As his team was on the way to a 3-0 opening night win over the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby couldn't help but look up from the bench as he heard the Madison Square Garden crowd cheering during a replay of Aaron Judge's game-tying home run vs. the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
The Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native is a hockey legend with three Stanley Cups under his belt and is a national hero after scoring the game-winning overtime goal for Team Canada against rival Team USA in the gold medal game of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. But like just about everyone else in the Great White North these days, he's also a huge Blue Jays fan.
“It’s pretty hard not to [root for the Blue Jays]. Obviously it’s pretty much the whole county cheering for them," Crosby told hockey reporter Jonny Lazarus after the start of his 21st NHL season. "It’s always cool to see them in the playoffs. I heard the crowd and then I heard the JumboTron and I figured something was coming from that game."
The hockey great is no stranger to baseball. He was a pretty good player as a teen, and he's made a few visits to PNC Park after Stanley Cup wins. He's even hit a home run in batting practice.
Crosby's Penguins are off Wednesday before hosting their home opener on Thursday against the New York Islanders, so it's a pretty safe bet he'll be parked in front of a TV rooting on the Blue Jays -- just like most of the rest of his fellow Canadians.