ESPN.com is running a Bill Simmons column this morning from his archives from 2001. While the heart of piece is that Cal Ripken was no great shakes, Simmons managed to take a shot at Steve Yzerman when it came to rating his relative greatness:
Some people just transcend their sport. They endure. In Ripken's case, his record will obviously endure, but that record had absolutely nothing in common with the aesthetic experience of watching him play baseball. He never took your breath away. You admired him, but you didn't revere him.I'm sure Orioles fans will remember Ripken with that aforementioned twinkle in their eyes. But you know what? People in New England remember Yastrzemski and Bourque that same way. Same with Yzerman in Detroit, or Malone and Stockton in Utah, or Bruce Smith in Buffalo. Local stars always receive the "rose-colored glasses" treatment. It just so happens that Ripken played in the Washington area -- one of the dominant media markets in the country -- so he received more coverage than just about anyone else, especially as The Streak kept rolling forward.
Local star? "Rose-colored glasses treatment"? Initially I was inclined to give Simmons a break. After all, the column is more than five years old. But when I thought about it, he simply doesn't deserve it. After all, by the Fall of 2001, Yzerman had already led Detroit to three Stanley Cup Finals, winning two. He'd already won the Pearson, the Conn Smythe and the Selke. His greatness was already established, and it wasn't just folks in Detroit who felt that way.
Heck, why not judge Yzerman by the seven criteria that Simmons himself set to judge inclusion in the Pantheon on sports greatness?
1) The Kelly Leak Factor. Simmons writes:
When the Pantheon Guy makes The Leap, you recognize the transformation as it's happening. For instance, Michael Jordan resided in The Pantheon for his entire career, but Hakeem Olajuwon only enjoyed two Pantheon years (1994 and 1995). It doesn't matter who was better ... it only matters that both guys reached that rarefied state when they were just dominant. And you knew it.
Take a look at Yzerman's stats. I think the shift between the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons would mark that transformation in Yzerman's career from promising newcomer to dominant presence in the game.
2) Pantheon guys come through when it matters. 185 points in 196 Stanley Cup Playoff games and the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in 1997-98 when the Wings won their second straight Cup.
3) Pantheon Guys win rings. As I said earlier, Yzerman had two of this three Stanley Cup rings by the time Simmons wrote this column, not to mention a Canada Cup win in 1984. He would later add a gold medal for Canada in the Olympics in 2002, that country's first hockey gold in 50 years.
4)Reverence from one's peers. 20 years as captain on a team that featured greats like Brett Hull, Chris Chelios, Brendan Shanahan, Igor Larionov, Slava Fetisov and Larry Murphy. And last night, he may have been the first person who ever made Scotty Bowman -- the greatest coach in hockey history -- cry in public.
5) The Back-breaker. Simmons writes:
Ties in with No. 4. Any time you see Player X attempt something outrageous, and it works, and you can actually see the life get sucked out of the other team ... well, it's probably a good bet that Player X resides in the Pantheon.
Ok, Bill. Does figuratively stabbing Wayne Gretzky in the chest in double OT qualify?
NB: Yzerman picked up the puck off a Gretzky turnover, and scored it right in front of the Great One's face. That goal was scored in 1996, five years before Simmons wrote his column. It was on ESPN, so you figured that Simmons might have had a chance to see it.
6) The Bobby Orr factor. Again, Simmons:
My father once described Bobby Orr as being so good, "You stayed home at night to watch Bruins games, just so you didn't miss anything."That's the Orr Factor.
Between 1987 and 1993, Yzerman scored 331 goals, an average of better than 55 per season in a league where 50+ is considered the bar for greatness. I'd say that was worth staying home for on most of those nights.
7) The Grandkids. Again, Simmons:
The final test. After everything else has been applied, take a deep breath, shed your prejudices and ask yourself one question:"Will I be bouncing my grandkids on my lap some day and telling them that I saw (Pantheon Candidate X) in his prime?"
As someone who has only set foot in Detroit once in his life for more than anything other than a connecting flight, I'd say yes.
"Rose-colored glasses"? Not a chance, Bill. Not in Detroit or anywhere else.
Nice post, Eric.
Yzerman is one of the greatest players of all time but missed out on a handful of Hart Trophys given he was playing at the same time as Mario and Wayne.
Steve Yzerman is a legend in the sport of hockey and one of the few men that I think embodies what is great about the sport.
I still remember the first time I saw him skate live and it was during the first year of the expansion with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I found myself watching him more than watching the ‘Bolts try to skate competitively inside of an Expo Hall on the Florida Fairgrounds.
When I moved out here to Arizona, I had hoped to get the opportunity to see him play one more time before he retired and unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
The mainstream press does not get anything about how insanely difficult it is to play the game and what kind of strength and pain tolerance that is needed to withstand the onslaught of playoff hockey.
The goal you posted shows it all – including the years where Yzerman took his team on his back and played hurt just so the Red Wings can deliver another Cup to the city of Detroit.
He deserves all the accolades as he has more than earned them.
I wonder where the clips/highlights of the ceremony appeared on ESPN SportsCenter?