Georges St. Pierre named 'Canadian Athlete of the Year' 2008 in landslide

by MMAmania.com on Dec 22, 2008 2:53 PM EST

Quoteworthy:

"It's an honour for me to have this award and being the first MMA guy to receive something like this. I want to congratulate the other nominees because they have done an incredible job in their respective sports, making this an even more special honour.... I want to thank everybody for their support and voting for me -- I want to be a good Canadian ambassador for the sport and represent MMA well."

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre responds to being named the 2008 Canadian Athlete of the Year by SportsNet.ca voters in a week-long competition, defeating hockey player Jarome Iginla, Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc, tennis player Daniel Nestor and baseball player Justin Morneau. "Rush" received a resounding 89 percent of the votes. He will defend his 170-pound title at UFC 94: "St. Pierre vs. Penn 2" on January 31. For more on this award click here.

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GSP – AdamG, your boy is next. He’s gonna get his cabbage patch face smashed:) On a serious note, this is one more small step to our sport being respected by everyone.

by NameNotRequired on Dec 22, 2008 2:57 PM EST reply actions

side note, I voted for the cripple!
sportsnet.ca, are they the guys with the douche bag doing the interviews? the one who badgered and interrupted serra?

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:01 PM EST up reply actions

No, that’s TSN’s Michael Landsberg :)

by GrahfZilla on Dec 22, 2008 3:16 PM EST up reply actions

I voted for Steven Hawking

by O Damn he got caught on Dec 22, 2008 3:49 PM EST up reply actions

lol, good one. 89% of the vote??? That’s almost as big an @ss whooping than the one BJ’s gonna get next month!

by RedDog on Dec 22, 2008 5:22 PM EST up reply actions

I saw GSP lat night in Montreal Opera night club. MAN this guy is the man!!! such a nice guy glade he won this- i offered him a vodka shot he refused :(

by ricky on Dec 22, 2008 7:17 PM EST up reply actions

Very true, and as another positive point, at least it wasn’t a hockey player.

by chefdaddy on Dec 22, 2008 9:35 PM EST up reply actions

Is this a joke? Canadians are seriously losing their minds! I respect and congratulate GSP on this award, but can’t believe a non hockey player won! isn’t steve nash canadian? wow!!!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:00 PM EST reply actions

What does Steve Nash have to do with GSP winning? he wasn’t even nominated! GSP Rules!

by Markie on Dec 22, 2008 3:04 PM EST up reply actions

thats the point! an NBA MVP doesn’t get nominated! thank you for making my point.
my guess, Cote on the computer from the hospital voting over and over again for GSP…

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:05 PM EST up reply actions

lol, thanks mania, you really know how to kick a man when he’s down. you wrote before you read 60% of posts, but it’s a 100% of mine. well you probably smiled at the comments, and I know you read them, so I’m satisfied! as usual, love the site!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:09 PM EST up reply actions

Nash wasn’t MVP last year and when he was he was voted Canadian Athlete of the year!

by Markie on Dec 22, 2008 3:15 PM EST up reply actions

He wasn’t last year, but still is more recognizable and popular, I know he wasn’t “last years” MVP.

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:19 PM EST up reply actions

Belive it or no NBA is not that big in Canada, well not as big as hockey or MMA now I guess

by jet99 on Dec 22, 2008 3:30 PM EST up reply actions

Steve Nash wasn’t MVP last year, plus he chose not to play for the Canadian team … so fuck him

by Reether on Dec 22, 2008 4:04 PM EST up reply actions

yea nash barely makes the top ten canadien hockey players. and the only hockey player on the vote was Iginla—-most over rated player in the NHL
congrats gsp

by Nish on Dec 22, 2008 4:50 PM EST up reply actions

Steve Nash plays basketball actually…Rick Nash (NHL) is actually American

by McArthur on Dec 22, 2008 5:07 PM EST up reply actions

what? no he isnt

by trig on Dec 22, 2008 5:12 PM EST up reply actions

Rick Nash is CANADIAN thank you very much…

by newfie on Dec 22, 2008 5:57 PM EST up reply actions

playing for an American team doesnt make him Canadian..come on people..do a lil bit of research before you make a post.

