Sidney Crosby Is Overrated

So...Sidney Crosby wins the Lou Marsh trophy as best Canadian athlete according to the Toronto Star (since when was the left-leaning Star considered a credible bastion of sports information?). The NBA Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash (of Victoria, BC) ran a close second. Several other lesser-known athletes (amateur, etc.) were also nominated.

Now, every year, for the past few years, one of my colleagues (now former colleague, but I keep in touch with him) and I have our "Is Sidney Crosby That Good?" discussion. I haven't yet had it with him this year, but I suspect I'll simply email him a copy of this blog posting and get his comments. While I respect his hockey knowledge, I have vehemently disagreed with him on several occasions on touting Sidney Crosby as the next great one (I will not capitalize since I don't consider hockey players to be at deity-level). Anyhow, here are my thoughts on the selection of Crosby (by the way, if you don't know, and I have discovered in the last year that there are a few that don't - Sidney Crosby is the young 20-year-old phenom who is playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins and is garnering a lot of attention in the sports world).

OK, where to start with selecting Crosby as the winner of the Lou Marsh. This award was selected for Crosby by a bunch of sports writers, journalists, and sports media-types. That is the first problem. I wrote this on a recent bulletin board posting on tsn.ca, but I really feel that the media, especially in hockey-crazy Canada, goes ga-ga over Crosby, since they've been starving for a superstar who will provide as many thrills and on-ice magic as Wayne Gretzky did for his famed career. Sure, Mario Lemieux came along and was a superstar, but not at Gretzky's caliber (notice the NHL did not retire Lemieux's jersey league-wide). But Lemieux's career was cut short by injuries and illness (and age), so we never really saw what may have been. Regardless, the National Hockey League has been really trying to get its viewership and fanbase back to the levels that it previously had (personally, I think under current commissioner Gary Bettman, that will never happen, as long as he continues to bask in the philosophy of U.S. expansion to sunbelt areas). The NBA has similarly been waiting for the next Michael Jordan, but there have been several worthwhile candidates over the years who have provided more than ample ticket and jersey sales - I can think of LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant as two examples). The NHL has had good players, but not super-superstars. Even very talented players who vie for the scoring title every year are not considered because they don't have the personality or the media smarts to make them as well-rounded as Gretzky was.

Some history first...

Sidney Crosby, who as a young teenager, was eclipsing junior hockey records and providing highlight reel material for viewers. He was touted as the next saviour of the NHL, the next big phenom, the Wayne Gretzky of the new millenium. I wasn't about to simply join on a bandwagon because people simply said so, but I must admit that I got caught in the initial hype as well and purchased some Sidney Crosby rookie cards, which are now all in hard plastic cases. Obviously, I see it more as an investment opportunity than as a fan item (sad but true, and this is contrary to my typical opinion about collectible stuff - ie. I collected comic books when I was younger due to my interest in reading them and become a fan of them - I've always shunned the capitalistic components of collecting, but even I have my limits). Anyhow, Crosby gets drafted after the NHL lockout season as the number one pick for Pittsburgh, who have struggled tremendously since the glory days with Lemieux back in the early 90s. I am glad that the Penguins got Crosby, since I believe his presence saved that franchise. Penguins owner Lemieux liked his draft pick so much, he took him under his wing and he even lived with Lemieux's family during his first year or so (not sure if he's still living with them, but that's neither here nor there).

