Editor’s Note: Dan Shannon takes a look at All-Star teams as well as certain players and teams that have connected the generations.
I’ve always enjoyed all-star teams. There’s nothing quite like seeing the best of the best of a given profession working together for a common good. This was apparent when the 1992 Dream Team was assembled and the hysteria surrounding that basketball team was off the charts. All-star teams are so much fun that I started creating my own all-star teams with my friends. We’ve created the Baba O’Riley All-Star Team (songs everyone knows the words to but don’t know the singer’s name), the Aaron Boone All-Star Team (unlikely heroes in enormous games) and, my personal favorite, the Tina Fey All-Star Team (most underrated good-looking women). Needless to say, one can make an all-star team for any kind of subject matter.
The other day I was watching the Orlando Magic on TNT and as my friends and I were admiring Grant Hill’s unlikely resurgence, I said, “I love Grant Hill, he seems like such a good guy.” Everyone in the room, including some of the biggest nay-sayers on earth, agreed with me and I knew it was time to start an all-star team that included people and teams that our generation of sports fans, for one reason or another, has connected with. Naturally it’s going to be called the Grant Hill All-Star Team; here are a few of the favorites:
The 1995 UCLA Men’s Basketball Team – Probably best known for Tyus Edney’s last second coast-to-coast lay-up against Missouri in the second round of the NCAA tournament, this team is one that every college basketball fan remembers with fondness. I was once at a Celtics game and as they were getting blown out, I saw Tyus Edney come on to the floor and my friends and I started rehashing the UCLA 1995 postseason run. Then the group of guy’s next to us began joining in and, before we knew it, the whole section was throwing around names like Ed O’Bannon (from the “could have been a contender” department), Charlie O’Bannon and Toby Bailey. This team is the most obscure reference on the Grant Hill All-Star Team, but they’re a staple regardless.
Ken Griffey Jr. – Probably one of the coolest men ever to play a professional sport. Whatever “it” is, Griffey has “it.” He was the first person ever to wear a backwards-fitted hat at the Homerun Derby and, with his wobbling pre-pitch stance, he had kids between the ages of 7-15 practicing their best Griffey-like stance in the backyard. It’s easy to compare him to Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle, and now more than ever we can respect the fact that he wasn’t jacked up on steroids or overly pompous in post-game interviews. Griffey was always cool as a cucumber and he didn’t have to say a word to tell the world that. Now that we have entered the twilight of Griffey’s career and old age and injuries have constantly plagued him, we can sit back and wonder if Griffey would have broken Hank Aaron’s record, whether he would have won a World Series with the right team and if he would have done those great things with the class and style that he has always exhibited if he was just given a few more healthy years. I know his poster is staying on my wall and I will proudly admit my non-sexual man crush on Junior Griffey.
Rod Woodson – Before I knew what a “quality shutdown cover cornerback” was, I knew that I really liked Rod Woodson. He’s a person who just looked like he should be wearing a football uniform. Woodson was tough, fast and one of his most endearing qualities was that he spearheaded the cool looking helmet generation that now has members like Ed Reed, Deion Sanders and Ty Law. Woodson played on a defense that was loud, pompous and in your face; he didn’t buy into any of those gimmicks and quietly had a great career. That kind of class earns him a spot on my Grant Hill All-Star Team.
Some non-sport honorable mentions: Green Day’s Dookie CD, wall ball (a lost art), The Ultimate Warrior, Will Ferrell.
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