2008 Stanley Cup Finals

[LeslieAGD]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

About 3. To all the Crosby haters, please, show me a video or quotations from an interview where you get the vibe that SID has the "too big for his brtiches" syndrome and not the MEDIA wanting to "build him up to tear him down" a la Ben Roethlisberger. He is incredibly talented (though he has more to prove to be compared to the likes of Lemieux and Gretzky) and handles his fame with maturity.

Not only do I dislike Sidney Crosby because the media has built him up and shoved him down our throats, but he just seems to have this smug attitude that I can't stand. One of the things that I like about hockey is that most players are not as full of themselves as in other sports like football and basketball, where the players are always saying how great they are and how much the other team/players suck.

I don't feel like searching for video clips, but here's a recent example...After the Wings won Game 4, all the announcers were talking about how Zetterberg saved the game by tying up Crosby and his stick at the side of the net during the 5-on-3. Zetterberg and Lidstrom were at the media desk taking questions and they both kept talking about the overall team effort and not congratulating themselves. They both talked about how the Pens are a strong team and played a good game, too. Later, they showed Crosby at the media desk taking questions and all the reporters wanted him to talk about the 5-on-3 and Zetterberg's play. Crosby repeatedly said that he didn't think Zetterberg did anything special, that the play was ordinary, and that anyone could have done it. Sorry, but that's the talk of a crybaby teenager who can't give anyone else credit, not the way a captain should be representing himself. If he couldn't suck it up and say something appropriate like, "I guess it was a good play," then he should have just said, "I'll have to watch the footage later," and moved on. Jerk.

[PM_Mama00]

I'm going to JoeVision tonight. Should be a good time! Altho you know the Wings are going to lose on purpose so they can win it at home and give the Illitchs and city more money.

[violetpretty]

Dee, that's one thing I really like about hockey too, that the players are much more laid back and down to Earth than most players of football, basketball, and IMO, baseball. (Though I still love football regardless, just not the T.O.s and the Chad Johnsons, etc) Plus, hockey is such an exciting, fast paced game.

I haven't watched the Wings enough to know their players enough to be annoyed by any of them on or off the ice, but I can't stand the coach, Mike Babcock. After game 1, with the no-goal ruling with Holmstrom's interference (1st period I think), Babcock went on a tirade at the post-game presser about the call. If getting/not getting that goal would have been the difference in the game, sure, let him cry and whine about it, but they won the game 4-0. Any classy coach would have said something to the effect of, "Well, sometimes calls don't go your way, but fortunately we were able to move on and still win the game."

ETA: The media markets Sidney Crosby (or shoves him down your throat depending on who you ask) because, outside of Canada, and select hockey-crazed cities in the US like Detroit, the NHL has a real PR problem post-lockout. If I asked a random person on the street (in MD or DC) which two teams are playing in the Stanley Cup final, I'm sure most people wouldn't be able to tell me. Sidney Crosby has been big news in Canada since he was 14 playing with 17 year olds. Because of his youth, talent, looks, and because he is from North America, the NHL likes to use him to create excitement about the sport and the league. Contrast him with Alex Ovechkin, for example; Ovechkin has the talent but lacks the marketability. Also, the Winter Classic. I don't think Buffalo and Pittsburgh were chosen at random to play in that game.