About a month ago I was sitting on my couch, watching a hockey game, and it occurred to me that we as reviewers are being rather single-minded. We do all entertainment reviews, with the occasional random review thrown in. But teenagers as a group aren't interested solely in entertainment. We like more than listening to music, watching TV, reading books and seeing movies. There's so much more to all of us than just that. And watching the hockey game, it came to me. We should try to branch out as much as we can. So here I am, trying to branch out into an area we haven't talked about yet: sports. Specifically, since we are doing reviews for teens, teenagers in professional sports. So I did some research on espn.go.com, and checked out the four big sports in America: football, baseball, basketball and hockey. This is what I found.
In football, there are no teenagers. Literally, none. I talked to my dad, and he said that it made sense because as a league, football wants players to mature and grow before being plunged into such an intense sport. So none in football. In baseball, there is one teenager signed into professional play. And I know this because I looked through every player in every team in all of major league baseball. Do you know how long that took? Regardless, there's one. His name is Bryce Harper. He's 19 years old, from Las Vegas, Nevada, and he was born on October 16, 1992. He was signed by the Washington Nationals. He's an outfielder, and as far as I can tell he's never played a game and he doesn't have a salary or even a jersey number. But the point is he was signed, and managing even that as a teenager is pretty incredible, so he deserves some kudos.
In basketball, there are six teenagers signed. They are all 19 years old. Going in order of the way I found them, we have: Jonas Valanciunas, born May 6, 1992, from Utena, Lithuania. He's number 0 for the Toronto Raptors. Next is Kyrie Irving, born March 23, 1992, from Melborne, Australia. He's number 2 for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tobias Harris was born July 15, 1992, and is from Islip, New York. He's number 0 for the Milwaukee Bucks. The more I look at this the more I suspect the numbers aren't so accurate, since it says that six different people on the Milwaukee Bucks sport the number 0 on their jersey. Which I doubt. Well...he may or may not be number 0. Anyway. Davis Bertans was born November 12, 1992, and is from Valmiera, Slovenia. He's also listed as number 0 - I'm now thinking anyone listed as the number 0 has yet to play on the team - and plays for the San Antonio Spurs. Then comes Bismack Biyombo, born on August 28, 1992, from Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. He's also number 0 (there's a definite pattern here), and he plays for the Charlotte Bobcats. Lastly is Enes Kanter, born May 20, 1992, from Zurich, Switzerland. He too is listed as number 0, and plays for the Utah Jazz. I love the wide variety of places these players come from. It dazzles me to be faced with all these foreign countries I've never had the pleasure of traveling to. Six teenagers signed to professional basketball teams. And people look down on teenagers. Ha. We have so much more power than is thought of us. Not that I'm a professional athlete...but I'm a teen, and I can confidently speak for us all. Mad credit to these six kids.
And last, hockey. This is where it gets interesting. Hockey seems to be the one sport where teenagers have a huge opportunity to succeed. There are 12 teenagers signed - and, unlike the other sports, active - in professional hockey. In all sports, younger is better, but in hockey especially the speed and power required, plus the youth needed to bounce back from injuries, give teens with talent an opening to get in to the business. First up is Adam Larsson, number 5 defenseman for the New Jersey Devils. He's 19, born on October 12, 1992, from Skelleftea, Sweden. Nino Niederreiter is number 25, a right wing for the New York Islanders. He's 19, born on September 8, 1992, from Chur, Switzerland. Sean Couturier is number 14, a center for the Philadelphia Flyers. He's 18 years old - ooooh switching it up here - born on December 7, 1992 - so happy birthday to you in two days Mr. Couturier! - and is from Phoenix, Arizona. Ryan Johansen is number 19, a center for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's 19 years old, born on July 31, 1992, and is from Vancouver, British Columbia. Gabriel Landeskog is number 92, a left wing for the Colorado Avalanche. He's 18 years old - woo! - was born on November 21, 1992, and is from Stockholm, Sweden. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is number 93, a center for the Edmonton Oilers. He's 18 years old, born on April 12, 1993 - a very young 18 year old - and is from Burnaby, British Columbia. Jeff Skinner is number 53, a left wing for the Carolina Hurricanes. He's 19 years old, born on May 16, 1992, and is from Markham, Ontario. Justin Faulk is number 28, a defenseman, also for the Carolina Hurricanes. He's 19 years old, born on March 20, 1992, and is from South St. Paul, Minnesota. Erik Gudbranson is number 44, a defenseman for the Florida Panthers. He's 19 years old, born on January 7, 1992, and is from Ottawa, Ontario. Brett Connolly is number 14, a right wing for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He's 19 years old, born on May 2, 1992, and is from Campbell River, British Columbia. Devante Smith-Pelly is number 77, a right wing for the Anaheim Ducks. He's 19 years old, born on June 14, 1992, and is from Scarborough, Ontario. A special mention goes right about here. Cam Fowler is number 4, a defenseman, also of the Anaheim Ducks. He's from Windsor, Ontario. He was 19 years old and on the team right up until today, when he turned 20 years old. A very big congratulations and happy birthday to Cam Fowler. Even though you aren't a teenager any more, you're still ripping up the ice like a pro. Which is good because you are a pro. Last but not least is Tyler Seguin, number 19, a center for the Boston Bruins. He's 19 years old, born January 31, 1992, and is from Brampton, Ontario. I saved him for last because he's the most prominent of all these teens. He's currently leading the league in +/- points at +20, which is a big deal. He has 12 goals on the season, and is basically just kicking butt left and right. He's become an integral part of the Bruins team, and he's on fire.
I can't say enough how impressed I am with these teenagers. They come from all over the world, looking for one thing: to follow their dreams. And they all did it. Even if you aren't a huge sports fan, you can respect the fact that they made it. And they all keep pushing themselves to improve and do better every day. These teens are role models to every other teen out there. I'm truly in awe of what they can do, and how well they do it. I've seen a couple of these players in action, and it blows my mind. They are spectacular, whether they play 30 minutes or 30 seconds. They deserve the recognition that they even made it to the team, even if they don't play. I know this review seems like just a list of names, and I guess it is. But really, it's an acknowledgment of the dedication and hard work these athletes put in, all because they love what they do and want to keep doing it for as long as they can. Whether you're an actor, an athlete, or anybody at all, that motivation is something to strive for. Thank you to all the teenage athletes out there who made the professional level. You inspire me to push for what I want in life. You made it to the big time, so I know I can too. We all can. Props to all of you mentioned in this article, because you are incredible.
Real Teen Rating ~ Absolutely astounding. Seriously. These kids rock!
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