by newfie on Dec 22, 2008 5:58 PM EST up reply actions

Rick Nash is canadian and he is a hell of a goalscorer.. but still Sidney Crosby is the biggest star out of all these ppl.. and Hockey is the national sport of Canada, i’ve never even heard of the tennis player and i watch alot of tennis!

by RoB on Dec 22, 2008 6:51 PM EST up reply actions

you dont watch alot of tennis if you havent heard of Daniel Nestor sorry…

by newfie on Dec 22, 2008 6:59 PM EST up reply actions

haha yea i do.. Daniel Nestor? is he even ranked top 50 in the world? i watch the best go at it..

by RoB on Dec 22, 2008 8:56 PM EST up reply actions

ok i looked him up, he’s old now.. and he’s a great double player.. but the double titles doesn’t mean shit compared to the singles! single games is what’s popular double games barely even gets TV time..

by RoB on Dec 22, 2008 8:59 PM EST up reply actions

actually lacross is canada’s national sport ahahah

by Nish on Dec 23, 2008 5:28 AM EST up reply actions

haha i was juust gonna point that one out

by andy on Dec 23, 2008 8:37 AM EST up reply actions

Steve Nash is not having a very good year. It is exciting that MMA is getting to the point where fighters are being recognized on this level. Props to GSP!!!

by LJ on Dec 23, 2008 2:49 PM EST up reply actions

Your kidding yourself if you think that the majority of canadians even care about this “award”. It is not recognized as a major achievement, now the Lou Marsh award (won by Chantel) is generally seen as the true canadian athlete of the year.

Also, I would wager that a signifigant number of votes came from non-canadians seeing as this contest was promoted heavily on many mma websites.

by kcmay17 on Dec 22, 2008 4:17 PM EST up reply actions

You’re kidding yourself if you actually think people outside of Canada give a shit about Canadian sports. We’re just happy that GSP, an MMA fighter, was given an award that wasn’t strictly an MMA award. I couldn’t care less about Canada’s most prestigious sports award. Seriously…

by R-Dizzle on Dec 22, 2008 5:22 PM EST up reply actions

No, no… what I’m trying to say is, while I agree GSP being recognized is a well deserved achievement, I just don’t think he wins this without the support from the online mma community and I don’t think many other people voted.
Maybe this leads to more respect from the mainstream media, I don’t know, but this story is bigger on the web than it is in Canada. It’s a shame.
Oh and there’s nothing prestigious about the award, when those are the top nominees we could come up with.

by kcmay17 on Dec 22, 2008 5:40 PM EST up reply actions

Penn 2, not Serra 2.

by Miles Hackett on Dec 22, 2008 3:04 PM EST reply actions

Thanks. I always do that … dunno the reason.

by MMAmania on Dec 22, 2008 3:08 PM EST up reply actions

I want your job.

by medecine balls on Dec 22, 2008 5:35 PM EST up reply actions

I am Canadian and I feel this is deservedly so. Good for you GSP. I just didn’t want to see Sydney Crosby win another award just cause he is next big thing in hockey.

by TKO on Dec 22, 2008 3:05 PM EST reply actions

so am I and I feel the same way

by McArthur on Dec 22, 2008 3:34 PM EST up reply actions

I’m canadian too and glad GSP won it. Plus Ovechkin > Crosby … no player plays with more passion

by Reether on Dec 22, 2008 4:01 PM EST up reply actions

Basketball is for LIMP WRISTED BISEXUALS.

