Professional athletes are often self absorbed and perfectionist bent on excellence. The nightly cheering from fans goes right to their heads and they start to believe their own BS. We saw that phenomena play out front and center in the NHL this week with Tim Thomas and Alexander Ovechkin imposing and projecting their needs and opinions on fans who really don't care. I think I speak for many NHL diehards when I say to Thomas and Ovechkin; grow up, entertain the fans and be professional. Playing in the NHL is an honor and a privilege.
Tim Thomas stepped into the limelight this week when he refused to attend a ceremony at The White House held in honour of the Boston Bruins and their Stanley Cup victory last season. We covered Thomas's bungled attempt at being an activist in this story.
It is pretty evident that Thomas has forgotten that he is a hockey player representing a team and a city. The Bruins goalie seems to be pretty convinced that we should care that he hates the office of the Presidency of the United States of America. If he is so concerned about the integrity of the political process perhaps he should stop playing a kids game and make some sort of run for office. The "Tea Party" antics don't belong in nets; they should be addressed in a normal and relevant arena. Not a hockey arena.
Ovechkin was equally as bad with his refusal to play in the NHL All-Star game. The moody Russian star has been on a downward slide for the last couple seasons and most would agree that his attitude is now much bigger than his talent. Alex tried to decapitate an opponent recently and the NHL handed down a three game suspension.
The NHL makes the rules and Ovechkin should be man enough to honor the rules of the league which made him a mega star and multi millionaire. That was not the case for this pampered blow hard. He made noise when he got the suspension, stomped around like a child, and then decided to sit out the All-Star game. That's right. Once again an NHLer with an over sized pay check is penalizing fans by sitting out what is supposed to be a game of the world's elite hockey players.
Thomas and Ovechkin are the poster children for greed and NHL fans need to find two new heroes that have not been spoiled by success. Good luck with that. Unfortunately, Thomas and Ovechkin seem to be the rule and not the exception. Sad but true. Hmmmm....
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