Tweet
Agree or disagree with Grange? 
Me personally, I would say Ben Johnson but Grange might actually have a point here.
Source - Click here
Me personally, I would say Ben Johnson but Grange might actually have a point here.
But think about it: Do his fans in the United States really understand how rare and unusual his background is? There are smalltown heroes all over the United States, but even in most of those places there is an infrastructure – coaching, tradition, precedent – that can identify talent and push it upwards. In Canada a means to elevate a kid like Nash hadn’t really been invented yet. The odds of this guy making it are staggering, as evidence by the fact he’s only person in Canadian history to have had an impactful NBA career (Jamaal Magloire’s excuse-me all-star appearance, with all due respect, doesn’t quite cut it) and there’s been no threat of one really since he arrived. That may be changing and I know there’s a lot of excitement about the young kids in the pipeline, but there’s a long road before any of them are earning multiple NBA all-star selections, MVP awards and Hall of Fame consideration.
Similarly, have Canadians quite grasped how good Nash is and was? I’m not sure I did. But believe me, the next time a true freshman leads a no-name NCAA school to one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history; I will pay attention. The next time a six-foot-twp point guard dominates his conference; I will pay attention; the next time he gets picked in the middle of the first round of the NBA draft, I will pay attention. The next time he lifts Canada to a seventh-place finish at the Olympic Games with a 5-2 record, I will pay attention. Not that I didn’t the first time around, but I think we all understand the context of those achievements much better now than we did before for any number of reasons.
I have no problem making an argument that Steve Nash is the best athlete in Canadian history, bar none. No one else is even close (and I say this with a full measure of respect to Gretzky, Ferguson Jenkins, Larry Walker; Mario; Clara Hughes; Mike Weir and many others). I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t go down as Canada’s athlete of the 21st century. Over time he should be to Canada what Babe Ruth or Johnny Unitas is to the United States: part of a nation’s mythical fabric; an archetype against which others are measured and compared.
Similarly, have Canadians quite grasped how good Nash is and was? I’m not sure I did. But believe me, the next time a true freshman leads a no-name NCAA school to one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history; I will pay attention. The next time a six-foot-twp point guard dominates his conference; I will pay attention; the next time he gets picked in the middle of the first round of the NBA draft, I will pay attention. The next time he lifts Canada to a seventh-place finish at the Olympic Games with a 5-2 record, I will pay attention. Not that I didn’t the first time around, but I think we all understand the context of those achievements much better now than we did before for any number of reasons.
I have no problem making an argument that Steve Nash is the best athlete in Canadian history, bar none. No one else is even close (and I say this with a full measure of respect to Gretzky, Ferguson Jenkins, Larry Walker; Mario; Clara Hughes; Mike Weir and many others). I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t go down as Canada’s athlete of the 21st century. Over time he should be to Canada what Babe Ruth or Johnny Unitas is to the United States: part of a nation’s mythical fabric; an archetype against which others are measured and compared.
Comment