At least you guys got it right.
In voting George St. Pierre as Sportsnet's Canadian Athlete of the Year you did what a room full of journalists with the responsibility of a Lou Marsh vote bestowed upon them could not. You made the right call, and did not let political correctness cloud your judgment in doing so.
So as the kids say, props out.
I commend Chantal Peticlerc for winning five gold medals at the Beijing Paralympics. It was a considerable accomplishment, that, when combined with her physical disability, is truly notable on a international scale. But Peticlerc did not deserve to win the Lou Marsh award as Canada's Athlete of the Year earlier this month. Not when you consider the field she was competing against for the award, and certainly not when you consider the field she was competing against for her five gold medals. And clearly not when 89 percent of you voted for Georges St. Pierre for the similar honour on Sportsnet.ca
I do not come armed with statistical information on the number of paralympic athletes competing in her T54 spinal injury category worldwide, but I am quite sure that you could read the list in roughly the time it takes you to read this blog. The talent pool in her sport is an extremely shallow one. Shallow like I'm sure many of you will feel I am being by writing this blog. But that is a fact.
St. Pierre was given zero consideration for the Lou Marsh this year because his sport, in circles where people have never approached it with an open mind, believe MMA is too violent for mass consumption. I wonder how many of the Lou Marsh voters took the time to watch a St. Pierre fight this year before dismissing him as a legitimate candidate. If that group of voters represents a smaller group than the one that watched the 1500m wheelchair final in Beijing, then I'm confident the number is zero. Yet the Lou Marsh voters were convinced that Peticlerc was the finest athlete that our nation produced in 2008? Doesn't really seem like they did their homework, now does it?
It was politically correct to vote for Chantal Peticlerc. It was politically incorrect to vote for Georges St. Pierre. It's just that simple. For the Lou Marsh voters, it must have been like choosing between a box of kittens and a rottweiler. Even if the rottweiler is the best pound-for-pound rottweiler on the planet. What a shame.
This is my final entry of 2008, so thank you for taking the time to read my blog and rip my views over the past 12 months. Very good times.
But more than anything, thank you for doing the right thing this week. GSP finally got what he deserved. All he needs now is a little respect.