by the spyder on Dec 22, 2008 3:06 PM EST reply actions

I don’t watch much basketball anymore, it’s gotten too out of control compared to when I was a kid (in the 80’s). Just making a point that one of the best players in a league that is world wide wasn’t even nominated! I think it’s great that an mma guy won an award and think its a good thing for the sport, I just think it’s bogus!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:07 PM EST up reply actions

GSP is the WORLD CHAMPION WW …well deserved award…

by McArthur on Dec 22, 2008 4:05 PM EST up reply actions

for a month more!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 4:06 PM EST up reply actions

haha…that remains to be seen my friend…as for Alves, he’s next. Anderson Silva, haha, I’m not goin there. I am Canadian but I’m not stupid

by McArthur on Dec 22, 2008 4:20 PM EST up reply actions

aren’t they synonymous?

by DB on Dec 22, 2008 6:26 PM EST up reply actions

lmao

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 6:52 PM EST up reply actions

Another americans attempt to belittle a canadian. Got nothing better to do DB. By the way dont make this fight between GSP and BJ about Canada and the U.S(Im just getting that feeling, thats all) i love BJ, and im canadian lets just have a good fight and be honest to yourself nobody is gonna be on a one sided beating in this fight. It will be a war no doubt! let the best man win.

P.S.

There is a big difference between “Sportsnet” Canadian Athlete of the year and Canadian Athlete of the year.

by Tony15 on Dec 23, 2008 11:51 AM EST up reply actions

Lace up a pair of skates and put your velcro pumps away Sally. You wouldn’t last a period with the woman’s team. You do probably play a mean rusty trombone though. Thanks for all the free education.

by ArlovskiRush on Dec 23, 2008 4:03 AM EST up reply actions

How can you say that about a sport that has had stars like….umm Dennis Rodman….ok nevermind

by Bucho on Dec 22, 2008 3:13 PM EST up reply actions

Also, Steve Nash was not the NBA MVP since 05-06. I thought Iggy would win for sure, but thats actually pretty sweet. Quebec voting probably helped a lot.

by Amos on Dec 22, 2008 3:11 PM EST reply actions

Wow, didnt even read the 89%, guess the whole country voted pretty mucht he same way.

by Amos on Dec 22, 2008 3:13 PM EST reply actions

Atta go George, Im Canadian and a huge hockey fan, personally I think GSP could run circles backwards around the next best athlete in Canada. MMA rules, this definitely helps legetimize the sport.

by the spyder on Dec 22, 2008 3:15 PM EST reply actions

best point on this thread. any mma superstar getting awards over mainstream stars like iginla,nash and mornaeu is a plus. is there actually any denying that gsp is a great athlete?

by b.w. on Dec 22, 2008 4:29 PM EST up reply actions

Where is GSP’s theme song, “I’m Not Impressed”?

by the_mexicutioner on Dec 22, 2008 3:18 PM EST reply actions

i love that tune

by McArthur on Dec 22, 2008 4:47 PM EST up reply actions

I think I watched that 10 times and it’s still funny

by TKO on Dec 22, 2008 7:27 PM EST up reply actions

Tried once…maybe this time it will go through
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl-beMYQ-K0

by halljam2 on Dec 22, 2008 9:20 PM EST up reply actions

In my opinion, they should have given the award to unbeaten 2008 Tim Hortons Brier Canadian Mens Curling Champion Kevin Martin of Alberta.

by the_mexicutioner on Dec 22, 2008 3:21 PM EST reply actions

go kevin martin!

hurry hard!

by JB on Dec 22, 2008 6:49 PM EST up reply actions

I wish that Kevin guy would shut it…….

He deserves it, and by this time next year he will win it again.

