The Traveling Crosbys are Back, and With a Special Guest

After not being able to travel to Pittsburgh because of COVID-related restrictions, the Traveling Crosbys made their highly anticipated return to PPG Paints Arena on Saturday afternoon to watch their good friend face off against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

"It's just good to get back to reality," said Mark Tanner, one of 17 who made the trek down. "So the fact that we can do this again, it's good for the guys. It's a boys' trip, and we're really happy to do it."
Crosby's buddies from his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia started this tradition back in 2018. They wore different jerseys from Crosby's time with Shattuck-St. Mary's, Rimouski, Team Canada, the Penguins, and even TimBits to their first game as a group. They then came dressed in penguins costumes, inspired by Crosby's cousin Terry Forbes, for their second trip in 2020.
But tonight's costume of choice was goats, in honor of who they think is the G.O.A.T.
"Well Sid, the greatest of all time, was playing Ovi, so we just had to do it," Logan Delaney said. "One of our buddies, Mike, kind of runs point on the costumes. He threw the idea out there, figured it out, ordered them up, and then he loaded them up in his car and drove them down from Toronto."
The guys made sure to give Crosby a heads up that they would be wearing the goat costumes, complete with their various 87 jerseys and sunglasses, to the game. But at this point, he expects nothing less.
"There's two things about being from Nova Scotia that are guaranteed: high taxes and knowing how to have a good time, so Sid likes when we do it," Delaney said. "He's a humble guy, so I think part of him rolls his eyes a little bit. But he knows our act, and he knows it well."
After Crosby had to miss Pittsburgh's previous game against the New York Rangers on Thursday due to illness, the "goats" were just as excited as the rest of the arena to see the captain hit the ice for warmups. But that moment was even sweeter for his group of friends who haven't been to a game in person since Jan. 31, 2020, when Crosby scored the overtime winner against the Philadelphia Flyers.
"For everybody, it's awesome to be back," Delaney said. "It's so refreshing to be able to do these things and to travel. We've been waiting a long time to do this, so it's just incredible to be here. It just makes you feel normal again."
With flights booked back in the fall, the guys thought they had everything squared away long in advance. But they weren't ready for the unexpected travel issues that they ran into on their prolonged trip to Pittsburgh.
"Our flights were canceled and rescheduled several times. We originally hoped to land Friday morning, but we didn't get here till about 8:30 last night after a seven-hour layover in Toronto," Delaney said. "It was touch and go for a bit, and there was a point where we actually discussed that maybe we should get in cars and drive. But hey, we're here, and that's all that matters."
In addition to the costumes, another tradition the Traveling Crosbys have started is sticking around afterward to dance to the music of Reggie House. The legendary local saxophone player has been playing outside of Pittsburgh's stadiums for almost two decades after wanting to follow in the footsteps of a trumpet player who played downtown.
"I said to myself, I want to do that one day," House said. "So regardless, if we win or lose, I always love to play at a Pittsburgh game."
And this afternoon, the guys brought Reggie inside PPG Paints Arena to watch a Penguins game in person for the first time ever.
"Our buddy Terry, who's actually Sid's cousin, got Reggie's phone number a few years ago. He told Reggie when we come back down, we're going to bring him to the game,'" Delaney said. "Then Terry threw it in our group chat with all the guys and said, 'Reggie's coming to the game.' So, we bought him a ticket and we're so happy he's able to be at the game with us tonight. He's the man!"
The crew even made sure to pack an extra goat costume for Reggie, who had a blast hanging out with them at the game even though the Penguins weren't able to end up on the right side of the score in a 6-3 loss to the Capitals.
"It's awesome and I love it. It's the first time I've been to a hockey game in my life," House said. "Just the fact that I've never been in here after so many years, it's quite special. And some people even recognize me in here, so I really feel appreciated."