Heavy as team leader?

Since team mates tend to follow heavys into combat, do you think heavy would be the best class for a team leader in clans and such. Because he would be in the thick of action, and always close to his team, I think he would make a good choice for leader, but I want to hear what you guys think.

He is always on the thick of the action, but I think the leader of a team can be almost anyone.
Maybe except for the defensive engie who is not in the open battlefield

Maybe a Sniper since he has the full view of the battlefield.

I was thinking another good idea for team leader would be spy, as he can see what the enemy is doing, and can form a plan accordingly. Also, he has time to speak/type messages, where as th more action orientated classes may not.

Additionally, in clan matches a spy might just infiltrate the enemy base and get out again, just to look for any sentries or other dangers.

A heavy is too slow imho. all the others pass him and rush while he gives supressive fire

I agree with you about the spy. I always play as an engineer, but at the start of every match, if no one else is a scout, I always run over to their base right away and see whats going on and report back. The plus to a scout leader is he can move around the map so fast he can report on all the areas of interest, but he dies to easily, especially with sentries.

The heavy seems to be the iconic class of TF2, and is featured prominently on Orange Box packaging, the official commercial, and other promotions. I think it makes sense to designate him as the team leader in terms of brawn, but not necessarily intelligence.

Well, intelligence comes from the player, not the stereotype of the class.  I think TF2 is one of the games where there is no clear cut "team leader"... simply because the classes are so well balanced.  You need a good mix of ALL classes with each having important jobs.  These jobs aren't always in a path convenient to all players, so good communication is absolutely necessary.  Because of this, everybody on the team is a part of a team leader.

no, i don't think spy is a good idea because spys aren't always watching the battle and is constantly on the alert for people that might see though his disguise. i was actually thinking on the lines of a scout; fast agile and can move to good locations to view the battle, hard to get sniped and very mobile compared with the other classes.

I would agree, the team leader can shift depending on the mission and the class.

On Defense, the Engineers should be responsible for the flag and moving people around to defend it. They should be calling to the HW and Pyro as threats pop up. They can help themselves tremendously by placing Dispensers and Teleporters in convenient locations.

On Offense, the HW is just too slow to be in front. The Demomen and Soldiers should be calling targets and Medics supporting them. The HW should be just behind to give fire support.

Scouts and Spies should be busy with infiltration and eliminating sentries. Their concern should be the Intel.

Offense, Defense and Special Teams. Just like football.