HedleyLamarr Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 That's a good point about Olympians. Someone like Mary Lou Retton can be a true national icon for an era, but how often does that extend beyond sports? How often does an athlete leverage success in a game into meaningful dialogue on national issues?Aside from the rare heroes like Owens or Carlos and Smith, it seems not very.Best example is probably Johann Olav Koss..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Do we know that for a fact?If it turns out to be true, and it causes the country to treat transgendered persons with more understanding, then maybe he could be a worthy addition to the list.It sounds like a National Enquirer story, but I think it's turning out to be true. Bruce Jenner would be a lot more effective as a spokesperson for the transgender community if he hadn't spent the last 6 or 7 years getting bossed around by and being the punchline for America's first family of vapidity. I don't think people are going to see him and think he's doing something really brave, though maybe they should. I think they're going to see him and think of the easy hack joke where if you spend enough time with the Kardashians you will eventually lose your mind and what's actually going on will get brushed aside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001mark Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Best example is probably Johann Olav Koss.....Yeah, the fact he's never given up his ambassador role deserves props. Not sure how culturally significant though. @2001mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBubba Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Paul Henderson. His game-winner in the dying seconds of the Summit Series is probably the greatest moment in Canada sports history. As the first true best-on-best series versus the Soviets, it affirmed (as we've proven time and time since) that hockey is our game, and of course had the massive Cold War narrative running through it. Nobody cares about your humungous-big signature. PotD: 29/1/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc49erfan15 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Does Aaron Hernandez become culturally relevant in his infamy?There hasn't been a superstar convicted of first degree murder during his playing career. Rae Carruth wasn't a well known player. OJ was long retired and was acquitted anyway.Does this change anything, in the long term, concerning athletes and crime? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG_ThenNowForever Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Sports rapists tend to be forgiven pretty easily if they're really good. I would say sports murderers too, but Ray Lewis has definitely challenged that perception. 1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said: and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc49erfan15 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Sports rapists tend to be forgiven pretty easily if they're really good. I would say sports murderers too, but Ray Lewis has definitely challenged that perception.I'd tend to agree, but Ray Lewis wasn't convicted. He isn't going to be serving the rest of his life in prison - Aaron Hernandez, unless some miracle happens during his appeal, will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001mark Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Hernandez certainly not. Where OJ differs is he'd already accumulated a full sports & pop cultural legacy.Just like if Tiger Woods had blown up his life in say 2001, it wouldn't be nearly the story as it was when it happened. @2001mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcan'tseeme Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I think we should all stick to Don Cherry's top 5 with regards to this:1. Bobby Orr2. Bobby Orr3. Bobby Orr4. Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren5. My personal favourite from when I coached the Bruins, BOBBY ORR**insert voice crack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001mark Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I think we should all stick to Don Cherry's top 5 with regards to this:1. Bobby Orr2. Bobby Orr3. Bobby Orr4. Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren5. My personal favourite from when I coached the Bruins, BOBBY ORR**insert voice crackOn face value, Orr is the 2nd best &/or arguably best ever NHL player... yet he's not that culturally significant. Not from a sport with the Rocket or the Great One.At the same time, it's fairly common knowledge that in all local Boston sports lore (so I've countless read & heard) Orr's name comfortably sits at the top of that mountain. Of Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, & Patriots... that Orr is unofficially the undisputed king of Boston sports is not something to take lightly. @2001mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc49erfan15 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 How about Bruce Jenner? All-American man who decided to become a woman.Do we know that for a fact?If it turns out to be true, and it causes the country to treat transgendered persons with more understanding, then maybe he could be a worthy addition to the list.It sounds like a National Enquirer story, but I think it's turning out to be true. Bruce Jenner would be a lot more effective as a spokesperson for the transgender community if he hadn't spent the last 6 or 7 years getting bossed around by and being the punchline for America's first family of vapidity. I don't think people are going to see him and think he's doing something really brave, though maybe they should. I think they're going to see him and think of the easy hack joke where if you spend enough time with the Kardashians you will eventually lose your mind and what's actually going on will get brushed aside. Now that Bruce Jenner is officially now Caitlyn Jenner, I think it's time to revisit this.I still don't think it makes Bruce/Caitlyn culturally relevant in terms of sports. In terms of transgender issues? Absolutely. But I'd imagine that 90+% of people that know Jenner's name do so because of the Kardashians, not anything to do with sports. They probably don't know (s)he is a former Olympian.Quick, in which Olympic event did Jenner win gold?I had to look it up. Culturally relevant due to other reasons, not sports. Case closed, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayMac Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 How about Bruce Jenner? All-American man who decided to become a woman. Do we know that for a fact?If it turns out to be true, and it causes the country to treat transgendered persons with more understanding, then maybe he could be a worthy addition to the list.It sounds like a National Enquirer story, but I think it's turning out to be true. Bruce Jenner would be a lot more effective as a spokesperson for the transgender community if he hadn't spent the last 6 or 7 years getting bossed around by and being the punchline for America's first family of vapidity. I don't think people are going to see him and think he's doing something really brave, though maybe they should. I think they're going to see him and think of the easy hack joke where if you spend enough time with the Kardashians you will eventually lose your mind and what's actually going on will get brushed aside. Now that Bruce Jenner is officially now Caitlyn Jenner, I think it's time to revisit this.I still don't think it makes Bruce/Caitlyn culturally relevant in terms of sports. In terms of transgender issues? Absolutely. But I'd imagine that 90+% of people that know Jenner's name do so because of the Kardashians, not anything to do with sports. They probably don't know (s)he is a former Olympian.Quick, in which Olympic event did Jenner win gold?I had to look it up. Culturally relevant due to other reasons, not sports. Case closed, IMO.Decathlon. But I get your point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildwing64 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 In my neck of the woods, Bobby Moore is probably the most celebrated footballer of all time. I think that's more to do with his tenure with West Ham, but there was also his captaining of the 1966 World Cup winning England team. Apparently cited by many as the greatest defender of all time too.Don't know how well that will contribute to the thread, I'm just throwing it in and I'm not even a soccer fan PotD: 24/08/2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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