Maybe a better title would be “The Individualistic Person versus the Athlete Who Actually Cares About Their Sport,” but let’s be honest, that just doesn’t flow as easily as the current one.
When you look at nearly every All Star Competition out there, there is an overwhelming focus on the individual to perform better than his peers. In baseball, you have the Home Run Derby, basketball you have the slam dunk contest, 3 point contest, and a handful of other drills which are combined for an overall team score, yet it is all where the focus is on the individual.
Even outside of the so called All Star “Game,” watching any highlight show, you see the most mundane of accomplishments being glorified. In the day and age of preaching “teamwork” and “being team players,” people are flooded with images of individual achievements and plays.
As hockey blogger, Eklund pointed out “ESPN Sportscenter isn't about sports teams, it's about athletes. There may be no "I" in team, but if you watch ESPN you quickly realize you can't spell team without "ME." From Barry Bonds, to Alex Rodrigez...Peyton Manning to Tiger Woods...ESPN covers individuals and their respective, corresponding soap operas.”
How long did the nation get wrapped up in the Tiger Woods scandal? Weeks, months? I’m sure we all know more about his former wife, Elin, swinging a 9 iron at the rear windshield and his infidelities which led to that memorable event.
How about the Lebron James embarrassment? For a month, Sportscenter not only covered, but GLORIFIED his gold digging and attention seeking. Then, to top it all off, they devoted an hour, yes, the most boring hour in sports history, to give him the national spotlight in which to further prove he never cared about any team as much as the money.
For you James defenders, if it was only about winning, why did he need a max contract in order to sign in South Beach? He never was about the team nor loyalty, otherwise he would have stayed in Cleveland, close to the town that supported him throughout his rise to fame and continued to support him even when the team struggled, even after they barely showed up in the finals the one time they made it.
Hockey is not exempt from lengthy contract disputes, as we saw last summer with the Ilya Kovalchuk saga. Yet, when he did sign his deals, there were no hour long specials devoted to just him, there were no high-school esc pep rallies at the Prudential Center to “introduce” him the fans. He signed on the dotted line, held a press conference [just like EVERY sport] then walked around some landmarks in Newark for photos to promote the team.
Even after their respective games, hockey players’ true colors come out continuously. Win or lose, players will make an effort to not only meet their fans, but to communicate with them and even sign autographs. Not every player stops outside the arena after games, but at some point during the year, they do. They appreciate the fans and their commitment and it shows. Through the autographs, public appearances, and even through social media outlets such as Twitter, players try to reach out to their fans. They seldom utilize the players only parking areas which are completely separated from any fan contact, and rarely ignore those who are appreciative of them, like other athletes.
Sportcenter continuously shows athletes and their individual accomplishments throughout their “Top 10” segment. Plays which require team efforts (deep touchdown passes, blocks which spring their running backs for touchdowns, alley-oops, 6-4-3 double plays) rarely beat out breakaway slam dunks or dunks in which another player is embarrassed. Individual over the team is in the forefront time and time again.
Hockey is barely shown on the network or its highlight shows. Why bother cover a sport in which its players, let’s face it, are pretty normal. Out of all the “major sports” the players are most like their fans. Even when certain players seem to break away from the pack, nights like last night show them in a different light, the same light they once stood. Even with larger salaries, nearly every player still holds that same energy, that same attitude, they love their jobs, they love their sport, they love simply being a hockey player.
Rarely do you see such jubilation in other leagues when their players get selected for their respective games, let alone at the events themselves. In other sports, the players weigh collecting their bonuses versus having time off. Understandable considering how much time they spend away from their families, but rather than fulfill their obligations to the fans who voted them in, they’d put themselves before the league and bail out.
In hockey, the players who did not attend the weekend have legitimate concerns. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are out with significant injuries, while Jarome Iginla requested to be given leave from the events to be with an ailing family member. You don’t hear anyone worrying about getting hurt, even though it’s a prominent risk [see: Mike Richter and his knees]. Veterans and rookies alike are excited to not only have the chance to play against their idols, but to be a part of something so unique.
The fantasy draft saw rivals selecting one another, families literally split up, everyone having a phenomenal time. Patrik Elias and Henrik Lundqvist were seen multiple times talking and kidding around, Nicklas Lidstrom selected Duncan Keith, the Sedin twins [Henrik and Daniel] were split up for the first time probably ever. From Cam War to the last Phil Kessel, everyone had a smile on their face and were excited to be there.
Hopefully, this trend will find its way into other sports, but with so many conflicting personalities and various egos to play down to, I highly doubt it will.
So tonight if you have a chance, hockey fan or not, tune to Versus, TSN, CBC or whatever your preferred hockey network is to just watch a group of grown men reminding us all that some players care more about the love of the game than their own paycheck.
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