What Is A Superstar?
Sunday, September 13th, 2009Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s
Instead of coming up with a semi-accurate, half-hearted definition of what constitutes a superstar, let’s consult a dictionary. Since it’s 2009, let’s thumb through an on-line edition.
Superstar, according to Merriam-Webster Online:
- Function: noun
- Date: 1924
1 : a star (as in sports or the movies) who is considered extremely talented, has great public appeal, and can usually command a high salary
2 : one that is very prominent or is a prime attraction <a diplomatic superstar>
When the Dany Heatley trade to San Jose was finally completed over the weekend, a number of sports news services identified Heatley as being a superstar.
A superstar? Really? Sure, only two other NHL players have scored more goals since the lockout than Heatley, but does he meet all the qualifications required in order to wear the superstar crown?
From my vantage point, a superstar in any milieu transcends their surroundings. In other words, even your dear Aunt Gertie that doesn’t like sports knows who, say, Alexander Ovechkin is, and probably has an opinion about him. Don’t get her going on the hot stick celebration.
Following that line of thinking, I propose that there are currently only two NHL players that are bigger than the sport.
Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The ying and the yang. The Beatles and the Stones. Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky.
Evgeni Malkin should be considered, if only because his on-ice talents are so immense, and only getting stronger, but I haven’t seen any tangible evidence that supports his inclusion into the select club of superstars. If on-ice talent were the only yardstick being applied, then Pavel Datsyuk or Ilya Kovalchuk, and maybe Dany Heatley, would have to be included.
Where these gentlemen fall short for serious consideration of being called a superstar is this section of the definition:
has great public appeal
Keep-in-mind every individual franchise has a player or two that is held very close to the bosom of the local fanbase, and as such, their respective values are usually inflated. For instance, Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets can be one of the most exciting players in the league today. His YouTube-ready goals, where he dekes through half the team, and some of the guys up in the press box, are a beauty to behold, and understandably, the faithful in Ohio would clamour that Nash is a superstar.
The argument is all context. Within the world of the Blue Jackets, Nash is the face of the franchise, thus he is a superstar. Within the expanded world of the National Hockey League, Nash is one of the young stars that make the game so exciting to watch. You could make a credible argument that Nash is an NHL superstar.
You would have to work awfully hard to convince me that Nash, or Heatley or Datsyuk or Roberto Luongo, are true superstars. They do not transcend the game of hockey. Within the hockey world, they are larger-than-life. Outside of those cozy borders, they would be lost, unrecognizable to the average person walking down the street of any American city. For that matter, the majority of non-hockey fans in Canada wouldn’t recognize them either.
Put Ovechkin or Crosby in downtown Manhattan (without the Zamboni in Ovechkin’s case), or on Manhattan Beach in Southern California, or in surburban St. Louis or at the Steak ‘n Shake in Battle Creek, Michigan, and most likely both of these dudes would be recognized.
For a variety of reasons, Ovechkin and Crosby are currently bigger than the game of hockey.
That doesn’t mean they’re better or smarter. That doesn’t mean we should all bow down and praise them (though maybe we should for all the attention they bring to the game). That doesn’t mean that their opinons are sacrosanct. So before the mouthbreathing bloggers of the cyberworld get their shorts all in a knot, keep this sobering thought in mind. Most likely your favourite player is a nobody outside of the world of hockey. That’s not the case with Ovechkin and Crosby.
Why these two? Well, we’ve already listed awesome on-ice talent as one major factor, but they have to have more than that. Both young men have been marketed very successfully, in particular Crosby, who became the face of the NHL as it emerged from the 2004-05 lockout.
Ovechkin basically elbowed his way onto the marquee, and his fun-loving flair that he paints everything he touches with cannot be denied.
The camera likes both of these guys, for different reasons. The media likes both of these guys, for different reasons. Hockey fans are drawn to these two guys, for different reasons. Love them or hate them, you’re talking about them.
Thus it comes as no real surprise that the sports media sought out Crosby and Ovechkin to get their opinions on the recent firing of NHLPA head Paul Kelly. Some hockey fans ridiculed the need to ask these two particular players their personal opinions. Where did they get off thinking they were bigger and better than the game?
Well, they don’t think that. Neither player put out a press release saying “come and talk to me about Paul Kelly”. It was only natural for the media to beat a path to their doors, because when these two young men speak, people listen.
Much like when a young Wayne Gretzky, after another blowout win over the woeful New Jersey Devils, called the Devils a Mickey Mouse organization. No truth to the rumour that’s what got Michael Eisner interested in hockey.
Much like when a younger Mario Lemieux, tired of carrying a couple of clutching-and-grabbing defencemen on his back almost every time he broke into the offensive zone, openly questioned the NHL about their lack of enforcement of their own rule book.
The hockey, and sports world, listened. And yes, some people complained then that Gretzky and Lemieux should just shut up and play the game. What makes these whippersnappers think they’re bigger than the game?
(There are reactionaries everywhere).
Both players were right. Bang on. And both were right to speak out.
So when Ovechkin tells espn.com that even if the NHL decides not to participate in the 2014 Winter Olympics, he still plans to go…well folks, that’s news. Washington Capitals’ owner Ted Leonsis, one of the more progressive owners in the league, did his best to downplay the comments, but the desired effect was already achieved. It got people, and no doubt the players, thinking about the issue.
Once again, Ovechkin elbowed his way in.
With all due respect, Dany Heatley does not have that same ability. Nor has he asked for it; if anything, he seems rather happy not to be in the spotlight. Ovechkin craves it, while Crosby understands he’s been thrust into it since an early age. Both men handle the spotlight differently, and they handle it well.
Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are the only two true superstars in the league today. Now what remains to be seen is if they can transcend North American popular culture. Arguably, only two NHL players have ever reached those lofty heights.
Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky.
Particularly Wayne Gretzky. The Great One is still the face of hockey for most of the world.
We tend to throw around words carelessly. The word great has been mostly stripped of its power. Anyone that is in the public eye is a star. In the sports media, we have also devalued the word superstar. I am trying to reclaim it for those few worthy enough to wear the crown.
Ovechkin and Crosby.
If you don’t like it, deal with it. You might want to start by shunning all popular media in North America. No doubt you’ll be seeing the faces of these two men plastered all over television, and magazines, and posters, and websites for the better part of the next decade.
- Mick Kern
Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s