He’s gonna take out Penn, Alves early in the summer, then hes going to fight and beat Anderson Silva. Thats right I said it.

by ACanadianPotHead on Dec 22, 2008 3:22 PM EST reply actions

lol, ok buddy, thats the pot talking. He won’t beat BJ, will maybe grind out a decision with Alves (but I doubt it) and has zero chance against silva!
He’s a great fighter and had a great year (was 2008 when serra ko’d him?)
but I can’t see him winning but maybe 1 of the fights you have up there for him!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:25 PM EST up reply actions

talking pot? Whats this Where do I get my hands on some??

by McArthur on Dec 22, 2008 4:21 PM EST up reply actions

HAHA, McAurthur….sounded like something I would say.

by Psyqo78®™ on Dec 22, 2008 5:41 PM EST up reply actions

Anderson Silva would win via knees to the dome.

by halljam2 on Dec 22, 2008 3:29 PM EST up reply actions

I agree, no one takes him seriously, hes just reall un -educated about mma and is really annoying in general.

by Mc on Dec 22, 2008 4:58 PM EST up reply actions

Wow 89% holy shit thats incredible, it does reflect what kind of actual athlete gsp is, meaning fit,fast,talented, powerful etc. The thing that surprises me was I thought MMA was too small to stand a chance I guess I was wrong, I thought gsp would lose, but with 89% there must be a lot more MMA fans out there than I thought.

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 3:23 PM EST reply actions

GSP is always a gentleman.

by Nate on Dec 22, 2008 3:25 PM EST reply actions

I agree, I heard he always holds open the door, pulls out chairs and walks cote to the door after the date’s over!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:46 PM EST up reply actions

+1 for bj-huggers

by Anger Jack on Dec 22, 2008 4:46 PM EST up reply actions

correction * +1 for BJ-groupies

by Anger Jack on Dec 22, 2008 4:48 PM EST up reply actions

Funny!

by James S on Dec 22, 2008 4:52 PM EST up reply actions

God I hope your right, pot head that would be a wicked year for gsp and would definitely put him as the number one pound for pound fighter in the world, that being said he would need a little luck on his side to pull that off.

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 3:26 PM EST reply actions

trackback tot his guys…if this happens in 2009:
GSP beats BJ, Alves and Anderson silva, I WILL NEVER post again. mania has my email etc. and I won’t use fake names.
NEVER AGAIN!!!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:32 PM EST up reply actions

Good.

by GodDamnMike on Dec 22, 2008 3:41 PM EST up reply actions

lol, but it will NEVER happen…now that I had to spell it out for our brain deficient readers!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:45 PM EST up reply actions

dam it i don’t want to root for gsp though kevin. j/k

by roy on Dec 22, 2008 4:02 PM EST up reply actions

Way to go out on a limb, Kevin.

by Kdog on Dec 22, 2008 11:37 PM EST up reply actions

I would like to see the number of votes and the number that went to each athlete.

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 3:27 PM EST reply actions

CONGRATS! WELL DESERVED!! GSP GSP GSP!!!

by ( (Adam G) ) on Dec 22, 2008 3:36 PM EST reply actions

ok looks like someone stole the adam g name haha

by JoW on Dec 22, 2008 3:48 PM EST up reply actions

wtf, this is the kind of blasphemy I never expected to see from Adam G; you are beyond redemption… Penn hast truly forsaken you..

by O Damn he got caught on Dec 22, 2008 3:56 PM EST up reply actions

you dont have to hate gsp to be a fan of bj’s. respect is different from liking or disliking. ive known ADAMG for quite a while now. he’s bj’s biggest fan bar none, but he still has the intelligence and respect to give gsp his props. this is great for gsp and the sport of mma. period.

by b.w. on Dec 22, 2008 4:25 PM EST up reply actions

I’m just givin the #1 Penn groupie a hard time =P

by O Damn he got caught on Dec 22, 2008 4:30 PM EST up reply actions

i know. :)

by b.w. on Dec 22, 2008 5:06 PM EST up reply actions

Kevin you out there? You should take a lesson from Adam g.

by Jake on Dec 22, 2008 5:23 PM EST up reply actions

BJ BJ BJ!!!

by ( (AdamG ) ) on Dec 22, 2008 10:46 PM EST up reply actions

Ha Ha kevin please don’t threaten up with such things, I know most will mourn your leaving us. :)

