England does disappointment so well it’s easy to forget the successes.

The country’s habit of hype and anti-climax could be made into a programme of its own, a melancholic look at the failures of the past 12 months.

A double World Cup collapse, Andy Murray’s Grand Slam frustrations and the F1 crown not going to a Briton for the first time in since 2007.

The fact those are reeled off with such ease makes triumphs like England’s Twenty20 World Cup win earlier this year fade into the background.

But the BBC Sports Personality of the Year celebrates all that’s good with English sport and last night it returned to Birmingham for the third time.

It’s an event, a programme, which every sports fan grows up with. You’ve watched with your parents, friends and partners, from the sofa, the kitchen or in bed

It’s a night which is as engrained in the sporting calendar as the FA Cup final.

It’s a ceremony which almost turned David Beckham into a quivering wreck as he picked up his Lifetime Achievement award – although as he is just 35, one wonders what gong the BBC will invent for him later on.

Fame and fortune seemed inconsequential as the former England captain stood fighting back the tears during the ovation, which lasted well over a minute, which left wife Victoria just as emotional.

And what about Phil Taylor? The happiest runner-up in the history of sport. He might have lost out to a clearly humbled AP McCoy but that didn’t stop him bounding into the post-awards press conference like a gazelle on steroids, not too shabby for a man of his stature.

He beamed at the LG Arena: “I’d have never thought it in a million years. If I never win anything again I won’t care.

“It was weird, when you’re standing there you look around and see all these famous faces, it’s unbelievable.

“It means the world to me.”

Taylor’s reaction to coming second epitomises what high regard the awards are held in.

The man was genuinely touched, in awe of the mainstream megastars around him.

You would think, for those who are used to competing on the biggest stage, this would be nothing more than a bonus, a token gesture that says they’ve ‘had a good year.’

Yet they talk about it topping their list and being the pinnacle of their careers. The award is now in its 57th year and has grown from humble beginnings to a full blown institution.

It gives an extra platform to those who, otherwise, might not get the chance.

Usually, the line-up this year would be a sobering one, reminding us of how badly our mainstream acts have performed in 2010. There wasn’t a homegrown footballer, tennis player or rugby star in sight.

But instead it was celebration of those who are truly in it for the sport, not the money.

Vancouver Winter Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams isn’t going to earn a fortune in skeleton bob but she’s in it for the success, to win.

She was hardly likely to upstage 2012 heptathlete hopeful Jessica Ennis, who finished third, but after winning Great Britain’s first Winter Olympics gold for 30 years, she was there on merit.

It was a one-up for the winter sports that she was nominated – winning gold in the skeleton bob just days after the track had claimed the life of Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili was bravery personified.

Many would struggle to identify Mark Cavendish, who won five stages of the Tour de France over the summer – a competition relegated to coverage on Eurosport and ITV4 – yet that doesn’t make his efforts any less impressive.

Even runner-up Taylor isn’t your typical sportsman but he’s the best at what he does. Darts may be sneered at as a sport, but he was afforded the biggest introduction of all the 10 nominees.

It’s guts and determination that made the line up this year, not pounds and Porsches.

Isn’t that the whole point of Sports Personality? It’s not about the year’s glitz and glamour, it’s about the blood, sweat and tears. Having done the hard work it’s only fair they get the extra recognition.

Those who win deserve to. It’s earned, not won.

By Nick Mashiter