Georges St. Pierre: More Popular than Wayne Gretzky?
By Kevin Nelson
Not so long ago, UFC President Dana White made a statement while promoting the UFC 124 event in Montreal. Never one to shy away from controversy or create it, he made a statement claiming Georges St. Pierre is Canada’s most famous athlete and even more famous then (gasp) Wayne Gretzky.
To utter such words in Canada is blasphemy. But when hearing that statement one can’t help but to compare the two and further investigate whether those statements made by Dana White are true.
One must ask some questions…
Is GSP Canada’s most famous athlete?
To make a statement like that is very broad considering the famous athletes that had been successful in this country. Justin Morneau has been an MVP in major league baseball and so has Larry Walker and also Joey Votto, the most recent winner.
Baseball is considered very popular in Asia as well as Latin America, so one could make the argument that either one is more popular. Boxing despite the UFC stating otherwise, is globally popular.
Lennox Lewis is the former heavyweight champion. But we can’t really claim him as our own, due to his British roots. Olympics is global, so Donovan Bailey comes to mind, but currently I will state he (GSP) is the most famous athlete but not of all time and I will even suggest he is not that famous within his own province.
His popularity is internationally and within his home province I would suggest Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute are more popular due to the fact that most of their pro fights have been in Quebec. GSP has only fought in Montreal twice and is a very shy and quiet person; we as Montreal residents don’t know much about him, personally.
As well as, let’s face it…his fights are not exactly crowd pleasers.
Is GSP more popular than Gretzky within Canada?
This one is not even close.
Gretzky destroys GSP in this department for a number of reasons. Gretzky was what Tiger Woods is for Golf, Michael Jordan for basketball, and Manny Pacquiao is for boxing.
What they have done for the sport is that they have changed the game. They were so dominant in their respective sports that it was clear cut that they are the best. As far as St. Pierre, the debate still goes on about whether he is the best pound for pound or is it Anderson Silva?
Look I’m not saying Woods, Jordan, Pacquiao are the best of all time, but I’m simply saying when they are in action they are the clear cut best of their time…not necessarily of all time.
Who is Canada’s most popular athlete of all time?
The most popular has to be, on a personal level, Donovan Bailey, for winning the Gold in the 1996 Olympics. What he did was to restore credibility to the Canadian Olympic team after Ben Johnson disgraced this country in the1988 games.
Not only did he win but he also won gold in the relay against the heavily favored Americans, as well as not getting credit for being the world’s fastest man in the 100 meters. The American media dubbed Michael Johnson that.
What would follow was an epic race between the two at the Skydome in which Bailey after passing Johnson, the American claimed injury.
Afterward Bailey would say that Johnson was a “faker.”
Conclusion
This is the type of debate that ends with no clear cut winner but with more questions than answers.
So I ask the question who in your mind is the most famous Canadian athlete of all time?
Who is the most famous Canadian athlete currently?
I know there would be know clear cut answers but I would like for you the RSR readers to tell me who comes to mind for you when thinking about these questions I pose.