Pictured above: Ben Roethlisberger, Sidney Crosby, Paul Skenes
The other night, Sidney Crosby had yet another clutch moment inside PPG Paints Arena — but this one was a little different.
Pat McAfee, a Pittsburgh native and former All-Pro NFL punter, has built an extremely successful media career since his retirement from the league in 2017, with the launch of The Pat McAfee Show being an instant hit.
McAfee has also been involved in commentating a number of WWE events, where his Yinzer personality gets the chance to shine — and he got that chance again on Wednesday in front of a sold-out crowd during his live show, “Big Night AHT.”
The event was truly a Pittsburgh sports fan’s dream, with appearances from the Penguins’ Big Three — Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang — legendary Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and current Pirates ace Paul Skenes, whom Crosby met for the first time.
“It was unreal,” Crosby said. “Just a great experience. Seeing Ben, seeing a bunch of guys.”
The event was not only wildly entertaining, but also for a good cause, with McAfee and his various guests raising money for charities in the Pittsburgh area. Guests in attendance also received over $1 million in cash prize giveaways, which Crosby was able to contribute to in true captain fashion.
Crosby was given a football and had to throw it through a hoop for a chance to send a guest in attendance home with $1 million. He, of course, sank the shot.
“You stand at center ice, you don’t expect to be holding the football, throwing for a million dollars. That’s the last thing you expect when you’re at center ice,” Crosby said with a laugh. “So, it’s a little different being out there with no ice, no gear, but just an awesome experience.”
Crosby was immediately embraced and given the nod of approval by two of Pittsburgh’s biggest arms — Roethlisberger and Skenes — who also made passes for $1 million. Roethlisberger joined Crosby with a make, while Skenes just missed.
“Definitely a lot of nerves when you're going against those two arms. That’s a tough couple guys to go against,” Crosby said. “But we were having fun with it. I was happy to see it go there. Obviously, the reaction was great, and we had a lot of fun there, Geno and Tanger, and just taking the night in.”
Malkin joked that he would have enjoyed putting his arm to the test as well.
“I'm a little bit mad they (didn't) give me a ball to throw, you know? It's like only Sid, Ben (Roethlisberger) and (Paul Skenes),” Malkin said. “But it's fine. It's great to be together on stage. The fans were so loud yesterday. But again, a great event. A lot of charity money. Amazing.”
