My Top Five Man Crushes

Everyone tries to make a good first impression. You want to be intelligent and focused when you meet your new boss, or funny and likable when you get a chance to meet that girl you've been spying on for months and months (just me?).

Regardless, you want to hide your imperfections and showcase your strengths, and you want that person to think you are the freshest thing on planet earth.

I'll try my best with this article, but I'm not going to hide my imperfections. Instead, I'm going to reveal something that I'd normally keep secret and that's a little embarrassing: all of my man crushes.

But since I want my first article to go smoothly, I'll first tell you what I mean by a man crush.

When you respect a guy's talent and playing ability, you're perfectly comfortable saying that you like him. A lot of us probably like Peyton Manning, or we like Steve Nash. But what about those whom we admire beyond just “liking?”

We cheer at the mere mention of their names, gawk at their stat lines, and defend them against haters. We have to emphasize how great they are always and everywhere, and we totally forgive them if they post a dud. These are all symptoms of a man crush.

Here are mine:

1. Andre Johnson—This guy is a beast. He leads the league in reception yards and receiving first downs, despite being the main focus of opponents' defenses. And he does it with a super calm demeanor. Nothing fancy, no celebrating, no complaining... just humble Andre.
2. Dwight Howard—Despite physical play and heavy minutes, Dwight Howard has never missed an NBA game. I don't know if he just goes through the motions on some nights, but even if he does he still puts up huge numbers.
3. Anquan Boldin—Fearless like Andre. A shattered face and bargain contract don't keep Anquan from playing at an elite level. He leads the league in receiving touchdowns and yards after catch. Also, he's buff and awesome.
4. Mike Singletary—There's guys like Tom Brady and Kurt Warner who've thrived when given an opportunity, and then there's Mike Singletary. How will it be before he tackles a referee or one of his own players? Anyway, he's taking a lot of heat but has refused to become any less crazy. I can't wait to see what he does next. 
5. Gregg Popovich—No one is more seemingly indifferent towards public opinion than Pop is. It's just a matter of time before he starts bringing a cooler to games so he can just kick back and drink beer. But he's on here because of his beard. They ordered pop to trim it out of necessity, as they knew he didn't give a lick how ridiculous he looked.
   

I'm glad I took care of that. Now, who do you have a man crush on?