Oh well........
It's not? I thought only the winners were really remembered, regardless of how they won.
Isn't this the opposite of what you just said? If only the winner is remembered, regardless of how they won, then isn't your first paragraph exactly how sports works?
Indeed, which is one reason relying on individual awards is problematic, as stated in my post.
Appreciate the difference between rarely and really.
Using a neutral sport analogy - baseball, the 1960 WS losing Yankees saw their shortstop immortalized by the media for the pebble play.
How sports work and how its is perceived or analyzed are parallel issues that rarely intersect.
Relying on individual awards is as problematic as people want it to be. Given that people tend to the paradoxical(being politically correct here) this is not surprising. Example. Individual awards were introduced and individual statistics were expanded long after hockey, received its impetus with the donation of the Stanley Cup.
The Stanley Cup was awarded in the 1890's yet All-Star teams and individual awards came much later, formally recognized in the 1920's Hart, Vezina, fine tuned along the way Ross, - 1940's, Norris-1950's, Smythe in the 1960's etc. Today we see the following phenomena. Those who are amongst the first to bleat that hockey is a "team sport" are also amongst the most active participnats in determining "Retro" versions of Norris, Selke, Smythe or other award and honours. Fun exercise but recognize the simple duality that this represents.
Similarly those who bleat "team sport" often encourage individual comparisons while trying to disect the team factor.
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=920380
and praising the nobility of the individual within a perceived weak collective:
"In researching these men over the years, I've always found myself partial to Bowie. It's not because McGee had the shorter career; that's pretty typical for players of this era. I think it might be because McGee had the good fortune of playing on a stacked team that was able to compete for the Stanley Cup every year, while Bowie was really a one-man show with the Vics."
and
"while Bowie was really a one-man show with the Vics."
Mr. Pot. please meet Mr. Kettle.