Crosby: A Nation's Pride

Sid the Kid

In the first article for this column, you might recall I did a piece on hockey, and how it's a national obsession in Canada. I quote one line from that very article, "The whole country was united in hours of celebration as Canada's beloved Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal." Which winning goal am I talking about? You guessed right, the 2010 Olympic Gold Medal game.

Crosby is still a youngster – he's just 24 years old – but he's already cemented his place in hockey history. Drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005, Sid the Kid (as he's often called) shot to stardom at a very young age. I remember a few friends of mine telling me how London booed Crosby when the 2005 Memorial Cup was taking place at the John Labatt Centre. Anyway, Crosby is often compared to another superstar from the NHL, Russian Alexander Ovechkin. I'm assuming the only reason this comparison exists is because of the whole Russia vs Canada hockey rivalry, which brings me back to my first article: "Hockey is a national obsession."

At the other end of the glory of Crosby comes some not-so-pleasant news: the 2011 Winter Classic. That's right; the game where Crosby's concussion-related problems began. Dave Steckel (who hit Crosby in the head during the Winter Classic) and Victor Hedman (who hit him in the head the following game) are both lucky they aren't from Canada; they'd both be blacklisted in the eyes of hockey fans. (That's just an assumption that I make here, I could be wrong.) Crosby's absence from the game left not only Pittsburgh fans, but the entire nation of Canada, from Cape Spear in the east to Boundary Peak 187 in the west, in a state of shock. Crosby made his return after 60- something games out and was an instant hit, bagging four points on the night, leaving a hockey-crazy nation in a state of euphoria, only to go out after playing eight games because he was going to "listen to his body."

In my opinion, Crosby's finest moment will always be the 2010 Olympic Gold Medal game. That was when this 'kid' from Halifax wrote himself into the annals of Olympic hockey history. He's won a Stanley Cup (in 2009), the Hart Trophy (in 2007) and the Maurice Richard trophy (in 2010), but that Olympic Gold Medal could well be his defining contribution to the game of hockey as well as to the proud nation of Canada. The annual QMI Agency NHL player poll revealed that, "The Kid, despite battling a sore noggin as a result of concussions, is still the best of the best." NHL players don't appear to be concerned by medical reports, because they voted for Crosby as the player they would build around. Alex Ovechkin got just one vote, the London Free Press website reported.

It remains to be seen when Crosby does make a return to the game this country loves. Needless to say, he needs to be careful out on the ice, but when he does make a return, expect another loud roar of approval from Canadians around the globe for the man they call 'Sid the Kid!'

Originally Written for the Interrobang: http://www.fsu.ca/interrobang_article.asp?storyID=7987&sectionID=2&issueID=194
Image Credit: http://www.youthareawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Sidney-Crosby59479.jpg
Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDXZDvAUREU