jim rome pimping sydney crosby

[tony hipchest]

i guess rome recently had crosby on his radio show (for what mustve been his 1st interview with him).

anyways i caught him talking about crosby yesterday on rome is burning. usually he kinda clowns hockey, but he is totally sold on crosby. he pretty much lumped him in with tiger woods, michael jordan, kobe bryant, etc.

he seems perplexed why someone as talented as him cant elevate hockey back into the #4 sport in america (of course acknowledging he still has to win a cup).

good to see him get some spotlight though.

question for the natives on a subject that was brought up. will crosby always (no matter what) take a back seat to ben as far as being the toast of the town?

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

he seems perplexed why someone as talented as him cant elevate hockey back into the #4 sport in america (of course acknowledging he still has to win a cup).

He can't do it on his own TH. IMO, the NHL is horrible when it comes to marketing the sport in the states. When you are televising games on VERSUS instead of ESPN, you know you have problems. For some odd reason, the NHL is ready to show Europe what the NHL has to offer (playing games there next year) instead of marketing it in this country at a higher level.

Dumb.

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

question for the natives on a subject that was brought up. will crosby always (no matter what) take a back seat to ben as far as being the toast of the town?

Football is king in this city, so I'm sure Roethlisberger will remain God in this city compared to Crosby. Tell you what though, Sid makes noise in this city. Attendance since his drafting has proven that he has caught the eye of many Pittsburgh residents. He keeps going at this rate, I see no reason why he can't be on the same level of fame as Mario Lemieux in this city.

Eitherway, seeing how Crosby handles himself in the media, I strongly doubt he really cares who the toast of the town happens to be in this city. He just wants to win, bring cups to Pittsburgh and represent the game. If the attention comes his way, then so be it.

[tony hipchest]

being that football is king, how would you rank the "toast of the towns" around 90-92?

lemieux/jagr
bonds/bonilla
bubby brister

[83-Steelers-43]

Georges Laraque said it best when it comes to the NHL marketing the sport overseas....

"Spending money to go play in Europe is not doing anything for the NHL in the United States," Laraque said. "We're talking about wanting a bigger market for hockey in the U.S. What are we going to accomplish by going to Europe? What are we doing? The league needs to do better work to make the game popular in the U.S."

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_550646.html

Sid can only score so many highlights goals and do so many commericals in order to try and sell the sport in the states. I blame the NHL. When you have the World Poker Tournament receiving better ratings than your average NHL game, your in trouble.

It's nice to see a great sport like hockey get some attention from Rome. The majority of the time ESPN absolutely blows when it comes to covering the NHL.

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

being that football is king, how would you rank the "toast of the towns" around 90-92?

lemieux/jagr
bonds/bonilla
bubby brister

That sounds about right to me. The Penguins were winning championships. The Pirates and Steelers were going on what? Ten years since winning a championship?

I'm sure many would disagree, but......

IMO, if the Pirates won back to back World Series through 90-92 and the Steelers won back to back Super Bowls through 90-92, that list would be different and read...

Bubby
Bonds/Bonilla
Lemieux/Jagr

All it boils down to in my book, is hockey being behind football in this city hurts Crosby's chances of passing Ben Roethlisberger in popularity. Now, if the Roethlisberger completely tanks and Crosby continues at this level, that will obviously change. I think that's only normal. All things even, Roethlisberger wins.

Roethlisberger coming in and going 15-1 and then winning XL, plus the media attention he receives while playing in a football crazed city...he has the 'honor' of being the toast of the town.

Very interesting topic/conversation TH.

[Lord Stiller]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

he seems perplexed why someone as talented as him cant elevate hockey back into the #4 sport in america (of course acknowledging he still has to win a cup).

Crosby returned hockey to my 2nd favorite sport

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by Lord Stiller

Crosby returned hockey to my 2nd favorite sport

Hockey has always been in my top two, but installing the salary cap made me love and respect the sport even more. Crosby was icing on the cake.

If we did not snag Crosby in the lottery, I knew we would actually have a chance to compete in the NHL. Obviously we wouldn't be as far along as we are today without Sid, but I have patience. I realize that we can't win a championship every year and that it takes time to build a team. What I can't deal with is knowing you don't have a chance, like the Pirates with MLB.