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 3:38 PM EST reply actions

sad thing is…you’re not far off! lol

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 3:41 PM EST up reply actions

He knows it’ll never happen cause Dana White already said he will not allow BJ Penn to fight A. Silva at MW; of course he claims the real reason is that BJ is too small, but I think the real reason is that off chance; that small chance; that maybe Penn DESTROYS SILVA. The Zuffa Execs would be crying their eyes out. Complete chaos, they wouldn’t know what to do with the belts at ww and lw, whoever claimed those would just be a “paper champion”. Even after he won the ww belt back from some interim chump; GSP wouldn’t know what to do with himself; there’d be a foot deep sea of bottles of wine and empty box’s of cheese littering the ground of his abode bearing mute testament to the shadow of a man who was once canada’s greatest athlete..

by O Damn he got caught on Dec 22, 2008 4:09 PM EST up reply actions

no one was saying anything about bj fighting silva! I agree with you’re point, but you were responding to something that wasn’t said!

by kevin on Dec 22, 2008 4:15 PM EST up reply actions

Yea I got your post up top mixed up, with the GSP beating alves bj a. silva.. must be my dislexia kicking in or somethin, I reversed gsp with BJ penn..

by O Damn he got caught on Dec 22, 2008 4:18 PM EST up reply actions

-1 for BJ-groupies

Dam dude – wth have you been smoking?

“Penn DESTROYS SILVA” – lmao

by Anger Jack on Dec 22, 2008 4:50 PM EST up reply actions

Ops I meant threaten “us” should read my post before sending them off. ;)

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 3:39 PM EST reply actions

O Damn he got caught, something tells me your a penn fan. LOL, Penn destroying silva..HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA…HA. Thats hilarious, penn couldn’t get within 3 feet of silva before he’d get picked apart, NOBODY in MMA can go toe to toe with silva. I guess its possible in theory but there’s no way in hell white is worried about penn beating silva. IF penn beats gsp and cleans out the welter weight division and vacates his light weight belt I could see dana letting penn fight the middle weight champ, I just think penn is flat out too small for silva.

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 4:18 PM EST reply actions

Nah, he could hold his own, probably more competitive than what we’ve seen lately too. Hell apparently according to Cote’s hand signals making it to rd 3 with A. Silva is some kind of accomplishment. There’s 2 things I think Penn would have on almost any other opponent fighting Silva at MW; and I’ll probably get flamed but I give Chael Sonnen a chance for the same reasons. 1) He’s neither guy is afraid of him, nor have they bought into the hype. 2) Both guys truly believe they can win; I don’t think there’s any doubt in the back of their minds about it.

by O Damn he got caught on Dec 22, 2008 4:23 PM EST up reply actions

listen there’s a reason for weight classes and that’s because some are packing more muscles than others and the height difference would be too much for BJ i mean he’s like 5’9 and Anderson is like 6’2-6’3 something.. he would kick him to death and then clinch up with BJ and knee him even more into death and BJ would be too small to take him down

by RoB on Dec 22, 2008 10:15 PM EST up reply actions

For some reason after listening to O Damn he got caught blather on I actually would like to see penn fight silva more so than fight gsp. I think it would be more entertaining, finally seeing someone pick penn apart and frustrate him I’d laugh my ass off, and seeing the “un ko’able” penn get ko’d would be satisfying to watch. Penns only chance is a flying heel hook. :)

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 4:35 PM EST reply actions

Being fearless is usually a sign of 1) insanity 2) stupidity :)

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 4:37 PM EST reply actions

I don’t get how “truly feeling without any doubt” your going to win is such an advantage. I bet most fighters “Know” there going to win, Penn "knew he was going to win every fight and has amassed 4 loss’s on his record and will soon be 5, maybe 6 or 7 next year.

