If you sometimes find Sidney Crosby just a little too suave and calculated at times, this article is for you.
In a May 4 Yahoo Sports article titled “Too good to be true, or simply too good?” by Eric Adelson, the following can be found.
Eye contact is no small part of Crosby’s manner. He was not made available for this story, but watching him take questions from local media is in some ways more revealing than an actual one-on-one interview. He makes eye contact with the questioner, nods once or twice, then swivels his head to look down as if in thought. He speaks for a few seconds, often bunching up his lower lip or tilting his head between sentences, and then he swivels his head back around to meet the questioner’s gaze again.
Crosby does this every time, no matter how long or how crowded the press session. He rarely says anything too memorable, but he always offers the impression that he is giving a question some thought. He looks like he’s listening. “He’ll look you right in the eye,” says former Penguin Bob Errey, who is now a broadcaster. “He’s very engaging that way. You come away feeling like he made time for you.”
That wasn’t lost on Penguins president David Morehouse during his first impression of Crosby. Morehouse has served as an adviser to Al Gore, John Kerry and Bill Clinton. So after the Penguins drafted Crosby, Morehouse immediately went into campaign mode, asking team communications VP Tom McMillan to find a media coach for the new star. Then Morehouse returned to his office and saw Crosby doing an interview on TV. He called McMillan back. “Forget it,” he said. “Don’t let anyone talk to him. He’s a natural. He’s pitch perfect.”
