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Who showed the most heart/perseverance with their performances

Big Phil

Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
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I thought I'd make a poll out of this one. I know that all of these accomplishments were done very well under extreme circumstances but which one impresses you the most?

Mario Lemieux '92-93 season - He misses 24 games has cancer (Hodgkin's disease) and radioation treatments yet comes back and is 20 points out of the scoring race from Lafontaine only to win it and get 160 points in 60 games.

Saku Koivu - Had the same thing in the '01-02 season. He had cancer and chemotherapy treatments yet came back and led the Habs to a victory over Boston in the '02 playoffs.

Dickie Moore - In '57-58 in the middle of his HOF career he wins the Art Ross trophy with 84 points despite playing every game for three months with a broken wrist. This was his first of two in a row.

Bob Baun - Scored the classic OT winner on a broken leg. He was injured by a Howe shot earlier on, but came back to score the winning goal in game 6 of the '64 Cup finals. How important was that? The Leafs ended up winning Game 7. Baun's leg was frozen

Steve Yzerman - Got to love the heart he showed not only in the '02 Olympics, but later on in the crucial time during the playoffs helping Detroit to the Cup by playing on one knee

Bobby Orr - '76 Canada Cup was his last hurrah. Ice packs were all over his knee when he wasnt on the ice. Becomes the MVP of the tourny



I know I missed seom so I encourage you to add ones. Hey all of these guys showed a lot of heart and impressed me for sure. There is no winner, I think they all are. Still, write about others that come to mind.
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mcphee

mcphee

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Feb 6, 2003
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Koivu's return will always stick with me. A Mtl sports radio station was celebrating an anniversary last year, and they were playing clips from some of their memorable events.
Pierre McGuire was talking about how negative the original prognosis was. He quoted teammates, and no one was optimistic about Koivu's future,let alone his career. They spoke to Koivu's wife on the day he returned against Ottawa, and even though it was a few years later, it had a strong effect on me.

The guy has defined perseverance in sports, and has been an example of how you can use your situation to accomplish things. Koivu could've retired comfortably and lived very well in Finland. If he had done this, Motreal would have been poorer for it, in many ways. He contributes in terms of moral support, and actual equipment his foundation has purchased.
 
Weztex

Weztex

Registered User
Feb 6, 2006
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Koivu's cancer wasn't the same as Lemieux. Lemieux had Hodgkin's lymphoma with around 95% chances of survival while Koivu had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with even less than 50% chances. Therefore I voted Koivu because the few games he returns was a lesson of humility and a victory over death, not over a title.
 

Roger's Pancreas*

Guest
Riffo said:
Cam Neely scoring 50 goals
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Going to have to agree with you. From what I can understand, his lower body was in shambles and he still managed to score 50 in 50. By continuing to play, he did irreparable damage to his knee.
 

RorschachWJK

Registered User
Dec 28, 2004
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I am by no means totally objective when it comes to one of my favourite players, Saku Koivu, but i think he's the top dog here. It's not only the cancer experience, altough that was the toughest. He's had severe injuries as well, the high stick that almost cost his sight in one eye being the most recent one. He also gets pounded pretty badly due to his diminutive size but keeps coming at you nevertheless. A true warrior.
 
bishop12

bishop12

Ovyously
Dec 1, 2006
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Mario's return to catch up and pass Lafontaine...wow that's remarkable.

Koivu, it's hard to vote for this guy. How can you not love this guy?
 
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