Slippin’ Sidney

There is no question that Sidney Crosby is an elite player and will be everytime he steps on to the ice for the rest of his career, but in the last two years has anyone become more disliked quicker than he has? He entered the league as the phenom who could do no wrong. His success came so easy that it almost looked like it was being handed to him. Having already won an MVP and a scoring title, and having already been in a cup finals, it appeared that things would only get easier for him. Fast forward to the current season, and boy how things have changed. Although he remains one of the best hockey players in the world, Crosby has become nothing more than a whining, temper tantrum throwing baby who just happens to have a big “C” on his jersey. With his team likely to miss the playoffs, Crosby’s on-ice antics and off-ice comments have grown tiresome. Whether he is jumping unsuspecting players like he did to Brett McLean of the Florida Panthers, or his constant verbal abuse of opponents and officials, it is obvious that he has a lot to learn about what it means to be a team leader, a superstar, and a spokesmen in a professional sports league. At times, it seems like Crosby is more interested in engaging in verbal war-fare with the other team than playing the game, making it clear that he is yet to figure out how to control his emotions like the Gretzky’s and Lemieux’s learned to do in the face of constant abuse from their foes.

Another factor that possibly has caused Crosby to become a ticking time-bomb is the fact that his chief rival Alex Ovechkin has not only out-played him on the ice, but has also surpassed him to become the NHL’s poster boy and is a fan favorite league wide. What might be even worse is that Ovechkin’s biggest fans seem to be Canadian’s who have figuratively adopted Ovechkin as their favorite son. Ovechkin has become everything that Crosby is not, a montrous personality that the NHL sorely needs, while Crosby remains a largely colourless individual. This is further exemplified by Sidney’s latest comments in regards to Ovechkin’s so called “show-boating” on the the ice, where he said that he “doesn’t like that kind of stuff.”

I was always a fan of Sidney Crosby, and I’d like to be able to continue with that, but this season has made it difficult. Hopefully it is just the fact that he is feeling the pressure of being the captain of a team that is about to miss the playoffs one year removed from the stanley cup finals, or maybe he just needs to lose the “Sid the Kid” moniker. Whatever it is, it needs to change. Come on Sid, the game needs you.