Marcus Pettersson might be adding some Donnie Iris songs to his warmup playlist soon.
During the Pittsburgh Penguins' game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday, the defenseman and his teammates had some trouble recognizing the western Pennsylvania legend after the rockstar was shown on the Jumbotron. Pettersson, who was talking with Brian Dumoulin and Pierre-Olivier Joseph on the bench, quickly put the pieces together. "[The crowd] went crazy when they said Donnie Iris," Pettersson said to Dumoulin, looking up at the big screen.
"He started giggling too, when they started cheering," Pettersson added. Iris was at the game celebrating his 80th birthday, but Pettersson said he doesn't look at day over 60. A singer in the 1970s and '80s, Iris grew up in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, 40 miles north of Pittsburgh. Iris was a member of the rock band Wild Cherry, known for its No. 1 hit, "Play That Funky Music."
