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"I hate these f**king fans" - Larry Flowers recalls how Sidney Crosby once expressed his distaste for Philadelphia Flyers fans
The bad blood between Sidney Crosby and the Philadelphia Flyers is well-documented. Over the course of his illustrious career, the Penguins icon has received some serious animosity from the Flyers fan base, and for good reason.
Every time Sidney Crosby set foot on the ice against the Philly team, he would come up with some incredible numbers and the Flyers kingdom absolutely hated that. Sidney Crosby’s in-game antics didn't settle well with the rival fans and, they would persistently boo the Pittsburgh Penguins’ No. 87 throughout play.
While recalling one conversation he had with Sidney Crosby, American entrepreneur and jeweler Larry Flowers revealed the story when Crosby told him how much he hated the Flyers fans.
“We were playing in Philly. It was a huge game,” Flowers said. “It wasn't a playoff game, but it was huge. Playoff implications. And this is probably going back now like 10 years or so, and they're on the bus, and they're pulling into the Wells Fargo Center, and there's a million Flyers fans watching the Pittsburgh Penguins team pull into the barn, and they're all throwing things, or throwing eggs at the bus.”
This was commonplace ahead of high-octane clashes at Philadelphia games given how much the fans disliked the Penguins. Flowers continued:
“And Sid goes, we're out golfing, and he's telling me this story, and he says, ‘You know, Flowers, I look to my left, and people are going at me, and they're throwing all this sh*t, and I looked over to my left, and I saw this kid on his dad's shoulder,’” Larry Flowers narrated. “And the kid must have been no older than, like, five years old. And the kid just had two little fingers up in the air, and he was like, f**k you, f**k you,’ and he looked over, and he said, ‘I hate these f**king fans.’ He really, genuinely hates the city of Philadelphia.”
Well, Sidney Crosby’s hate for the Philadelphia-based team and fans is nothing new. Given his history with the club, it is fair to say the hate has been a fueling fire for the Penguins' iconic 87 more often than not.
Sidney Crosby once said Flyers fans are ‘extra motivation’
Crosby has never really been much of a fan of the Flyers’ hospitality, nor has he liked any of their players. It all dates back to the Wachovia Center in 2005 when an 18-year-old Crosby had two of his teeth knocked out by Derian Hatcher’s stick to the mouth.
Since then, neither side has harbored any warm feelings for the other. Crosby was once asked what he feels about the antagonistic atmosphere in Philly games and Sid’s response was quite cheeky.
"If you ever need some extra motivation, it's there," Crosby remarked.
So far in his career, Sidney Crosby has recorded an incredible 55 goals for 129 points, 74 assists and a plus-minus of +17 in 87 games against the Flyers. Extra motivation coming into play against the Philadelphia side? Evidently.
During one such heated playoffs showdown in 2012, Crosby persistently engaged in alterations with the Flyers players and when asked what prompted such behavior from the Penguins icon, he coldly replied:
“I don’t like them because I don’t like any guy on their team.”
Well, that’s quite simple then.
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