Now we hate you, now we don't.....

I recently had the opportunity to read the Feb. 8 edition of Canadian Sports Illustrated, which featured Pittsburgh Penguin captain Sidney Crosby on its cover. Inside was a very detailed story about his rise to hockey fame. As I read on, I couldn't help but become more and more disturbed by the words on the page.


Most of us hockey fans know Crosby left Canada at age 15 for Faribault, MN, to continue training for what he hoped would be a future in the NHL. But what I didn't know (until I read this article) was the full reason for his departure from his beloved Canada: the kid received death threats from not only his fellow hockey players, but from parents and adults in the stands as well! His family began to fear for his safety, so they felt the best course of action was to send him out of the country. Could you imagine?


From the article: "I remember being in Pee-Wee, a guy trying to break my leg," Sidney says, swinging an imaginary stick to demonstrate. "It wasn't even during play: I was going to a face off, and a guy just two-handed it right at my knee -- like a baseball bat."


He also went on to tell SI that when he was at tournaments and sitting in the stands, waiting for his team's turn to play, he quickly learned not to wear anything that would identify him by his name. If he did, he would outright receive threats, from both parents and other players.


That story brought me to tears. I couldn't imagine being his parents and having to make that kind of decision. Kudos to them for how they have handled it. I'm not sure I would have been so gracious had that been my child receiving death threats.


I also couldn't help but wonder what was going through Crosby's mind Sunday after he won the gold for Team Canada, and his countrymen were shouting his name and praising him. Did he think back to those times when his fellow Canadians were not so kind to him? I know I sure would. It's sad, really. They drove him from his own country because of his talent, but now they chant his name in pride. A bit hypocritical, if you ask me.

I'm not harping on Canada, here, really. My husband is Canadian and I have found most Canadian people to be kind and genuine. It's part of the reason this story shocked me so badly. Here in the US, we have our fair share of parents who take their kids' sports way too seriously, too. Some of you have probably experienced that yourselves. It's one of the reasons I struggle with whether to even let my son play organized sports when he's old enough. I genuinely feel sorry for those people who must resort to this sort of ugliness, no matter what country they live in. And I think it speaks to his character that Crosby, despite all he went through at such a young age, grew up to be a pretty level-headed and kind young man. What a wonderful role model for our kids.


If you want to read the Canadian SI story, go to this link: http://sidcrosby.blogspot.com
Scroll down until you see the entry on the article. If you click on each page the author has scanned, it'll enlarge enough for you to read it.