Christine Sinclair may be known by soccer fans from around the globe, but she's still a Burnaby gal at heart - and the city continues to be proud to call her one of our own. Like any doting parents, Burnaby folks were quick to come to her defence in the scuffle over the Olympic gold-medal game - and we weren't alone.
Around the world, soccer fans were shocked at the outcome of the game and the refereeing and rallied behind Sinclair when she was taken to task for giving a piece of her mind to officials.
Whether or not the kerfuffle cost her the FIFA player of the year for 2012 (as many fans suspect) will remain unknown but one thing is certain: she's player of the year for fans in Burnaby, with or without FIFA recognition.
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention another hometown hero in our roundup: Michael J. Fox. As the Burnaby native continues to deal with the ongoing impacts of Parkinson's, he maintains a busy schedule of doing what he can to educate, raise funds, motivate and encourage.
There are few celebrities as classy and well-respected as Fox is, and we have to give kudos for the way he's faced what must be an increasing number of challenges in his daily life.
There could be few other "heroes" we'd be as happy to hold up to the youngsters in this city.
