The CFL Sucks and Other Musings

People will try to tell you that the world of sport has become cliché. For the last few years things have seemed relatively stable. Lance Armstrong was always winning the Tour de France, the Spurs or Pistons were trading NBA championships, the Super Bowl was a toss-up every year and no one cared much about the World Series.

And what of the players? Can they be counted on for variety? There were the usual suspects like Barry Bonds in baseball and Allen Iverson’s rant on practice. Shaq is usually a lock for some entertaining quotes and Temple head coach John Chaney did send out one of his players to intentionally injure an opponent. More recently there has been Ocho Cinqo and obscene gestures from Mike Vick. Maybe he should convince Randy Moss it’s a great idea to moon another stadium, you know, to divert the negative attention away.

The truth is, there’s always something happening in sport to keep us interested. It is a world that functions almost like high school; there is drama, egos, immature attitudes and yes, cheerleaders. And if the drama among the athletes isn’t enough to keep you interested the NBA, MLB and NHL are all experiencing a changing of the guard. Their older superstars have made, or are currently making, graceful exits while young, exciting, and marketable players are taking up their residence in the spotlight.

Here are some of the things that have kept me interested in the past few weeks.

1. It’s trendy to hate- I’ve come to realize there is a vicious cycle that follows the world’s greatest athletes. I first took notice with NHL phenom Sidney Crosby, who at 18 became the youngest player ever to score more than 100 points in a season, finishing with 102. Crosby’s rookie campaign was one of the most exciting ever, though it was slightly overshadowed by another rookie—Washington winger Alexander Ovechkin, a Russian superstar who at 20 years-old scored 106 points (52 goals, 54 assists) and became a media darling in his first year in North America. Ovechkin found he enjoyed life in the spotlight while Crosby was received criticism despite being similarly talented. He was called a whiner, immature and not ready to handle the pressure.

It is somewhat ironic that Crosby’s critics were mostly middle-aged men who never had the talent to play in the NHL, nevermind as an 18 year-old, the best player on his team and a nightly target for the opposition to antagonize- while none of his teammates would stick up for him. That irony aside, I think I’ve figured out why it is that people began to hate Sidney Crosby. The reality is that Sidney Crosby came to national prominence in Canada as a 16 year-old. At 16, he was the biggest story in Canadian hockey, daily being followed on sports networks and in the newspapers. Two incredible seasons of Canadian Junior hockey and one NHL lockout pitted Crosby as the future of the league—the only player who could win back the hearts of the NHL’s estranged fans after the lockout. People praised him for his off-ice poise and maturity while scouts drooled over his other-worldly skill on the ice. He was hockey’s messiah. The next Great One, like LeBron was hailed the next Mike.

All the while, Ovechkin was able to develop in Russia, off the radar of the NHL fans. Three-years later, the Crosby honeymoon period had run its course and just like celebrity marriages, things fell apart fast. People jumped off of the bandwagon and threw Crosby under the bus. All ‘Sid the Kid’ did was put an NHL franchise that was on the verge of folding on his back and carry them through the entire 82 game season. For his troubles he was languished with labels that diminished his character and integrity. Meanwhile Ovechkin experienced the joys of having his skills discovered for the first time, allowing those sick of hearing about Crosby to become ‘Ovie’ proponents.

I thought maybe Crosby was the only one to receive the brunt of this superstar hatred but I see similarities in Peyton Manning. Peyton was popular for a while, as an up and coming gunslinger, but somewhere along the lines everyone decided to hate him. Now I can’t find someone who wants Peyton Manning to win. I personally don’t care, I’m not a huge football fan one way or the other, but it’s interesting. Everyone loves Tom Brady, because he wins titles and appears in movies and dates movie stars—but Peyton is criticized because all he wants to do is win. Isn’t that what we supposedly want from athletes? To ignore the fluff and trappings of fame, and care only about producing a win on game day?

It makes me wonder who’s next? LeBron is a prime candidate, though his overall likeability will mean he shouldn’t endure what Kobe Bryant did. He is marketable, talented beyond what anyone could ever believe and playing for a team that is a while away from winning. Some already question if LeBron has the ‘killer instinct’ needed to win in the NBA (the Cavs are 2nd in the Eastern Conference). The reality is, no matter who you are and what you’ve done, sports fans run on an internal cycle. A few years at the top and you can seemingly do no wrong. Then they tire of you, throwing you off your pedestal as fast and far as possible so that the Next One can be anointed. They did it to Gretzky, they tried to do it to Jordan (with the Gambling) and they did it to Vince Carter. Talent won’t save these athletes, sooner or later, the hate is coming.

2. Pre-season predictions are useless— It has become true that I hate pre-season predictions above all other forms of sportswriting. They are nothing more than a platform for useless jargon about what writers think should happen. Or, instead, they go way out on a limb and make a bold prediction simply to be different. Don’t forget about the supposed ‘dark horse’ that every analyst and their mother picks and then passes off as though it is some big inside scoop (read: Chicago Bulls, Pittsburgh Penguins). And I am guilty of it too. When a new season is about to start there is a lot of excitement and nothing else to write about except speculation. The result is we all write, and guess, and then use those predictions to either brag about how sweet we are at guessing the same things as other writers or as published evidence of how little we actually know about sports.

