In all my years of watching hockey, I've never seen as polarizing a figure as Sidney Crosby. To casual sports fans, Crosby is the most recognizable name in the NHL. But to hardcore NHL fans, hating on Crosby is a badge of pride. If you're a hockey fan who dares to actually like Crosby, it's tantamount to being a diehard metalhead who happens to also like Nickelback.
Well, screw that, and screw the haters. Because this writer is an unabashed Crosby fan and, in fact, is thrilled that Crosby was the one to score the golden goal. And I'm sick of people constantly ripping on Crosby for stupid reasons. So, then, let's go through the usual arguments against Crosby and point out their fallacies.
He's Good
Yes, Sidney Crosby is a very talented player. He's the biggest star in the league and the captain of the defending Stanley Cup champions. But I don't think people really appreciate just how good Sidney Crosby is. Based on what he's accomplished so far in his young career, he's the best player to come along since Wayne Gretzky.
Let's go over Crosby's impressive resume...
- Crosby came to a team that finished 30th out of 30 teams before the lockout. Despite playing on a horrible 2005-06 Penguins team that saw Mario Lemieux retire after 26 games, Crosby finished sixth in the league in scoring. His 102 points were 44 more than the 58 points recorded by Sergei Gonchar, who finished second on the team, and Crosby's 110 penalty minutes showed he wasn't afraid to get his nose dirty.
- In 2006-07, Crosby took both the Hart and Art Ross trophies and led the Penguins to a 47-point improvement, which saw Pittsburgh make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
- The 2007-08 season saw Crosby engage in his first career fight, score the winning goal in the first Winter Classic and make a Cup Final appearance.
- In 2008-09, 21-year-old Sidney Crosby became the youngest captain to hoist the Stanley Cup.
- Last night, Crosby scored the goal that gave Canada an Olympic gold medal.
Sidney Crosby turns 23 in August. So far, in his four-plus years as a professional, he has won a Stanley Cup, a Hart Trophy, an Art Ross Trophy, and an Olympic gold medal. That's pretty good. What's crazy is, he's getting better. Crosby's ceiling is absolutely limitless, especially if Ray Shero can keep the Penguins' nucleus together.
He's A Whiner
Fun fact about players who wear the C. Along with alternate captains, they're technically the only players who are allowed to talk to referees. It's Crosby's job to call refs out on missed calls, to let the refs know what's going on behind the play, and to generally represent his team. This is what captains do. Yet, Crosby is pegged as a complainer. So was Gretzky in his day.
What's the difference? Gretzky played in an era where anytime he was getting the business from opponents, he could count on Dave Semenko or Marty McSorley to take someone out. In today's NHL, enforcers don't really exist. It's up to Crosby to defend himself; to Crosby's credit, he has shown a willingness to drop the gloves on occasion, something Gretzky never did. In any event, Crosby can't rely on enforcers to do his dirty work, so he has to work with the refs to draw power plays for his team. Again, right in line with the duties of a captain.
Yes, there is a bit of petulance associated with Crosby's game. Islanders fans may recall a recent game in which Crosby took a shot well after the whistle with the pure intent of drawing the ire of his opponents. But is this the worst thing in the world? At least he's showing emotion - doesn't everyone love Ovechkin for showing emotion? The same people who bash Crosby for jawing at opponents are the same people who praise the ability of players like Chris Pronger to "get under their opponents' skin", even when their methods are deplorable at best.
He Gets Way Too Much Play With The Media
Okay, this is a legitimate gripe. From the moment Gretzky proclaimed Crosby as the player who could one day break his records, the media has been hyping Crosby as the next Gretzky. In fact, a legion of NHL fans - this writer included - thought the NHL would fix the 2005 draft lottery so that the Rangers would get the first overall pick, thereby ensuring Crosby would land in a major media market. Alas, it never happened, but that hasn't stopped NBC and Versus from showcasing Crosby and his Penguins at every opportunity. Understandably, this has resulted in some resentment on the part of diehard hockey fans.
