The similarity is the spontaneity of the unexpected great news, ... No one expected Mario's comeback announcement, and no one expected us to win the lottery. |
The similarity is the spontaneity of the unexpected great news. No one expected Mario's comeback announcement, and no one expected us to win the lottery. |
There has been a backlash against Sidney and frankly, it's amazing to us. He's our leading scorer, he's great in the community and he's there for the media after tough losses. This is not the season we've hoped for, but he has done everything asked of him. Both Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky have said they never faced the kind of pressures he has to deal with at age 18. This can be a cynical sports town and if Sidney wasn't doing his share, believe me, you'd have heard the stories from here, first. |
There has never been a three-week stretch of season ticket sales like this. Ever. |
There is going to be a wonder player coming along every 15 or 20 years. But what makes this story unique is that the Mario story is unique and he's still here for Sidney to play with. When Mario came to Pittsburgh, he didn't have a Mario to play with or to counsel him or advise him. He was on his own. |
Think about it. It's a Friday in July in Pittsburgh and it's 4:30. You don't sell season tickets on Friday evenings in July. Our staff said they would stay until the phones stopped ringing. They stayed until midnight. |
We are aware of the responsibility to the league as well. This isn't just a Penguin thing. |
We picked Sidney at 4:30 on July 22 and the phones started ringing immediately at 4:31, |
We were hiring people as it went along, ... We were in the process of ramping up our staff. Some new people got a real indoctrination. We had to tell them it's not always like this. |
We were hiring people as it went along. We were in the process of ramping up our staff. Some new people got a real indoctrination. We had to tell them it's not always like this. |
We're delighted, ... Clearly, it's a great keepsake item for their family. |
We're delighted. Clearly, it's a great keepsake item for their family. |
We've tuned it down to a mild roar. We've got to let him play hockey a little bit. That's the best marketing of all. |
With the Internet and 24-hour talk radio and sports cable stations, Sidney Crosby has been known for years ... As big a story as Mario was, the Canadian media didn't come to training camp. It's just a different media world. |
You can train someone for 50 years, but still it comes down to whether you have 'it' or you don't, ... And whatever 'it' is, he has it. Whether it's charisma, charm, poise. Here's some 18-year-old kid who understands the big picture, and some of us are 50 and we are still trying to understand it. |