Touchdowns from the chesterfield – Vol IIBy Calvin Daniels

Touchdowns from the chesterfield – Vol IIBy Calvin Daniels

If we were Americans we would be falling all over ourselves with the emergence of a new sports celebrity.Alas, in Canada we are too reserved for that. So when Jesse Lumsden recently teamed with pilot Pierre Lueders to become national two-man bobsleigh champions, it was accomplished with sadly little fanfare.The championship run at Whistler Sliding Centre may be the first step in what could be a truly amazing two-sport career for Lumsden who of course also plays football in the Canadian Football League.Jesse, the son of former CFL stand-out Neil Lumsden, is a rumbling power back who looked outstanding at times with the Hamilton Tiger Cats, although his career to-date has been punctured with injuries, limiting the impact he might have had in the league.Lumsden is now on the Edmonton Eskimo roster, where if healthy, he could blossom into a true superstar. The fans in Edmonton are going to love him, since the Esks are where his father shone for years.And, you just have a feeling Richie Hall, Edmonton's new head coach, will get the most out of the big backfielder. Lumsden could be just the counter balance to the air attack of Ricky Ray, arguably the best quarterback in the CFL, to really turn the Eskimo offence into a fearsome unit.But, back to what Lumsden accomplished on the bobsled track. It was something that has to be deemed amazing already.Lueders with Lumsden on the brake clocked a two-run combined time of one minute, 44.73 seconds to finish in first place, pretty impressive given Lumsden is a newcomer to the sport.With the 2010 Winter Olympic around the corner, and on Canadian soil, the question of whether Lumsden might be there, is a delicious one from the point of view of creating a Canadian hero. Imagine for a moment that Lumsden puts together a healthy CFL season, and is among the running elite, as his skill suggest he could be.Then imagine weeks after the CFL season he steps to the Olympic podium for a medal."When I volunteered to give bobsleigh a try, I never figured I would end up at this point. I think any athlete would take full advantage of the opportunity to possibly represent his or her country at the Olympics,'' Lumsden said in a Canadian Press story.Whether he achieves such success, or not, there is a story to be told as he makes the attempt.Think for a moment how revered tow-sport stars are in the United States. Bo Jackson was a huge media star when he played in both the NFL with Oakland, and initially with the Kansas City Royals in pro baseball.Deion Sanders was considered one of the NFL's best cornerback, and also played some solid major league baseball.In their time Jackson and Sanders were huge stars, in large part because of their two-sport status.In Canada we don't build our heroes the same way.Just look at Gerry James, who earned a spot in the CFL Hall of Fame for his gridiron prowess, and played with the Toronto Maple Leafs at a time when that was tough with inly six teams in the league. It was a career now all but forgotten.Now we have Lumsden who could emerge as a true two-sport star. A Canadian born CFLer, with sky's the limit potential, who just might be an Olympic star in the making too. It's the stuff of legend, something we need more of in Canada.I can see the posters, the advertising, the memorabilia surrounding the year to come for Lumsden. He could become an athlete for Canadian youth to look up to, and to aspire to mimic at a time hen too many sports heroes are shrouded in the doubt of drug scandals, and the malaise which seems to surround pro sports. Any doubt of that, look no further than the healthy baseball players who refused to take part in the recent Would Baseball Classic.A big year, and Lumsden just might prove sports stars are worthy of being our heroes because of what they do.Go Jesse