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AO In His Own World
by Paul on 01/21/09 at 08:55 AM ET
Comments (2)
from Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen,
The Zamboni driver has the ice to himself—except for this other figure, on skates, wearing what could be the underwear of Santa Claus.
The ensemble: Red long johns, red shorts overtop and a red T-shirt.
The figure is Alexander Ovechkin—bare head, bare arms, muscles bulging, testing out a new stick on the Scotiabank Place ice on the morning of the game, playfully following the Zamboni’s clean patterns.
While his teammates, fully dressed in hockey gear, wait patiently by the Washington Capitals’ bench for the Zamboni to finish, Ovechkin whirls, spins, shoots a puck gently against the boards. His own man. In his own world.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin,
Comments
If this was Crosby out skating around, this would have taken a whole different tone i bet…people would say he’s putting himself above the team, saying he is not a good leader etc…instead it’s about a Ovie’s love for the game…
Ovie smiles every now and then. You tend to smile if you’re doing something you love.
More and more, I think the legacy of Sydney Crosby will be “too much pressure, too much exposure, too soon” even if he goes down as one of the all-time greats.
As a result of expectations placed on him he is such a serious guy that he comes across as not enjoying the game. An emotionless robot- and as a Dallas Cowboy fan, I grew up listening to other teams’ fans hating Troy Aikman for the same thing, so I have a wee bit of insight from being on the other side.
Crosby is so perfectly bland in so many ways that the times he isn’t it’s blown out of proportion. He’s an emotional blank? Except when he snaps and acts like a prick. And because of how he conducts himself 95% of the time, that 5% sticks out at us.
Had he just been allowed to have a couple years of being one of the best offensive players in the world, enjoying life, the game, and getting to learn his place on the team- he might’ve gone down as the next Yzerman, or Mario. Players who, if not universally liked, were well respected by other teams fans. Instead he’s one of the most reviled players in the league because everyone who isn’t a Pens fan is so sick of hearing about him that their eyes go red. It’s funny how things turn out.
Could be worse, Pens. In 3 years Toews will be the same thing, with less skill and more injuries.
Posted by shanetx on 01/21/09 at 03:06 PM ET
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If this was Crosby out skating around, this would have taken a whole different tone i bet…people would say he’s putting himself above the team, saying he is not a good leader etc…instead it’s about a Ovie’s love for the game…
Posted by greg on 01/21/09 at 12:01 PM ET