Sidney Crosby: A Big Hit in Montreal

The latest from Crosby-stalker Shawna Richer: Crosby's bigger than the Beatles!

Several hundred people pressed against a metal gate, crowded deep around the Pittsburgh Penguins bus parked inside the bowels of the Bell Centre. Dozens more spilled onto the sidewalk, oblivious to the cold.

Close by but hidden from view, Sidney Crosby visited with his parents and little sister, chatting until it was time to leave. An hour had passed since the game ended but not one fan had budged, and so Mr. Crosby, in long, dark wool coat and flanked by two Penguins staff members, was whisked down a hallway, through a side door and out an exit no one could see.

Moments later, the bus rumbled to life and a mixture of cries and sighs erupted from the crowd. In the middle of the pack, a teenage girl squealed and frantically waved a cardboard sign at the disappearing vehicle. It read: Je t'adore #87.

Apparently, French chicks don't mind nasty teeth :)

When they finally reached the door, at least a hundred more waited outside. It took him 15 minutes to travel as many metres. By the time he escaped onto the bus, Mr. McMillan, as slim as Mr. Crosby is sturdy, had been swept up in a wave and flattened against it.

"Even with Mario, it was never like this," Mr. McMillan said.

"For a non-French player to cause such a reaction in Montreal is really unbelievable."