Surprise, Surprise - Or Maybe Not

Guess people didn't forget Turin.

Either that or there's more speedskating fans in this country than I thought.

Or there's more Cindy Klassen fans.

The Olympic star, based on responses to The Spin yesterday, might be considered the early favorite to win the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's athlete-of-the-year, at least when it comes to the public. Some of the comments from readers are posted, and there seems to be a strong sentiment that Klassen's performance defined Canada's year in sport.

Of course, the public doesn't get to vote on the Lou Marsh. A collection of former athletes, sports editors, writers and broadcasters does that sometime next month.

But many of them - including myself - will go in to the meeting unsure whether Klassen, Hart Trophy winner Joe Thornton, American League MVP Justin Morneau or Steve Nash, the NBA's MVP, should be the winner.

So here's your chance for input.

What's interesting is that Klassen's dazzling performance at the oval in Turin came first, followed by Nash, then Thornton, then Morneau.

Yet it is Klassen's performance that seems indelibly etched in the minds of Canadian sports fans.

So far, the results suggest Klassen is ahead in the public's mind, followed by Nash, then by Morneau. Poor Joe Thornton is still waiting for some love.

And who said hockey always rules in this country?

Comments

[Sportsfan]

Klassen - it isn't even close.

[Andrew Barrie]

Thornton might get more love if he played in Canada. Nash gets our love despite playing in the U.S. because we only have one NBA team out of 30 teams in the League, where as we have 6 hockey teams out of 30.

So it is much more realistic to think Joe could play for a Canadian team than it is to expect Nash will ever be a Raptor, and so we are harder on one than the other.

[Jim Maron]

I really can't believe that so many people would vote for Cindy Klassen. She competes in a sport that pretty much no one follows unless a Canadian is winning at the Olympics.

Speed skating is a sport like swimming and gymnastics where a single individual often wins multiple medals. Sports that have lower rates of participation are more likely to have an individual dominate across multiple disciplines.

Besides - is skating around in circles really all that athletic? It requires two skills - endurance and a good set of quads. That's not exactly my idea of the ultimate athlete.

[David]

Klassen. Hockey does rule, but the performance that Klassen put on at the Olympics was ver impressive.

I wonder if the Mens hockey team had won gold in Turin and Thornton had been the best player if things would be different? I'd guess yes.

[Joel]

For an NHLer to get the Lou Marsh, he would have to have a brilliant campaign, preferably carrying over the brilliance to the international stage. We are a hockey country: the bar is set higher for our hockey players. So rule out Thornton.
Questioning baseball's validity as a sport is silly, since what it lacks in a cardiovascular workout, it makes up for in other areas. However, Nash had more obstacles to overcome than in his previous MVP year, having to take the reins on the team in the absense of Stoudemire. So Nash over Morneau.
Which leaves Klassen. She won medals for herself but also for Canada, doing so without expecting financial reward, whereas the others played professionally for oodles of money. This gives her an edge in people's minds, I think. But women's speedskating? How many speedskaters do you know?? The competition is nowhere near than in the professional ranks, and so topping out among the pros is better than topping out among women's speedskaters.
So Nash gets the Lou, though I believe they ought to divide the Lou into pro Lou and amateur Lou.

[Mike]

Yes it is true that the Lou Marsh voters have been biased toward Olympic athletes in the past. However Klassen's performance this year was so extraordinary that I feel she should win the award. The other three had amazing regular seasons, but their performances all declined in the playoffs (when the pressure was higher) and none of their teams even made it to the finals. The pressure on Klassen was enormous, given the fact that she only has one chance every four years to prove her superiority on the world stage. Also, there was additional pressure on her to produce because she was one of the favourites and because Canada did not perform very well in the first week at Turin (especially the men's hockey team). Her dominance inspired the entire Canadian Olympic team and she led the way to a record number of medals for Canada.

[Peter Macnamara]

I find it amazing that 3 Canadiens are the current mvps out of 4 of the major sports.
Peter

[Andrew]

This is just another example of the great Canadian inferiority complex. Just because American (primarily) sports writers vote for an athlete, doesn't mean that same athlete should get the Lou Marsh award.

Because I guarantee that if both Nash and Morneau had of finished second in voting for their respective awards, the debate would be down to Klassen only.

As well, if Klassen, and others at Turin, had of failed to bring home so many medals, numerous people (the MEDIA in particular) would have gone absolutely crazy. You don't see that same kind of passion for the MLB or the NBA in this country. Just ask the Grizzlies and Expos fans!!

[Robert]

I agree with Mike's comments about Klassen's performance and why she should come out on top. This is, however, a good dilemma for our country to have.

I'm also hoping a couple of votes go George St.Pierre's way.

[chad inglis]

Is it completely sexist of me to wonder why, when women and men don't compete head-to-head against one another in any of these sports, cindy klassen should have to go up against any of those guys in this particular voting? Shouldn't there be a male athelete of the year and a female athelete of the year? (I seem to remember that's how it was in highschool...) Am I a horrible person?

[Duncan Hall]

If Cindy Klassen's FIVE gold medals aren't enough to win the Lou Marsh, we may as well exclude athletes from niche sports from consideration altogether. What else could she possibly do to earn the award? That said, perhaps Pro and Amateur categories would be a good idea.