Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins star and hockey ambassador

Sidney Crosby is having a great first half of the 2010 to 2011 NHL season. This Hub was originally written after the Canadians beat the U.S. in the gold medal game.

Watching Sidney Crosby score the winning goal to lift the Canadians over the United States in the gold medal game made me think how he’s a hockey ambassador for Canada, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the National Hockey League. And, I believe, he knows his role.

Crosby did not have any points in the previous two Olympic games and he did not have any points in the 60 minutes of regulation. Yet, he scored the winner after fighting through three defensemen, digging the puck out from the corner and then moving to the net. His hard work paid off.

It was a couple of years ago, though, that I thought Crosby must understand his PR role in Pittsburgh. Originally from western Pennsylvania, I still follow Pittsburgh sports and my brother does seasonal production work for sports broadcasts in the area. A friend of mine said the Penguins had Crosby deliver season tickets to Penguin ticket holders.See the YouTube video below.

I thought about it. Maybe Crosby could have said “no” or maybe Crosby could have gone along with it as a dreaded stunt. But I saw a video of him on YouTube and he really looks like he had fun.

Next to Mario Lemieux, Crosby is probably the best thing that’s happened for the Pittsburgh Penguins and hockey in Pittsburgh. But he transcends both the Canadian and U.S. borders now that he scored the game winner. I was watching the Canada-USA match with my brother and he said, “I knew it! I knew that Crosby was going to score the winning goal.”

He also relayed other information that gave Crosby a human side. He said during a press conference a reporter was coughing and couldn’t stop and Crosby game him a glass of water. Another anecdote from two years ago, my brother said they had tried to mic him for a “sounds of the game” clip during a telecast. But, being the competitor he is, there was too much swearing. Crosby excitedly asked how it sounded and they told him they couldn’t use the material for television.

Crosby’s great in the clutch. His hard work in winning and his ease in the spotlight off the ice – his understanding of how to relate to people – make him a winning combination for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the NHL, and now Canada.