BBC Sports Personality of the Year: Why Greenwood and not Person X will receive my BBC vote

Should Person X, who recently survived a 70mph car crash, become the 50th BBC Sports Personality of the Year tomorrow evening, the shock waves would travel from White City to... er... White City.

Should Person X not win, despite the way he seized the day with one nerveless swing of his right boot, the shock waves triggered in this household alone would quite probably undermine the foundations of Broadcasting House.

As I write, the BBC are unable to confirm whether Person X is among the five final contenders. But on the wild assumption that Jonny Wilkinson - oops, given the game away there - is among the probables, I issue a warning to those setting up the phone lines that will open for that crucial hour between 9pm and 10pm. Be ready for some unusually heavy voting from an address in the Bishop's Stortford area.

Five years ago, my wife registered 23 votes for Michael Owen to win the title (which he did). Three years ago, that figure was doubled as she strove to ensure that Steve Redgrave got his just reward after narrowly missing out on two previous occasions.

This time, in the emotional aftermath of England's World Cup victory, there will be no compromise. Any rogue Australians seeking to distort the True Result might as well save their dollars.

(On a domestic economy note, I am looking into registering the Sports Personality number as our Best Friend with British Telecom's discount scheme. Should I be successful, this would officially displace the fortunate young man who has fielded a record number of calls from my elder daughter over the last few months.)

I had an interesting thought on the subject of the BBC Sports Personality. Unfortunately I can't remember what it was, so I offer this suggestion instead: what if they really did make the award on the basis of its title? Of course, in some years the winners have lived up handsomely to their name. Ian Botham, triumphant in 1981; he's got a bit about him, hasn't he? And Nigel Mansell, one of only three people to win the thing twice (1986, 1992)? Yes, I think you could say he has personality.

But we are talking here about an award in which the sportsman who has earned more top-three finishes than anyone else - five, including one win in 1988 - is Steve "Interesting" Davis.

I'm now going to say something a bit controversial here. Relating to Jonny Wilkinson and personality.

Umm. It's just that... No, I don't think I'll say it. Bishop's Stortford is busy enough with Christmas shoppers right now without being inundated by a blood-crazed lynch mob.

What I will say is this. My nomination for the 50th BBC Sports Personality of the Year is Will Greenwood.

When he and the rest of England's victorious squad made their bemused return to these shores less than three weeks ago, I counted it a privilege to be among those present during their early-morning press conference.

Greenwood sat alongside a colleague whose appearance paid testament to the players' heady experience since their climactic victory three days earlier. With his hair looking as if it had been rumpled by the entire Australian pack, and a quavering voice that was either the result of late puberty or 72 hours of shouting and drinking, Matt Dawson seemed almost lost for words in the face of the reception he had just witnessed at Heathrow Airport.

Who knows, Greenwood may have taken a spot of drink himself, but he managed somehow to be earnest, and moving, and funny as he attempted to sum up a campaign which, for him, was punctuated by an unscheduled return home because his wife was having difficulties in her pregnancy.

After a dignified reply to a question about his son, Freddie, who died shortly after being born prematurely last year, the Harlequins centre glided elegantly away, adding that he was not the only squad member who had had difficult issues in his personal life.

And then Greenwood was quoting the legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi. "He said sport is not about never falling over, it's about getting up every time you do," he maintained. "We've fallen over a few times in the past four years but every one of us gets up again. When we went into injury time in the final there was not one look of panic, or one look of fear.

"Then we got to that last point where Wilko was within range, and the rest, as they say... Where were the Germans? Frankly, who cares?" To have played as he did in the circumstances, and to have been able to articulate his experience as he did in the aftermath - for these things, Greenwood gets my vote.