Sidney Crosby – We are so Proud of You!
My claim to fame around Sidney Crosby is only that I happen to live in the same town he grew up in, have skated on the same ice he played hockey on and I have met his dog Sam, a beautiful golden lab/retriever. When he came to Cole Harbour in the summer of 2009 with the Stanley Cup I didn’t even get to see him as I was working that day – luckily my family did see him and got some great pictures. Of course I watched the Olympic hockey game between Canada and USA like millions of others and saw the amazing OT goal scored by Sidney.
I have to admit, I only vaguely knew who Sidney Crosby was before I moved to Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada in 2008. Yep, I am Canadian, but I moved from the West Coast of Canada, many thousands of kilometers away. I have always enjoyed hockey, but I was egotistically focused on the Vancouver Canucks as I had lived in Vancouver.
Moving to Cole Harbour to marry my sweetheart in was an easy choice. Falling in love with the once upon a time village of Cole Harbour was easy too as I got to know the place I now lived in. Cole Harbour is now a suburban community of Halifax Nova Scotia as of 1995 when the Halifax Regional Municipality was created and absorbed the unincorporated village of Cole Harbour. We may be part of the huge Halifax Regional Municipality, but Cole Harbour very much is a small town in its appearance and people. That is just a couple of things I love about this place I live in. The population is around 26,000 or so and the original Cole Harbour settlement was originally founded in 1754. We have everything we need right here in our neighbourhood. Lots of great schools and restaurants, a choice of grocery stores and markets, historical buildings to learn from, lots of churches if one chooses. We also have a great recreation centre and that is where a young Sidney Crosby played hockey.
The longer I have lived here, the more I have learned about Sidney and the more I have grown to respect the young man that has made such an impact in the world of hockey. My husband, a huge hockey fan, taught me lots about Sidney. He remembers when Sidney was just around 12 or so and already was being eyed by the hockey powers that be as he seemed to have the special knack of skating very well AND possessed the skills of puck handling and being a well respected part of any team he played on. As I learned more about the young man that had grown up and learned to play hockey in my adopted town, I appreciated his prowess on the ice – he is an extraordinary athlete after all. But what most caught my attention was the kind of young man he is, not just the hometown kid that has done well in the NHL (and Olympics).
I have heard stories about the wonderful person that Sidney is. How polite and gracious he is, how respectful and helpful to the people around him. Although I have not met his family – his parents Trina and Troy and his younger sister Taylor – I understand that they are very down to earth people and have raised Sidney to be very down to earth too.I have no doubt that Sid still has to take the garbage out, empty the dishwasher and make his bed when he is home visiting his parents, like any other kid.
Sidney is so much more than an amazing athlete – he is the type of person I have no problems with my children looking up to and emulating. I do not think that we will hear of Sidney running into problems that other athletes have in the past (or more recently). Sidney has been brought up with solid morals and values – the fact that he is captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins at such a young age is not just because of his talents on the ice but because of the person he is both on and off the ice.
PS In addition to all the great athleticism and personality – Sidney is gorgeous! What a wonderful gift to have been blessed with everything he has – and I am sure he is grateful for everything – that is just the way he is.
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