Strait's win wasn't a sure thing. He was up against some of the top names in the current country crowd: Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan (the 2013 winner), Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.

You could argue that Strait was on the list with those other Entertainer of the Year nominees in honor not just of his success the previous 12 months but throughout his entire career.

So with that in mind, and considering the massive successes the other nominees achieved last year, did Strait truly deserve to be named the ACM Entertainer of the Year?

Absolutely. And there was probably not a single soul in the MGM Grand Arena Sunday night who thought otherwise (including, dare we speculate, the four other nominees). Proof was in the unprompted standing ovation Strait earned when the win was announced, and the fact the crowd cheered louder and longer for Strait than for any other win that night.