The Calder race may have been long ago, but the battle between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby lives on…actually, today’s NHL thrives on it. Well…maybe they thrive a little more on the Crosby side, since the entire NHL has jumped on the Sid the Kid bandwagon. The league has done nothing but relentlessly promote Crosby, almost to the exclusion of all the other players in the league. Think about it, how many more Crosby commercials do you see compared to anyone else in the league?
The NHL has a lot invested in Sid the Kid. So much invested in fact, that if the Penguins do not make the playoffs this year, it will be an outstanding disappointment. Sid the Kid could not secure a Stanley Cup last year, and this year Sidney the Savior can not even manage to get into the playoffs. Currently in 10th place, the Penguins would not make the playoffs if the season ended today. The NHL may have something to say about that. Everyone has noticed the terrible refereeing as of late, but in a recent game against the Washington Capitals, referee’s Don Koharski and Paul Devorski made at least eighteen BLATANT miscalls—all to the benefit of the Pens; a topic that was hotly discussed on the 1500AM post-game show for at least an hour. Maybe the league is not lending Sidney and his floundering Penguins a helping hand, but if that is the case, they should check up on the ref situation.
The refereeing may be giving Crosby freedom, but many of the leagues players are not cutting him any slack. Take Ovie for example. Also during the Capitals game, Sidney was caught in a verbal exchange at the Capitals bench, in which Ovechkin dismissed him with the wave of a hand. Sid the immature Kid kept it up all night, just as he has for the better part of the season; completely turning off many NHL fans.
In doing research for this article, I interviewed both non-hockey fans, and hockey fans. The responses can be summed up as follows:
#1) The non-NHL viewers knew of Sidney because of the NHL’s constant promotions; they knew much less about Alexander Ovechkin. “I think that if I lived on the west coast, not in Canada, but in California or something, then I probably would have no idea about Ovechkin,” said Max Schechter. “I don’t follow hockey, but most of the hockey promotions I have seen have been about Crosby.”
#2) The NHL fans are discouraged with Crosby’s antics. (That view may be entirely due to the fact that I live in Ovie territory). Hockey is becoming a top sport in North America, and many look to it for a source of entertainment. But honestly, his whining is a complete turnoff to non-pens fans because it takes away from the great player that he really is. “He’s a crybaby,” said Carl Endres, when asked about his opinion of Sidney.
How is this good promotion of the NHL? When one of the top player’s in the league makes a show of complaining on the ice every game? Also, how is the promotion of ONE player good for the NHL? They should be profiling many players, in order to show the amount of talent that the league has.
Furthermore, it boggles my mind that since the league has become all for promoting the entertainment side of hockey, that they do not promote Ovechkin more. Crosby seems to skate his way through everything, holding himself at a distance from others (including his teammates), and not showing us, the fans, any of the passion that a player like Ovechkin presents. Obviously Sidney does not care for enthusiastic goal celebrations (so why he has started doing them, I have no idea), but that is what it takes to sell the game these days.
The NHL has a lot invested in Sid the Kid. So much invested in fact, that if the Penguins do not make the playoffs this year, it will be an outstanding disappointment. Sid the Kid could not secure a Stanley Cup last year, and this year Sidney the Savior can not even manage to get into the playoffs. Currently in 10th place, the Penguins would not make the playoffs if the season ended today. The NHL may have something to say about that. Everyone has noticed the terrible refereeing as of late, but in a recent game against the Washington Capitals, referee’s Don Koharski and Paul Devorski made at least eighteen BLATANT miscalls—all to the benefit of the Pens; a topic that was hotly discussed on the 1500AM post-game show for at least an hour. Maybe the league is not lending Sidney and his floundering Penguins a helping hand, but if that is the case, they should check up on the ref situation.
The refereeing may be giving Crosby freedom, but many of the leagues players are not cutting him any slack. Take Ovie for example. Also during the Capitals game, Sidney was caught in a verbal exchange at the Capitals bench, in which Ovechkin dismissed him with the wave of a hand. Sid the immature Kid kept it up all night, just as he has for the better part of the season; completely turning off many NHL fans.
In doing research for this article, I interviewed both non-hockey fans, and hockey fans. The responses can be summed up as follows:
#1) The non-NHL viewers knew of Sidney because of the NHL’s constant promotions; they knew much less about Alexander Ovechkin. “I think that if I lived on the west coast, not in Canada, but in California or something, then I probably would have no idea about Ovechkin,” said Max Schechter. “I don’t follow hockey, but most of the hockey promotions I have seen have been about Crosby.”
#2) The NHL fans are discouraged with Crosby’s antics. (That view may be entirely due to the fact that I live in Ovie territory). Hockey is becoming a top sport in North America, and many look to it for a source of entertainment. But honestly, his whining is a complete turnoff to non-pens fans because it takes away from the great player that he really is. “He’s a crybaby,” said Carl Endres, when asked about his opinion of Sidney.
How is this good promotion of the NHL? When one of the top player’s in the league makes a show of complaining on the ice every game? Also, how is the promotion of ONE player good for the NHL? They should be profiling many players, in order to show the amount of talent that the league has.
Furthermore, it boggles my mind that since the league has become all for promoting the entertainment side of hockey, that they do not promote Ovechkin more. Crosby seems to skate his way through everything, holding himself at a distance from others (including his teammates), and not showing us, the fans, any of the passion that a player like Ovechkin presents. Obviously Sidney does not care for enthusiastic goal celebrations (so why he has started doing them, I have no idea), but that is what it takes to sell the game these days.
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