Ex-Penguins center Joe Vitale shares tale of superstitious Sidney Crosby
The lengths to which Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will go to satisfy his superstitions are well known.
Former Penguins center Joe Vitale, on this week’s episode of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, told a tale of a Crosby superstition that tested his patience.
Vitale was the team’s locker room DJ, and before one particular game, he played “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine.
Crosby approached Vitale and told him how much he liked the song and how it reminded him of a trip he took to Italy the previous summer.
Crosby had a couple of assists and the Penguins won the game, Vitale said, so he knew he should play the song again before the next game.
When he did, Crosby approached Vitale and told him the exact same story about how much he liked the song and how it reminded him of Italy.
The Penguins ended up going on a 16-game winning streak. Vitale heard the same story about Italy before each and every one of the victories.
“And every game I had to act like I’d never heard this freaking story before,” Vitale said with a laugh.
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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