by nathan on Dec 22, 2008 4:41 PM EST reply actions

Nah if Cote really thought he was going to win he wouldn’t have been holding up 3 fingers at the beginning of rd 3 right in front of the camera like it was some kind of accomplishment. Your either gonna win or lose, not just make it to rd 3. And besides that the hype train is all about Silva whenever he’s about to fight; fighters can say they don’t listen to this or that but the whole “he is the best p4p fighter in the world” HAS to get into most guys heads. I also think Hendo had the opposite problem in his fight with Silva, if he wouldn’t have gotten overconfident in his hands he coulda grinded that out. They always say the fight game is 90% mental; I’d have to say there’s something to that coming from the majority of almost every fighter involved.

by O Damn he got caught on Dec 22, 2008 5:02 PM EST up reply actions

it was everyone else making a big deal out of it, not cote.

by trig on Dec 22, 2008 5:13 PM EST up reply actions

you may have a point about hendo. i think he may have been more confident with his chin rather than his hands. he said he was a little stunned by the time silva took him down in the 2nd and eventually finished it.

by James S on Dec 22, 2008 6:05 PM EST up reply actions

hey guys can u imagine if gsp or bj penn gets injured before the fight… is happening lately damnn that will be a shame!!!!!

by JoW on Dec 22, 2008 6:05 PM EST reply actions

dont give JOHN any ideas.

by b.w. on Dec 22, 2008 6:21 PM EST up reply actions

Jarome Iginla? Sidney Crosby is 10 times better than Jarome Iginla these days.. poor list!

by RoB on Dec 22, 2008 6:26 PM EST reply actions

GSP will murder Anderson Silva … this fight has to happen!

by DownUnder on Dec 22, 2008 7:01 PM EST reply actions

Down Under- (Where? I’ve been there, beautiful land, beautiful people! The most beautiful women I’ve ever seen were in Brisbane!! Guys- you want to go to Brisbane) I have to respectfully disagree. I don’t think GSP would murder Silva. And that is coming from a HUGE GSP nuthugger (and I am a female, so….don’t start in with the gay comments, fellas.) I love GSP, but I’m nervous enough for him to fight BJ…..I don’t know about him and Silva. It wouldn’t make sense for GSP to move up in weight either. But I agree it would be an awesome fight…maybe… I hope Silva doesn’t retire, seriously.

Anyway, cheers to GSP, he is one of the few incredible role models in sports these days!!

by justagirl on Dec 22, 2008 8:00 PM EST up reply actions

Dyke, I mean justagirl :)

I see you point, however I really do believe GSP will win against Anderson. I am just pumped up for xmas and used a word (murder) which is clearly to strong :)

Guys: stay away as we are full. Girls, more the merrier :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

by DownUnder on Dec 22, 2008 8:45 PM EST up reply actions

Did they really need to spell honor like that?? We all know GSP has a heavy accent but theres no need to spell it like that. Show the guy some respect…

by SARS on Dec 22, 2008 9:22 PM EST reply actions

its accually proper to spell it “honour” in the old english language. we still spell it that way in canada as we are still part of the commonwealth and has nothing to do with having a francophone accent. we still spell it as colour and not color. if you are making a sarcastic comment then disregard my reply.

by Egads on Dec 22, 2008 11:47 PM EST up reply actions

I really think he can pull it off. Im also very nervous for his fight with BJ, but I would be nervous if he fought Jason “LiveWire” Von Flu. (all his fights make me nervous, even though he rarely loses)
Alves is gagger dangerous, but he hasn’t fought anyone like GSP.
I really think he has the type of skill that can beat Silva. Hes got sweet takedowns and incredible wrestling, with a nice mixed back of being a BJJ black belt and great striking. If he can bulk up a bit, he beats Silva in his “last fight”. This is gonna make Silva want to keep fighting, and unretire in a real hurry. Believe it.

by ACanadianPotHead on Dec 22, 2008 9:40 PM EST reply actions