Trying to pinpoint my favorite player in sports is an ever changing target. Players come, players go. My favorite teams have something to do with it, but my favorite players do not always come from my favorite teams. And I never rank players across sports. I have my favorite baseball player, my favorite hockey player, my favorite football player, etc. Today, I want to take a look at past favorite players, and then work up to my current favorite players in various sports. Why? Because I can, and I haven’t written about sports in a long time.
Baseball:
My favorite player growing up was always Mark McGwire. He was the power hitting first baseman of my favorite team, the Oakland A’s. I played first base in PONY baseball, so naturally I was drawn to the player who played my position on my favorite team. And he was a power hitter, and home runs are sexy, so there you go. When he was traded to the Cardinals, this was the first time I was forced to cheer for a favorite player on another team. And I did. I actually would root for the Cardinals in the NL, because of McGwire. And when he broke the single season home run record, I was pretty thrilled.
Then the steroid allegations came out, and really, being a fan of McGwire helped shape how I viewed the steroids era. I ended up taking the side of “well, everyone was doing it, so they might as well honor those who were the best of this era anyways.” Most likely I took this view because I would hate for anything to taint my view of McGwire. Also, I think he was a good guy who was frustrated with being injured all the time and found a way to stay in the game.
However, he retired, and it was time to find a new favorite player in baseball. This time, I went with a pitcher, Tim Hudson. He was a beast of a pitcher, and the leader of the Big 3 for the A’s for their playoff runs in the early 2000s. But I never really felt the same way about him as I did McGwire. I didn’t have that personal connection. Then came along Nick Swisher, and his attitude and approach to the game was so refreshing that I had to cheer for him. He came up with the A’s, but has since gone on to the Yankees. He is still, to this day, the only Yankee player I will ever cheer for. He just has this joy about him when he’s playing the game. He clearly loves what he does, and he loves his fans.
So, New York Yankee Nick Swisher is currently my favorite player in baseball.
Hockey:
My hockey fandom begins and ends with the San Jose Sharks. When they came into existence in the early 1990s, I was a pretty entrenched baseball fan. However, hockey was interesting enough for me to go to some games. I definitely enjoyed cheering for the Sharks, but I wasn’t a huge fan. And thus, I didn’t really have a favorite player. Arturs Irbe was probably the first player I remember thinking “wow, he’s pretty great, I like him.” I remember the Irbe; Like Wall graphics at the tank when he’d make a big save. And he was a big reason the Sharks were able to pull some 8th seed upsets over the Red Wings and Blues early in our creation. So Irbe was probably my earliest favorite hockey player, but remember, I was still mostly just a baseball and football fan by this point.
As I got older, I enjoyed hockey more and more, and since the lockout, I’ve become a huge hockey fan…to the point where its probably my favorite sport right now. The speed, finesse, and brute strength required to play this game is just amazing. And, as always, I’ve lived and died with the Sharks when it came to hockey. For a while my favorite player was Owen Nolan. He was fun to watch, and seemed to play with a chip on his shoulder, which I can appreciate. He was traded away right around the time I started paying more attention to the rest of the league, and I came across a player with all the heart and passion…and skill in the world: Jeremy Roenick.
I guess players who play their sport and clearly love it, play with an edge, and a passion that others do not have really appeal to me. Roenick was all of these things. He was also an American (a rarity in hockey) and one of the all time greats. When he signed with the Sharks, I was pretty ecstatic. That he retired without winning a Stanley Cup is still among the saddest things in all of sports to me. But he really enjoyed his time in San Jose, and has definitely left his mark on the game.
Since he’s retired, I’ve kind of attached myself to Alexander Ovechkin. He plays with an edge, and his game can be so explosive. When he’s on top of it, he can be just an absolute joy to watch. Same with Joe Pavelski. Both are great players who play with joy, passion, and a creativity that makes them fun to watch.
Football:
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, and living in the Bay Area, I, of course, was always destined to be a San Francisco 49ers fan. And, as such, my early heroes were from those great 49er teams of those decades. Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jerry Rice…all great players who I had the pleasure of watching lead my favorite team to numerous Super Bowl wins. After the Jeff Garcia-Terrell Owens era ended, the Niners became shitty, and didn’t really have anyone worth cheering for. So I looked to other teams.
No one really came along until LaDanian Tomlinson came out of TCU and wowed me with his running style, his tenacity, and his skill. I just enjoyed watching him run. I enjoyed his vision, his speed, and his power. He was the complete back. So I cheered for him. And then when Frank Gore got drafted to the Niners, I cheered for him for similar reasons. Watching more college football has made me a fan of players before they even make it to the NFL. Tomlinson to the Chargers, Gore to the Niners, and this year Colt McCoy going to the Browns. Players just stand out to me, and I enjoy watching them, so I follow their careers.
Today, my favorite player is still Tomlinson, who is currently with the Jets. However, I also enjoy watching Frank Gore and Patrick Willis on the Niners, Peyton Manning on the Colts, and Maurice Jones-Drew on the Jaguars.
So, there you have it, the evolution of my favorite players across my favorite sports. Hopefully this wasn’t too boring. Cheers!
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