However, there are some flaws in this argument. First, Alexander Ovechkin gets just as much praise from the media as Crosby, if not more so. Yes, there's more of a sense that the media defends Crosby more than they do Ovechkin, but the fact remains that they're the NHL's two biggest stars and dwarf all other players in terms of exposure and recognition from the mainstream. If people are sick of hearing about Crosby, shouldn't they also be sick of hearing about Ovechkin? Theoretically, yes, but it's not the case. It's true that Ovechkin is more naturally charismatic than Crosby and has done more to embrace the spotlight than the relatively bland Crosby. Does that make it okay to love Ovechkin and hate Crosby? I don't think so.
Also, there's this - Crosby has earned all of his accolades by being a tremendous player and, more than that, a winner. The praise heaped upon Crosby is deserved. He literally turned the Penguins from the worst team in the league - and a team that was certain to move out of Pittsburgh - into Stanley Cup champions in just four seasons. Compare the media's treatment of Crosby to that of Brett Favre, and you see how much worse it could be.
He Scored The Game-Winner Against The United States
To hear American fans talk, Crosby personally offended every single American by beating Ryan Miller in overtime. People are talking like hockey made big strides in America over the past two weeks, but it's not really true. For most Americans, the Winter Olympics were something to do between football and baseball seasons, and since hockey is the biggest sport of the Winter Olympics, it was easy to get interested. Now that the Olympics are over, ESPN will go back to pretending hockey doesn't exist and everyone else will follow suit. The gold medal game might have been on the front cover of the New York papers today, but the second Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter occupy the same room in Spring Training, the New York media will forget all about hockey.
The gold medal game was watched by 33 percent of the United States. I'll admit, this is a huge number, especially in today's modern era of hundreds of cable channels. Unfortunately, 33 percent does not compare to the scene in Canada, where 80 percent of the country watched the game. Yesterday's game was the most-watched telecast in the history of Canadian television. While the United States wanted their team to win yesterday, Canada needed to win.
Put it this way. If a US player had scored in overtime yesterday, he would have been remembered by most Americans in a light similar to Michael Phelps or Apolo Anton Ohno - someone to be celebrated today and forgotten tomorrow. Crosby, on the other hand, will be up there with Paul Henderson in the '72 Summit Series and Mario Lemieux in the '87 Canada Cup. In short, Crosby will always be a hero in Canada, much to the consternation of his American detractors. Is it Crosby's fault his country is so fanatical about the game they invented? Absolutely not. So why hold it against him?
In the end, the point is this. Sidney Crosby is, at a very age, putting together one of the most impressive careers in NHL history. He's already secured hero status in both Pittsburgh and Canada. He's set the league on fire at an age where most players are just starting to put it together. Unfortunately, his accomplishments are constantly being undermined by a petulant group of hockey fans who, quite frankly, are too jealous of Crosby to appreciate him.
Personally, I think the Internet has a lot to do with the general attitude towards Crosby. I never thought much of people who say that the blogosphere is a cauldron of negativity, but when it comes to Crosby, I see their point. Here's this great player, perhaps the best of a very exciting generation of NHL stars, and yet everyone would rather point out his flaws than celebrate his ability. I understand that the NHL needs villains, but the hatred of Crosby is completely irrational. Maybe fans hate Crosby because he's the mainstream face of the NHL, while Ovechkin is the preferred face of hardcore, counter-culture NHL fans. Even so, do NBA fans constantly hate on LeBron James? Of course not.
It's odd when you feel as though you have to defend yourself for being a fan of one of hockey's biggest stars. But for myself and other Sidney Crosby fans, that's the boat we find ourselves in. We don't want to feel like we're supporting the likes of Nickelback. We just wish the hockey world would stop being so critical of the game's elite players. If people don't like him, fine, but sometimes it seems like Crosby doesn't even have the respect of hockey fans. For everything he's accomplished so far in his career, that's just wrong.
