the King Power Stadium, as if she were a hat-trick hero rather than a goalkeeper. This was a very small sign of her popularity.
Another example is the deep lines of fans asking for her photo or autograph after every game. But it's not just her friendly personality and her reflexes in front of goal that fans admire. This is a battle outside the field.
Sitting in a room in Brisbane on the eve of the tournament, which starts in July, when Earps first publicly expressed her dissatisfaction with kit manufacturer Nike's failure to make her a World Cup goalkeeper kit that fans could purchase, was a memorable moment for the journalist.
Earps sat in front of a small group of reporters in a quiet back room of the England team hotel in the busy city centre, and rarely had an England player shown such intense passion for his craft. It was clear that not only was she ready to take on a giant like Nika, but that deep down, this issue was truly important to her.
She truly wanted girls to have every chance to love goalkeepers, not just because the words sounded like good words, but because she really cared.
Her subsequent moral victory over Nike, Anyone who puts a women's and girls' goalkeeper kit up for sale and sees it sell out quickly can have a much longer legacy than any single match.
And of course there are numerous awards on the field. Earps was named FIFA's world's best goalkeeper this year and last season she set a new record of 14 clean sheets in the Women's Super League in a single 22-game season.
Mary Earps with the Golden Glove award after the World Cup final, which England lost. Photo: Getty Images/Andy Cheung
She also finished fifth in the Women's Ballon d'Or, the highest ever achieved by a goalkeeper, demonstrating the respect she has earned around the world.
And she did it from the position that she had previously been on the sidelines of international football, just two years ago, before Sarina Wigman took over as England manager.
We Brits love it. good comeback story.
But there is another key reason why the British public voted for her. Even though Wiegman's Lionesses did not ultimately win the World Cup, no one should forget that whether you are a fan of women's football or not, the Women's World Cup final was the biggest national sporting moment of the year.
And the sporting event of the year, which so often captures the nation's attention, results in the winner of that award being announced by public vote. England's 1-0 defeat to Spain attracted a huge television audience of 14.8 million viewers on the BBC and ITV. Earps was the star player on an injured team that made history by reaching the final.
Those who underestimate the public's growing love for Lionesses have repeatedly proven themselves wrong.
The loss of the lioness means that she did not deserve the gong 9359-fb9c41329d27.html?direct=true&id=fab7dd5d-5662-4dad-9359-fb9c41329d27' class='tmg-particle embed wrp-fab7dd5d-5662-4dad-9359-fb9c41329d27' name='Writer Introductions: Oliver Brown with author line' data-business-type='editorial' loading='eager' scroll='no'frameborder='0' style='width: 100%; min-width: 100%; border: none; position: static; display: block; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;'>
It is rare, and quite rightly, for someone involved in a team sport to be named British Sports Person of the Year. Jim Laker had to take 19 Test wickets, two more than any bowler in history, to receive his BBC silver camera. Bobby Moore should have won the World Championship. Jonny Wilkinson had to fight for immortality in Sydney. By the way, few people outside of women's football can put Mary Earps on the same level.
Yes, Earps won the World Championship Golden Glove. But England lost the final, and without much difficulty. And that, frankly, should be the end of her credentials for that gong. Despite falling in love with the Lionesses at the ceremony in Salford, it is the team who end 2023 without a trophy. Just two weeks ago they failed to qualify for the Olympics. Last year their Euro triumph lived up to the hype. This time, their shaky trajectory makes it difficult to make a convincing case for Earps.
I've been to every one of their major finals this century, from Helsinki to Wembley to Sydney. It's been interesting to watch their evolution from fringe action to headline attraction. But Earps as Sports Personality of the Year after the World Cup, which England ultimately lost? It's hard to sell.
If we overlook Ryan Giggs' bogus Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, team players usually require moments of genuine greatness to earn such a coveted individual accolade. Ian Botham did it in 1981 after the first Headingley miracle. Ben Stokes achieved this in 2019 with a display of outrageous sorcery in the same stadium, and his winning streak is indelibly etched in English sporting folklore.
What similar effect did Earps demonstrate during the World Championships in Australia? True, during the shootout with Nigeria, she stood firm. In addition, she did not miss a single match against Haiti and Denmark. But the inconvenient reality is that she is most famous for saving a Spanish penalty in the losing final and then very prominently shouting “fuck off!” at the celebration. The way the “I was there” moments have passed, it's unlikely to be left for posterity.
Earps' defenders point out that she also had a good year for Manchester United, recording 14 lockouts last season. But did these moments capture the national imagination? Most United women's team home games have been attended by fewer than 8,000 people. While this isn't Earps' fault, it does weaken the idea of her being hailed as a major superstar.
As for the pressure she put on Nike to sell a replica of her shirt? A fringe spectacle that should have no place in the measurement of sporting achievement.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson, as a world heptathlon champion in a truly global field, would have been a more deserving Spoty winner. But for the second year in a row, this award goes to Lioness. Twelve months ago, when Beth Mead won, this was understandable. This time, Earps' coronation seems more a reflection of the zeitgeist than true greatness.
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