Derek’s Sports-Related Man Crushes
Following Jose’s lead, I’ll be diving right in, too. As part of my effort to introduce myself to all of you, I hereby submit…
Derek’s Sports-Related Man Crushes
1) Derek Jeter. That’s probably pretty obvious, but c’mon - he’s Jeter. The embodiment of Yankeeism. The Captain of the Universe/Empire. The guy might not have the OPS of Papi or Jose, and his abilities in the field probably fall somewhere between the two. But when he makes a nice play, he makes it look… so… good. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone muscle a 320-foot home run to the opposite field (or long out away from Yankee Stadium) as fluidly as he does. Lastly, he’s single. Any questions?
2) Eli Manning. What could be hotter than a Super Bowl MVP? How about a Super Bowl MVP with boyish looks, down-south charm and the glaze of innocence in his eyes. Sigh… Okay, maybe that sounds a little weird, but, as David pointed out, I’ve said weirder/less-appropriate things about the Giants quarterback. But can you really blame me, as a New York Giants fan, for being slightly excited - dare I say, aroused(?) - when, with the aid of a few holds and a clip or two (did I just say that?), Eli broke free of the grasp of several Patriots D-linemen and made The Pass? Really he’d be #1 just for that, but he loses points due to his recent marriage. Makes sense, right?
3) John Starks. #3 is #3 in my heart. In Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals, with a title on the line, John Starks of the New York Knicks went 2-of-18 from the field (0-of-11 3-pointers!) :(. It was painful, and most non-Knicks fans point to that game when discussing Starks. But really, the picture to the right says it all about this guy and his career. Sure, Chicago won that series, but how did your team do against Jordan’s Bulls? And nobody embodied the grittitude of my beloved Knicks teams of the ’90s like John.
4) Lionel Messi. This is pretty much a tossup between Messi and fellow Barcelona teammate Samuel Eto’o. I love their passion and drive. But what Messi can do with a soccer ball… man. ¡Que sexy! I don’t know what else I can say about it, except that he looks like he’s running with the ball attached to his foot. (Be sure to check out the slow-motion replay at 1:05).
Honorable mention: Samuel Eto’o, Jeremy Shockey, Chris Monroe
Peter on May 2nd, 2008
I remember that goal and sextastic it was