Thirty-nine years ago, today God’s gift to hockey was born. On 8/7/87 Sir Sidney Crosby came into this world and has honestly been dominating the sport of hockey ever since. For over half of his lifetime, he has been a Pittsburgh Penguin. In a few months he will have spent over half of his lifetime being the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is model hockey player, he is the face of the NHL until he retires, and he is just honestly a model human being.
Before I get into some of my favorite Crosby memories, a personal story. I have been lucky enough to meet Sid a few times and he is as advertised. My dad was good friends with the old Penguins equipment manager Dana Heinze who would frequently allow us to come down and see the players. Before the Penguins built their own practice facility they would practice at local rinks, and they happened to practice right before a game of mine. After the game, my dad grabbed me and best friend telling us he had a surprise. Sid and Fleury made the bus wait 15 minutes standing by the Zamboni doors just to talk to a couple of kids. Growing up I was a goalie so most of my conversation was with Fleury, but Sid also made a point to talk to me too. Each of them signed our sticks and chatted with us for 10-15 minutes making the rest of their teammates sit on the bus for an extra 20-30 minutes. We were young so the conversation wasn’t too crazy, they just told us to keep playing the game, and a bunch of typical hockey tropes. Regardless of the conversation topics it was one of the coolest memories I have ever had growing up. A lot of people see Sid having his death stare before games and don’t read much about him, it would be easy to assume he’s just a hockey psycho. While he definitely is a hockey psycho, he also understands his fame but never abuses it. Crosby always has time for kids because he knows simply saying hi will make their day. He did that for me once and it’s something I will never forget. I have had the privilege to meet many professional athletes in my youth, and in my adult years, but no one comes close to Crosby in terms of humility.
While the personal memories are nice, we all share many other memories of Sid the kid. I want to go through a couple of game’s that Crosby has played throughout the years.
My favorite Crosby game:
10.5 months before this game Crosby was playing in the winter classic at Heinz field. I was sitting at around the 40-yard line and I used to just watch Sid, not the puck, when I went to games. I was likely one of the few in attendance who saw David Steckl catch Sid in the head because it was beyond the play. I remember telling my parents something happened to Sid, but he played a few nights later seemingly no worse for wear. Then Victor Headman hit him behind the net, and the concussion saga began. November 21st, 2021. Crosby had been out for almost an entire year with concussion-like symptoms. He was making his return on home-ice against the New York Islanders. I called, and had my parents call, every single person we knew who might have an extra ticket, I had to be there. One of my friends had tickets and his parents were unable to take him, so my parents took us to the game. We were seated behind Fleury, and all the seats were lined with posters that said, “Welcome back Sid.” Similar signs were given to fans when Mario first returned from his cancer diagnosis. I remember reading every day about Sid wondering if he would return, and the day had finally arrived. The Islanders decided to start Anders Nilsson in that game, he only played in three other games that entire season, and when I heard that news, I knew Sid was going to score. He accomplished just that as he split through the Islanders defenders and labeled his patented backhander into the net. It was as if he had never left. The hands, the speed, the skill, and the competitiveness all remained perfectly intact. Instantly after Sid scored, you would have thought the Penguins were in the Finals. To this day, I have never seen PPG Paints Arena louder than after that goal. Everyone stood up and went ballistic, me included. It was so chaotic that I didn’t see accompanied celebration that while fierce also looked like a huge sigh of relief, he realized that he was still Sidney Crosby. I have been to many hockey games, many of Sid’s famous hockey games, and I don’t think anything will ever top this one.
Crosby’s Best Game:
Sid won early in his career. In 2009 he helped captain the Penguins to their third Stanley Cup title. Everyone thought the Penguins were juggernaut at this point. They had been to back-to-back finals, and they won one, the team was filled with young superstars the sky was limit. However, things didn’t turn out that way. The Penguins struggled in the playoffs for the next seven seasons. In 2013 they assembled a super team and flamed out in the conference finals. Many other playoff blunders were sandwiched in-between titles. Sid, and the Penguins, finally returned to the finals in 2016 against the Nashville Predators. The Penguins had been playing so well once Sullivan got hired that they seemed destined to win. Yet, the Penguins were tied 2-2 with Nashville in the series entering game 5 at home. Sid decided at some point before the 5th game of the series that he was going to win himself another Stanley Cup. Crosby has produced several amazing hockey games. No game was better than his performance in game 5 against Nashville during the 2016 finals. Right from the opening puck drop he was dominant. Crosby didn’t score a goal in this game but that’s always been a part of his beauty. He doesn’t need to score to be the largest presence in the game. This is why no one can take the mantle of best player for me. When McDavid doesn’t score his team loses finals. When Mackinnon doesn’t score his team doesn’t look the same. Crosby can go a full 60 minutes without a goal and leave the ice unquestionably the best player in the game, that is true greatness. He displayed that type of greatness in June of 2016 which led to the second of his three Stanley Cups.
It has been a pleasure for watching Sid go from the kid to the man in Pittsburgh. I really hope it doesn’t stop anytime soon, and it really doesn’t look like it will. For all of his countless superlatives, his consistency has always been his greatest attribute. Miss nearly a year from a concussion and it’s like he never left. Play in the NHL for 21 and it’s like he hasn’t aged at all. Sid’s life is hockey, and my life has been exponentially better watching Sid live his life. Thank you Sid and can’t wait to see what you have in store for us all this season.
