Still Skating in Gretzky's Shadow

For all his on-ice brilliance, Wayne Gretzky's greatest success might be his endurance as a personality.

Twenty years after the trade that changed the NHL, and nine years after his final game, Gretzky still defines the sport.

A survey of the "Q Score" of pro athletes confirms his continued status as the undisputed Face of Hockey.

Sidney Crosby, despite assists from Gatorade and Reebok, can't even place second among hockey players. According to the Q, he's less popular than Joe Sakic.

But Crosby and others of his generation are at a demographic disadvantage.

The 1980s and 1990s were the golden age of sports celebrity, largely because well-heeled baby boomers couldn't get enough of guys like Gretzky and Michael Jordan.

As the boomers aged, it's no coincidence that a golfer took the world by storm. But Tiger Woods still can't catch Jordan, the uber-celebrity of sport, in the Q Score poll.

It's also no coincidence that of the top ten Q Score athletes, all except Woods (and maybe Brett Favre) are retired.

For those who lived through it, there is no substitute for golden memories of Gretzky, Jordan, Nolan Ryan, and other icons of younger days.

There is no denying the skill and entertainment value of Crosby or Alex Ovechkin. Perhaps one of them can some day match Gretzky's on-ice achievements.

But they will always skate in Gretzky's massive, enduring shadow.