I work at Sports Illustrated, and I was very upset by the selection. I debated whether to post on here, but I--along with many of my co-workers--are so angry at the way things are going lately, it seemed worthwhile. Around the office, I would say no more than three or four editorial staffers thought Wade was the right choice. Roger Federer was the clear favorite, and with good reason.
However, we happen to work under an editor who knows absolutely nothing about sports. This is true: The editor of Sports Illustrated has almost no working knowledge of sports. Among other things I have heard Terry ask (or have been told he asked in meetings I was unable to attend) were: What league do the Phillies play in; What team does Kevin Garnett play for; Who holds the record for consecutive hits in a season; etc. It is a joke around the office, but not a funny one. Truly, it would make an excellent article for someone: The Sports Illustrated editor who knows nothing.
I arrived during Mark Mulvoy's term. I did not especially like Mark's style, but he was a man who was passionate about sports and knew everything that was going on. Bill Colson was that way as well, although to a lesser extent. But Terry knows almost nothing. It was his decision to pick Wade over Federer, primarily (and this is me reading in, but an accurate take, I believe) because Wade would sell magazines and Federer would go flat. Also, he may well have heard of Wade. But I guarantee you, until the piece was written, he didn't know what position he played, what college he attended, where he was from. He just knew there was a guy named Wade who the kids like.
It's sad.
