Top Underrated Sports Moments/Teams/Athletes

[Robbie]

A Whitecaps game is something I've wanted to check out for a long time, but somehow never managed to. I'll be going to their game vs. the Carolina Railhawks this coming Saturday though, courtesy of my friend whose ABBA tribute band will be playing at halftime

Thanks for your response, Soundy. I've been waiting for a response to my thread, and finally someone responded to detail to my points.

The Saturday game will be a double header with the Whitecaps women hosting the Seattle Sounders at 4:00 PM in their playoff game. Will you see that game as well?

This is indeed unfortunate. I gotta give props, my buddy and I went to the Canada vs. USA women's hockey game at GM Place when the NHL All-Star Game was in town, several years ago, and damn if that wasn't some of the best hockey I've ever seen in that building (INCLUDING the World Juniors).

Yeah, watching women's games is definitely too underrated. Watching the Whitecaps women playing can be just as entertaining as their male counterparts.

Jacques also gained quite a reputation for being everything from an arrogant brat to attempting to ride his (more famous) father's coattails. Deserved or not, these being decidedly un-Canadian traits no doubt hurt his chances of getting any recognition "as a Canadian".

Besides, he's French Canadian, so he's, you know, not a REAL Canadian

But on an international scale, is a French Canadian still considered a Canadian? I wonder if they differentiate. For me, when I see an America, it doesn't matter whether they are from California, Illinois, New York, or Florida - they are all American from an international perspective. And even if a French Canadian is a half Canadian, at least they are somewhat Canadian - unlike non-Canadians such as Americans, Asians, South Americans, Europeans, etc.

There was a time when the Canadian national and Olympic ski teams were household names (Ken Reid, Nancy Greene, Steve Podborski ring any bells?)

Don't forget Todd Brooker and Rob Boyd.

I think a lot times, the "underrated" teams/sports/athletes are that simply because their accomplishments occurred in a time that the sport was out of the public eye, whereas lesser accomplishments will get more notice and fame if they happen when that sport as a whole is in a more visible position - those are the ones that history will deem "overrated".

Well, you may have a point, Soundy. But I would like your response to point #9 and what you personal thoughts are about Canadian University Sports.

I don't know you all that well, Soundy, but I assume you are a Canadian citizen and you have attended a Canadian university before. So as a former Canadian university student and now an alumni, do you have any affinity towards your Alma Mater that involved several years of your life? And one part of your student life at your alma mater is their college sports? Shouldn't you be proud if your alma mater became successful by winning the Vanier Cup of the CIS Basketball championship?

Should you support the local teams? That doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with following non-local sports, but should that be secondary? I think we can all agree that we support the Lions and the Canucks, and then the NFL is secondary. That said, shouldn't our local soccer team, as well as our local colleges take high priority as well? I'd say that Americans couldn't care less about Canadian college sports, so should we give a damn about American college sports - especially if we are not members of that alma mater?

[KnowItAll]

I was more often than not, the best player on the winning team of many a touch football game, over a decade and a half, but for some reason, the damn media never came around. Not one mention ever, grrrrr

And now, I am probably the only one that remembers, except for maybe my wife....sigh

[Soundy]

A Whitecaps game is something I've wanted to check out for a long time, but somehow never managed to. I'll be going to their game vs. the Carolina Railhawks this coming Saturday though, courtesy of my friend whose ABBA tribute band will be playing at halftime

Thanks for your response, Soundy. I've been waiting for a response to my thread, and finally someone responded to detail to my points.

The Saturday game will be a double header with the Whitecaps women hosting the Seattle Sounders at 4:00 PM in their playoff game. Will you see that game as well?

Don't know... didn't realize they were playing first, might actually try to make it down for at least part of that. It'll be a sort of semi-working day, as my friend wants me to get some pics of the new lineup of her ABBA tribute. I believe they're actually playing before the main game, and during its halftime.

This is indeed unfortunate. I gotta give props, my buddy and I went to the Canada vs. USA women's hockey game at GM Place when the NHL All-Star Game was in town, several years ago, and damn if that wasn't some of the best hockey I've ever seen in that building (INCLUDING the World Juniors).

Yeah, watching women's games is definitely too underrated. Watching the Whitecaps women playing can be just as entertaining as their male counterparts.

Not to be sexist or anything (cat fight! cat fight!) but one of the best things about the women's hockey games is the intensity between the two teams - fighting is (or was for this game) strictly verboten, but you could see there were a number of times that the girls were seconds from dropping the gloves and going at it.

One other thing I remember about that game: it was just after Don Cherry's wife had died, and all the Canadian women were wearing the rose pins in her honour - between that and the way both teams played, Grapes went from basically poo-pooing women's hockey, to being a bonafide fan and proponent of at least the Canadian team.

Jacques also gained quite a reputation for being everything from an arrogant brat to attempting to ride his (more famous) father's coattails. Deserved or not, these being decidedly un-Canadian traits no doubt hurt his chances of getting any recognition "as a Canadian".

Besides, he's French Canadian, so he's, you know, not a REAL Canadian

But on an international scale, is a French Canadian still considered a Canadian? I wonder if they differentiate.

I expect the French Canadians do Okay, not all of them... there we go, perpetuating more stereotypes

There was a time when the Canadian national and Olympic ski teams were household names (Ken Reid, Nancy Greene, Steve Podborski ring any bells?)

Don't forget Todd Brooker and Rob Boyd.

Indeed. Even today, if you ask people to name a Canadian skier, they're more likely to pull out those names than almost anyone since. Well, except maybe Beckie Scott... but then I mostly remember her for the HUGE grin she had on just standing on the podium to receive her bronze medal, while the gold and silver winners (both Russians, if memory serves) looked positively glum.

