Unpopular Opinion: Overrated athletes..or not?

Is there something wrong about thinking that Sidney Crosby is overrated?

There is no denying that he is very talented and works very hard to perfect his hockey techniques and skills.  He boasts success such as being a two-time Lou Marsh recipient, he is the 2010 Canadian Press Athlete of the year, and he won the Stanley Cup and the Olympic gold medal in the same year. That is amazing for someone as young as him but I sometimes wish that people would stop boosting his success due to the fact that there are many other athletes who have many achievements as well.

Now I don't want to sound like I'm being ignorant to professional hockey but I just feel that there are so many amateur athletes out there who are just as deserving as Crosby.

Amateur athletes train just as hard as professional athletes, yet they don't get the amount of media exposure. And by exposure, I don't mean the endorsement and commercial side of things. By lack of media attention, I mean that amateur sports competitions aren't being shown as often as professional sports on TV.

It is obvious that the case here is money. Professional sports have become a business where millions of dollars is invested towards professional sports and pro athletes with sponsorship deals, jerseys, and other sorts of memorabilia.  People are also more willing to invest their money and time in buying tickets for pro sports games.

But this doesn't mean that amateur athletes should go unnoticed.  Of course there isn't the same budget, as amateur athletes are often funded by the government. However, I think just a little more exposure or footage of these sports should be shown, whether it is on TV, or even being written up in the newspaper.

Of course, they are not completely under the radar, but I do think that professional athletes often overshadow amateur athletes, who are just as talented in their own sports.  I mean really, the only time I heard about the  gold medalists from the Olympic games were only a few MONTHS before the Olympic games when CTV started doing a lot of promotion. 

Never have I heard of Alex Bilodeau prior to the McDonalds' ads or after seeing his picture on cereal boxes. Never have I heard of Jon Montgomery, Ashleigh McIvor, or Maëlle Ricker. I have known of many of the other medalists, but that was only because they are seasoned veterans or had an article written about them in the newspaper.

And let's not forget other athletes that performed well even though it wasn't the summer Olympics. Priscilla Lopes- Schliep, had posted the world leading time of 2010. Not only that, she won the Diamond League, which is the equivalence to the Grand Prix of Figure Skating...(oh yeah, I bet you didn't even know about that!)

Even then, I was always itching to know more about these athletes. The only time I ever read sports articles was when there was one written about amateur sports. Rarely, do I ever read anything about professional sports because the results are never a surprise to me. Every year in the NBA, it's always down to same couple of teams such as the Lakers, the Celtics, Miami Heat, and so on. For hockey, the Leafs haven't made it far in recent years...so why should I continue watching? Call me bitter, but is there a reason why I should have hope? I don't want to jinx them.

So instead, I turn to amateur sports, where it's far more interesting for me. Besides, I was never a fan of team sports to begin with, so maybe this is why I don't enjoy watching most professional sports.

I'm sure you all have a different opinion...so please, share them. I love a healthy debate.

For the record, I don't hate Sidney Crosby. I think he is indeed very talented, quite grounded...and very attractive. I just don't enjoy people and reporters boosting his talents. No athlete enjoys being overshadowed. I know how it feels, though  I know I was not the best athlete in high school.