January 25, 2006
Sidney Crosby And The Wages Of Hype
While Alex was scoring from his back, the league made sure Sid was mugging for the camera.
Here's Jay Hart from the Allentown Morning Call:
Let's get something straight right away — the mission of the new NHL should be all about creating the next Wayne Gretzky. Gary Bettman and the NHL can give us all the reasons in the world for the rule changes they've made — from promoting more scoring, to making a fan-friendlier game, to nurturing a revenue environment where small market teams can compete with the larger ones — but if he wants to reintroduce the league to a broader public, he needs to concentrate all his efforts on one thing: Promoting a superstar for a league desperate for a superstar.
First of all, players like Wayne Gretzky are born and not made. And no rule change the league could ever come up with would transform a Peter Forsberg or a Paul Kariya into the next Wayne Gretzky.
Second, am I the only one to notice that the league has been promoting Sidney Crosby almost to the exclusion of all others? And that this promotion has gotten so out of hand, that Crosby actually appeared on the cover of ESPN: The Magazine only days after Alex Ovechkin scored what might be the most incredible goal in the history of the league?
Just what rock has this guy been hiding under?
So, even though Hart might not realize it, the league is actually putting his advice into practice, and as a result, is helping to obscure the achievements of another player. A player that, as we speak, is a superior performer.
No wonder marketing advice like this comes for free.
One last thought: I didn't want to climb on the Anti-Crosby hype bandwagon. He's a good kid, and doesn't deserve to be tarred with the same brush as the folks in charge of his marketing machine.
UPDATE: In the comments, my podcasting pal Rob Visconti wonders what all the hoopla is over A.O.'s goal. For the defense, I give you ESPN's John Buccigross:
Alexander Ovechkin's goal (you know the one) against the Phoenix Coyotes last week is, in my mind, the greatest goal in NHL history. There has never been a goal like that in the history of the game. When you consider how fast Ovechkin was moving, how he was sliding, his feel for the puck, his quick thinking to take his left wrist off the stick so he could hinge his right wrist enough to send the puck on its intended line like a Roger Federer backhand winner; the overall core and forearm strength to get enough of the puck to send it the required distance, not to mention the will he had coursing through his veins to do all of that with care, concentration and effort. Well, there has never been a goal like that.
The defense rests.
YET ANOTHER UPDATE: For all your AO highlights on video, click here.
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Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 10:21 AM
OK--it was a nice goal. Really, it was.
But, c'mon--I can't be the only one who thinks that the hysteria over that goal is just a tad bit over the top, can I?
Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 12:21 PM
"And that this promotion has gotten so out of hand, that Crosby actually appeared on the cover of ESPN: The Magazine only days after Alex Ovechkin scored what might be the most incredible goal in the history of the league?"
A monthly magazine like ESPN The Mag would plan out its covers months in advance. So it's highly likely that the Crosby cover was already finished long before the Ovechkin goal ever happened.
That revelation may poke a few holes in the specific way you prove your point, but I still think it's a valid point to make. Keep up the good work.
Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 12:44 PM
Not to pile on Secondary Sid (ok, that was gratuitous), but here's a mind-boggling stat for you: Sid doesn't have an even strength point since January 3rd, which was also (perhaps not coincidentally) the date of the Pens' last win.
No even strength points in three weeks says something about where the kid's game is right now, and it's clearly not as far along as many would like to think.
Crosby will be great. Ovechkin already is great.
Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 12:47 PM
The Goal is the single greatest event in the history and future of the known and unknown universe!
Now that's sarcasm!
Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 12:54 PM
On a positive note, have you noticed the Washinton Post picking up their coverage of AO and the Capitals. They had a great multimedia feature a few weeks back, a frame by frame breakdown of "the goal", and a lot more coverage day in and day out.
Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 06:24 PM
Eric, do you think the (continued) wave of Crosby hype is a manifestation of the anti-European tendencies in the NHL's management? For years, European players were treated as lesser, with "grit" valued over skill. (And even some south-of-the-border North Americans got a similar treatment.) Do you think there's any bias leading into that, or is it just knucklehead marketers saying, "Americans won't care about non-Americans, and Canadians can pass"?
Just curious as to your opinion.
Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 06:52 PM
Maybe they are going overboard in hyping Sid The Kid. But consider:
- HockeyFight's David pointed out that the league's been doing a piss-poor job of marketing their stars of late. So if anything, they should be working overtime on promoting Crosby.
- As unfair as it is, it's a lot easier to sell an Anglo wunderkind, with an easy-to-pronounce name, than a Russian who still speaks broken English. How often will someone of Crosbys ilk come along? In the years to come, the next studs will be French-Canadian or European; I can understand the league jumping on the Crosby bandwagon, because it represents a limited opportunity.
Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 10:41 PM
On second thought, maybe all that hype is well-deserved...
Posted by:
at January 25, 2006 11:06 PM
sorry ctsiokos, I hadn't seen your Euro bias comment when I posted in the 'It Figures' post. My bad.
Posted by:
at January 27, 2006 02:52 PM
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