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Getting to know The Kid: Pittsburgh Magazine profiles Sidney Crosby

crosbysidprofile

James O’Brien

There tends to be two types of superstar athletes, personified by the NHL’s two biggest stars. On one end, you have heart-on-your-sleeve guys; the Alex Ovechkin types of stars who drive fast and always have a woman (or three) on their arms. Representing the other end of the spectrum, there are the Sidney Crosby types: full of measured, cliched responses and a blank slate to the public.

Of course, those two comparisons aren’t completely true (if they are even partially true). There is a lot of money to be gained in both players maintaining their particular images, but what do we really know about either one of them?

That’s a difficult question to answer, but it’s always fun to get a little peek into who these guys really are when they’re not shooting commercials in which they complete seemingly impossible tasks.

So it was an honest delight to read Pittsburgh Magazine’s peek behind the curtain on Sidney Crosby (if for nothing else, then to see the hilarious photo found here. It almost looks like he was Photoshopped into it, doesn’t it?). The article focuses on a few behind the scenes moments in his life - from pushing Kris Letang to the limit to buying donuts for people from his home town - but the highlight of the article is an anecdote regarding Crosby’s involvement in a prank played on the team’s trainer.

Dec. 14, 2009–Mellon Arena

The coup is working like it was masterminded by Danny Ocean. The Penguins just wrapped up a morning practice at Mellon Arena when a few of the boys decide to extract a measure of revenge on strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar for his tyrannical workout regimens. The ever-mischievous Max Talbot, winger Pascal Dupuis and defenseman Jay McKee have hatched a brilliant scheme, but they need a trustworthy, straight-faced double-agent to secure the coveted jackpot: the keys to Kadar’s SUV.

Who better than The Kid?

After getting dressed, Talbot, Dupuis and McKee hurry out to the staff parking lot for the crucial drop-off. Right on time, a security guard appears from a side-door and discretely hands over a bag containing the secret weapon. Moments later, Sid the Kid emerges from the players’ entrance and tosses Kadar’s stolen keys to Dupuis, who hastily opens the sunroof. With McKee standing on top of the car holding the weapon of mass destruction, Talbot capturing the moment on his camera-phone, Dupuis laughing like a stoned frat boy and Sid walking away discreetly like nothing ever happened, the gang unleashes their coup on drill sergeant Kadar: thousands of packing peanuts flood the SUV.

“Packing peanuts?” Crosby says now with a sly grin. “Oh, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”


Clearly, from that photo I linked, Crosby knew exactly what peanuts they were talking about.

Anyway, it’s an interesting look into the kind of guy Crosby is, even if we’ll probably never get closer than within an arm’s reach of who he truly is. If you want a little more from Crosby and Pittsburgh Magazine, check out the Q & A too.