I have to take serious exception to the Rogers Sportsnet poll that they are running to decide the Canadian athlete of the year. In case you haven’t seen it, here is a link.
Now, I have no problem with Sidney Crosby making the finals. He scored the gold medal winning goal at the Olympics. He had an outstanding season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and a nice playoff run. And this season, he’s tearing it up yet again.
But Georges St. Pierre? This has to be a joke. Or just an example of how popular that Mixed Martial Arts is getting. Now, I like the UFC as much as any other warm-blooded male but GSP should not have made it this far in the voting.
He’s a fine athlete and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He’s the welterweight champion in UFC, the world’s biggest MMA competition. But, he only fought two fights in the past year, is that enough to be named athlete of the year?
He also couldn’t defeat either opponent in the ring and had to take the bouts to the judges’ cards, even though he won those decisions unanimously and handily. Also, Dan Hardy was a weak opponent and GSP had already beaten Josh Koscheck before.
The person that won the Lou Marsh Award for outstanding Canadian athlete and the person who should win every Canadian honour this year is Joey Votto. He remarkably led the Reds to the post-season, finished among the leaders in the three triple crown catergories and won the NL MVP award.
That’s a resume that’s much more deserving than a guy who competed for 50 total minutes this year.
So, sure, give St. Pierre the fighter of the year award — something he truly deserves — but don’t tell me he is the athlete of the year.