In Crosby's first season, he does tremendously well in the NHL, though he developed a reputation as a whiner and complainer. Crosby apologists would be quick to explain that he was 18 and come on, who is mature at that age? Visiting hockey arenas were packed in order to see him play and without a doubt, even in my mind, he was and is good for the game. He finished his inaugural season with a very satisfying 102 points, causing most media types and sports journalists to start comparing him to Gretzky. In his first All-Star game, he had no points, and these same media types were alluding to Gretzky's similar "accomplishment". The bandwagon jumpers started to come onto the vehicle en mass. Of course, it is fashionable nowadays to attach a sport to a face of an individual (ie. when many people talk golf, they invariably think of Tiger Woods). Crosby was the perfect poster-child for the NHL - young, curly brown locks of hair, and for the Canadian element - a Canadian boy finally! I'm all for supporting home grown talent, but I think for the last 20 years and more in hockey, international players have not been given the credit they deserve. Anyhow, Crosby has a breakout first year, but did not win the rookie of the year Calder Trophy (the distinction went to fellow superstar Alexander Ovechkin, who in my view is just as good of a player as Crosby, but he's Russian, so the North American media markets don't give him the due he so deserves). It is worthwhile to note that Crosby was only a few points behind Ovechkin in the overall points total (I think Joe Thornton won the Art Ross trophy for most points that year). Crosby also created many highlight reels in his first season, including a shootout victory in Pittsburgh against his favourite childhood team, the Montreal Canadiens, in which Crosby scored the winner in the shootout). After Crosby's breakout year, I decided to pad my investment so I dropped a chunk of change on some more Crosby rookie cards.

In 2006-2007, Crosby would not be denied. He had a strong season and bested his previous year's point total, netting 120 points overall, winning the Art Ross Trophy as well as the Hart Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Trophy (my mind escapes me at the moment what that one was for). He had several notable games including one in which he scored six points (against Philadelphia, I believe, who absolutely sucked last year - I think the Penguins beat them in all eight games, unlike this year where the Flyers have the Pens' number).

Given all this, and the good he has done for the game, why don't I think he was the best choice (he is a good choice, but I don't feel is the best choice) for the Lou Marsh trophy? Because I think that as an athlete, Steve Nash was more deserving due to his on-and-off-the-court contributions, his non-expendable role with his team, and his long history of making the teams that he has played on winners. Unfortunately, Nash does not play in a "Canadian game" per se (even though basketball was invented in Canada), or at least does not play in a "Canadian game" that fans in Canada give a rat's ass about. If Nash had been a hockey player, I am confident that he would have received this award. Consider this: if Nash left the Phoenix Suns, they would be a horrible team. If Crosby left the Penguins, they'd be only a bit worse than they are now (and they're pretty bad, despite last year's over-100 point showing in the standings). Nash has also been voted NBA MVP two years in a row. In an "American" sport for a Canadian athlete to dominate so much, it's impressive. Nash is also 33, considerably older than Crosby, yet excels far more than his peers who are 10 years his junior. I think what did Nash in on this award was the fact that he declared that he won't play for Canada in the upcoming basketball world championships. I don't think that should be held against him, since he's represented Canada many times. Also, bear in mind that this is not an Olympic year, so factor in the additional component that we don't have visibility to see amateur athletes in action. Unfortunately, amateur athletes also don't have the professional expsoure, so talented and successful skaters like Cindy Klassen, while getting some exposure, will never the the super-hype that pro athletes do - and that is unfortunate, since many of them are equally, if not more athletic than their professional counterparts).

Also, let's face it - Crosby has been given a few freebies over time. When the Washington Capitals offered the team captaincy to Alexander Ovechkin, he turned it down as he was not ready (and given his age and only a couple of years experience, that made sense). A real respectable choice. Crosby becomes an assistant captain after a season of play and a captain after two seasons. At 20-years-old? Tampa Bay made Vincent Lecavalier a captain at 21 or so and it didn't work out that well due to his lack of maturity. Oh sure, some will say that Crosby is mature for his years, but again, it's the hockey-crazed mostly Canadian media salivating for the next iteration of a hockey superstar. They'll say anything. If you see how Crosby continues to argue calls and whine to referees, you'll get a sense of his maturity level.

Another athlete to consider is Vincent Lecavalier (who has been on fire this year, but also has maintained a history of quality and consistency in his NHL numbers). Now, I will not play the "they always pick hockey players because Canada is nuts over hockey" card, since there hasn't been a hockey player who has won this award since Mario Lemieux back in 1993.