I think a lot times, the "underrated" teams/sports/athletes are that simply because their accomplishments occurred in a time that the sport was out of the public eye, whereas lesser accomplishments will get more notice and fame if they happen when that sport as a whole is in a more visible position - those are the ones that history will deem "overrated".

Well, you may have a point, Soundy. But I would like your response to point #9 and what you personal thoughts are about Canadian University Sports.

I don't know you all that well, Soundy, but I assume you are a Canadian citizen and you have attended a Canadian university before. So as a former Canadian university student and now an alumni, do you have any affinity towards your Alma Mater that involved several years of your life? And one part of your student life at your alma mater is their college sports? Shouldn't you be proud if your alma mater became successful by winning the Vanier Cup of the CIS Basketball championship?

I am a Canadian citizen, born and bred, but I actually didn't attend a university. "Trade school" would be a more accurate description of the extent of my post-secondary education. As such, I've never really followed college/university sports, of any kind. Nothing against any of them, of course, just never had that personal attachment to any one school that would lead me to try to keep track of it all.

Should you support the local teams? That doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with following non-local sports, but should that be secondary? I think we can all agree that we support the Lions and the Canucks, and then the NFL is secondary. That said, shouldn't our local soccer team, as well as our local colleges take high priority as well? I'd say that Americans couldn't care less about Canadian college sports, so should we give a damn about American college sports - especially if we are not members of that alma mater?

That's the... well, I wouldn't say down-side... the difficulty, I guess, of following school and minor leagues: the further down the ladder you go, the more leagues, teams, and players there are to keep track of. For the sports journalist and others whose professions revolve around sports, keeping track of them is a necessity; for the casual fan, they tend to get pushed aside by other things. Some can handle the onslaught of data better than others, but on the whole, it gets more and more difficult to identify with particular teams and players, and naturally, to find any kind of real information on them, except for the few truly gifted individuals who make the news on their own.

[Robbie]

A Whitecaps game is something I've wanted to check out for a long time, but somehow never managed to. I'll be going to their game vs. the Carolina Railhawks this coming Saturday though, courtesy of my friend whose ABBA tribute band will be playing at halftime

So how was the Whitecaps game?

Did you see the Whitecaps women's game too?
Too bad the Whitecaps women couldn't win another championship this year like 2004 and 2006.

[Soundy]

A Whitecaps game is something I've wanted to check out for a long time, but somehow never managed to. I'll be going to their game vs. the Carolina Railhawks this coming Saturday though, courtesy of my friend whose ABBA tribute band will be playing at halftime

So how was the Whitecaps game?

What I managed to see of it was great (we were working the stage in behind the stands, so I only got to watch bits and pieces). Lots of back-and-forth action, some close calls at both ends, and some spectacular saves by both keepers. Way more exciting in person than on TV. And the fans were REALLY into it, which just enhances the experience. Would definitely like to go again! (Saw a few people there with Lions t-shirts too... nobody seemed to notice my Bob button. Oh well.)

Did you see the Whitecaps women's game too?

Same thing - managed to catch parts of it in between working. Lot slower, but they seemed to be somewhat younger than the men's squad. There were a couple standout players though, one that was a REALLY fast runner. Lot smaller crowd, most didn't show up until just before the main game.

Too bad the Whitecaps women couldn't win another championship this year like 2004 and 2006.

Frankly, the Sounders outplayed them by a pretty good margin (not that I know much about soccer, but it's easy to see when one team is outplaying another). I'm surprised it was only a 1-0 final. The 'Caps keeper made a few mind-bending saves.

[Robbie]

#3. Grant Connell
Grant Connell becames the world’s number one doubles tennis player in November 1995. But I’d say I speak on behalf of all good doubles players when I say they don’t get nearly the same amount of fame and attention as singles players. It seems like the only doubles players who are well known are the well-established good singles players who occasionally engage in doubles competition. I’d say doubles players are definitely underrated because just like any team sport, in addition to great tennis skills, a good doubles player needs to establish good teamwork, cooperation, and chemistry with their partner and that adds an additional level of difficulty.

Congratulations to Canadian Daniel Nestor along with his partner Nenad Zimonjic for winning the 2008 Wimbledon Men's Doubles Championship. But unfortunately for Nestor, he will never achieve the same amount of fame and popularity compared to the two finalists for the men's singles championship - Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal.

Congratulations to Canadian Daniel Nestor for winning back-to-back Wimbledon men's doubles titles.



But where is Nestor's fame and glory, even in his own country?

[KnowItAll]

my own flag\touch football career sure didnt get the media attention it deserved.......sigh

[Robbie]

#2. Jacques Villeneuve
Canadian drivers have never been powerhouses when it came to auto racing. If a particular country has never had an athlete win a championship in a particular sport, and then suddenly one does, then it’s natural for that athlete to achieve instant fame in that country. I suppose if a Canadian tennis player won the Golden Slam all in one year like Stefi Graf for Germany in 1988, then they would get all the fame. In 1995, Jacques Villeneuve got the distinction of being the first ever Canadian to win the Indianapolis 500 and he also won the 1995 CART and 1997 Forumla One Championships. Yet, Villeneuve doesn’t seem to be getting all the praise and fame in Canada for someone who hold the such distinctions.

Jacques also gained quite a reputation for being everything from an arrogant brat to attempting to ride his (more famous) father's coattails. Deserved or not, these being decidedly un-Canadian traits no doubt hurt his chances of getting any recognition "as a Canadian".

Besides, he's French Canadian, so he's, you know, not a REAL Canadian

So I guess this includes the French Canadians on Team Canada. If the rest of Canada despise French Canadians, then perhaps cheering for other nationalities instead of French Canadians would be considered the lesser of two evils.