After having to cancel Season Ticket Delivery in 2020, and getting creative with
virtual 'House Calls'
in 2021, on Monday the Penguins resumed their longstanding team tradition that's now in its 16th year … which means Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have been a part of it from the very beginning.
Inside Scoop: Delivering Season Tickets with Crosby and Letang
So on Monday, I drove with the superstar center and franchise defenseman, who were among the numerous Penguins players traveling around Pittsburgh to visit season ticket holders and drop off their yearly gifts, an autographed jersey and a case of Labatt beer before stopping to chat, take photos, sign items and just hang out for a bit.
"There's no actual tickets anymore, so that feels a little different," Crosby said. "But this is something that we've been doing for a long time, so it feels normal."
Here are some stories and observations from the day.
\The season ticket holders are chosen at random, and while a Penguins representative calls to let them know that a player will be stopping by, they have no idea who that player is. However, that being said, media is invited to one of the houses Crosby visits. So when news vans and people with cameras start gathering around, that season ticket holder can safely assume that the captain is coming, which was a pretty nerve-racking prospect for Ryan Jackson and his family.
"We found out over the weekend, so we talked to the kids about it, we made plans and then had to go to work in the morning and try to focus," he said. "I did a pretty good job of that, I think. Then when I pulled up, all the trucks were outside, and I knew this was going to be even more special than what I had prepared for."
As Crosby approached the Jackson home, Ryan said to his 7-year-old daughter Ellie, "That's Mr. Sidney!"
Both of Ryan's sons play hockey, so after going around to the backyard, Crosby asked 16-year-old Will and 10-year-old Jameson to tell him more about their positions, teams, league, etc. Both boys were decked out in No. 87 jerseys, but after posing for some photos, Will told Crosby he was going to change into his North Hills High School jersey - where he's the sophomore captain of the JV team - and asked for a favor.
"Can we take a pic of us holding a sign?" Will asked. "I'm going to ask someone to homecoming."
Since she loves hockey and her brother plays hockey, Will thought it would be a huge point in his favor to involve the Penguins player stopping by. So Will and his mom Karen had made two signs just in case. One that was captain-specific, and one that was generic. Fortunately, he got to use the one that read, "2 CAPTAINS WITH 1 QUESTION: Will you go to HOCO with Will?"
Crosby, who doesn't recall ever going to a homecoming dance of his own, respected Will's efforts. "Creative, I like it. Hopefully, he gets the answer he's looking for," Sid said. Originally, Will had been planning to wait until the next day to pose the question, but decided to ask immediately so she didn't hear his plans on social media or the news ahead of time.
So he went over to her house after she got home from school, and shortly after, Will posed for another photo holding a different sign - this one reading, "SHE SAID YES!"
"This was just so amazing to do this with our kids and have Will do his homecoming sign," Karen said. "It was just really, really amazing. Sid is just incredible."
\We were much more incognito rolling up to the next stop. So when Crosby parked and got out of the car, the house just erupted.We could hear loud cheering all the way from the street as they realized who was visiting.
After Sid greeted the family - season ticket holders Brian and Barb Pukylo, their kids Justin and Sarah, and a couple of other family members - they asked if he had heard their reaction. He grinned and said, "I heard a little bit of commotion." He then asked who it was, and Brian said, "The girls." Not sure if we should believe him!
Through every interaction, I found myself marveling at how easily Crosby makes conversation, and how he is just so genuine with everyone he meets. He had some jokes, too. When Crosby was taking a photo with Justin, Brian said "Wow, he's taller than Sid." Crosby responded, "He's gotta be 6-4 then." Best line of the day from a guy listed at 5-11.
Brian and Barb's nephew Cole didn't think he'd be able to make it for the visit since he had class, but after hearing Crosby was there, the college student made record time driving from Gibsonia to the North Hills area ... estimating he made the 25-minute ride in about 10. We're pretty sure we all passed the same cop on 279, but fortunately no one got pulled over. We had a similar mad dash from some late arrivals at the first house Letang visited, but thankfully everyone made it in time to meet him.
\It was a bit of a different dynamic with Letang, as there was a chance he could have signed elsewhere this summer. Fortunately, he isn't going anywhere after signing a long-term extension. And the fans - like season ticket holder Tom Barnes - told Letang how glad they were to have both him and Evgeni Malkin back. "That core, it means so much," Tom said. "I picked up season tickets the year after Sid joined the team. As fans, we feel like we've gotten to know you over all these years, following your career and everything. We appreciate all the hard work you guys do."
\I also love how at each house, someone asked about Letang's 9-year-old son Alex, who has become a star through his adorable appearances on In the Roomand in some of his dad's media availabilities. Letang is great with kids, as he also has 4-year-old Catherine, and he had some fun with a few younger Penguins fans today. He did an Accuracy Challenge of sorts with 10-year-old Ryan at the amazing outdoor hockey/basketball court at season ticket holder Jeff Heeter's house, with four targets at each corner of the net. After they hit all of them, Letang challenged Ryan to hit the crossbar, and he did!
- Both the Penguins and their players - particularly the team leaders - clearly understand the importance of showing their appreciation for the people who support them. That's evident through two players of this stature taking the time to make this a memorable day for some lucky fans. Not only does someone like Sid show up year after year; he neverjust goes through the motions. For example, he was asking for details about each family on the drives, as he likes to know a little bit of background before heading in. In addition to making conversation and interacting, the guys were happy to oblige with whatever requests were made of them.
And from the other side, the season ticket holders couldn't have been more grateful for the experience. They were all so nice and respectful and kept thanking both the players and the Penguins staffers who were present. "You've made our day, our week, our month, our year," someone said. Everyone did their best to make these connections through the limitations of these past two years, but today was a reminder of how special that face-to-face interaction can be.