Look at the NBA this year. It’s crazy. The Boston Celtics currently lead the Atlantic division with a .385 winning percentage while the Clippers languish in the bottom of the Pacific with a .500 record. And how many season previews did you read that had the Chicago Bulls as a ‘dark horse’ to come out of the Central division and win the Eastern Conference title? Too many for them to currently have a 4-9 start to the season. Oh, so you picked LeBron James to be the league MVP? You must have been the only one. Do not even get me started on the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic— I swear I’m going to have an aneurysm.

3. Canadian MVP’s- With Justin Morneau named as the MVP of the American League, it seems I should address two issues. First, people need to stop complaining. Would I have voted for Derek Jeter? Almost certainly, but the reality is that when you get to this level of talent, the margins that separate these players is so miniscule we need to turn to the votes of sportswriters as arbitrators to make these decisions. It was close. A talented guy won and other talented guys didn’t. It happens in every league, every season and yet every time people act surprised or angry.

That being said, Morneau being named MVP means that Canada has been producing a slew of top notch athletes. Joe Thornton (London, Ontario) is the reigning MVP in the NHL, Steve Nash (Victoria, British Columbia) is the two-time MVP of the NBA and now Morneau (New Westminster, British Columbia) is the American League MVP. If it sounds like I’m bragging, you may find it is because I am. It is a remarkable feat not likely to happen again to Canada for a long time. We have to take what we can get up here. Have you heard that we live in igloos?

4. Who cares about Canadian Football? Absolutely no one.- You thought it was only Americans that don’t care about Canadian Football? Last weekend, (or maybe it was two weekends ago, I don’t remember) the Grey Cup (CFL’s Superbowl) game was on. The epic title game pitted the BC Lions against the Montreal Alouettes. I know I should have been watching, because I love sports and it is a championship game. Instead I had the game on mute and did homework, and I’m almost certain that the work was more stimulating. Later I talked to my dad on the phone and our conversation went something like this. “Hey dad, did you watch the Grey Cup?” to which he replied plainly, “for about ten minutes, but it was boring so I flipped it to Nascar. Wanted to see if Jimmie Johnson was going to win the Nextel Cup.”

That about sums up the feeling that Canadians have for the CFL, or rather, the lack of feelings Canadians have for the CFL. I have yet to speak with a person who watched the game, and I live in the city of the victorious team.

5. College Football- Chad Gibbs is a great guy. You may well be familiar with him, as he regularly contributes hilarious articles to the BWC. Chad introduced me to the world of NCAA Football this season, and let me say, that is an arena where anxiety reigns supreme. I was previously unable to immerse myself in college football, mostly due to being unable to geographically link myself to a team. I think the closest NCAA school to my hometown is the University of Niagara, and I don’t know if they have a football team, nor am I willing to waste valuable time researching that fact. Nonetheless, through interacting with Chad I was allowed the privilege of cheering for the Auburn Tigers, and after a few history lessons and some interesting insights I was excited to have a school to support, so I could get into the hype machine of college football.

But let me say, the whole college system is built on stress and anxiety. Your team plays once a week, and one loss ruins your chance at a national title. Every play is so important and the pressure is astronomical. It’s is equal parts exhilarating and emotionally draining. The only thing better than the crowds is the hype. But in college football disappointment reigns supreme. My buddy Jordan cheers for the Oregon St. Beavers, and was overheard talking about how glad he is that Oregon St. is “going to get a sweet bowl game.” The whole thing seems so defeatist to me. I was watching football games and clutching the couch cushions like I was on a white knuckle flight. The Tigers lost to Arkansas and at the time they were #2 in the country. They now sit at #11 and I am certain that I jinxed them and that I am at fault for their having lost two games and no longer being in contention for a national title. I am thinking of sending Chad a letter of apology. More on college football in two weeks.

6. The Movie ‘Miracle’- Hockey is my favorite sport but I hadn’t seen this movie. I knew it was going to be relatively crap-tastic because it’s a Disney film, and all Disney’s attempts at athletic movies have been horrible, but the allure of the frozen game drew me in. All in all, I thought the movie kind of sucked, but Herb Brooks seems like he was the man. The best scene was when he made the team stay on the ice and skate suicides after their exhibition game in Norway. He was relentlessly skating them into the ground, telling them that basically they sucked and were worthless. The assistant coach and doctor had the ‘I think someone is going to die on the ice,’ look on their faces, but Herb didn’t care. He kept sending them and shouting degrading comments. People may question those coaching tactics, but I found the notion extremely entertaining. Can you imagine any coach trying that now? Athletes today are coddled like pageant-winning babies, and any coach who tries to get the most out of them is quickly cast aside as soon as the resident superstar casts a sideways glance. Can you imagine Coach K getting so mad at the American Semi-Final loss in the World Championships that he forces the team to line up on the baseline in Japan and run suicides until they kill the lights? I’m in the Herb Brooks fan club.

The runner-up for best Miracle moment was that the Russians were portrayed as heartless and cheap. The Canada-Russia hockey rivalry is one that I could write books about, so I was glad to see the United States took it to them and made it clear who had no class. And for the record, if Canada is out of contention, I do cheer for the U.S. My friend Connor summed it up best when he said, “it wasn’t just about hockey, it was political.” No kidding.