Porter Martone probably didn't expect one of his childhood hockey idols to become one of the biggest rivals of his new team. The Philadelphia Flyers forward grew up a fan of Sidney Crosby, which is a pretty funny thing to admit after joining a team that has spent nearly two decades trying to beat Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is one of those things that probably wouldn't be a big deal anywhere else, but Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have enough history that Flyers fans are going to have some fun with it.
Crosby has been at the center of the Flyers-Penguins rivalry for most of his NHL career, so Martone is now in a pretty different position than he was growing up. He can still appreciate what Crosby has done as a player, but he also has to deal with him as an opponent. That makes the whole thing a little more interesting now that Martone is wearing a Flyers jersey.
The other funny part is that Martone has already experienced the rivalry from Philadelphia's side. He was with the Flyers last season when they faced the Penguins in the first round of the playoffs, so he has already seen what it is like to play against Crosby when the games actually matter. Now, he is going to have plenty more chances to do it during the regular season.
Martone grew up idolizing Crosby
It probably isn't surprising that Martone grew up watching Crosby. A lot of young hockey players did, especially players who were coming up while Crosby was the biggest star in the league. Being a fan of him as a kid doesn't mean Martone is going to have any problem trying to beat him now, and there is a pretty big difference between having a favourite player and wanting that player to win.
That is probably where Flyers fans can have a little fun with this. Martone isn't going to suddenly stop respecting Crosby because he plays for Philadelphia, but his job is now pretty simple when the Penguins are on the other side. He needs to help the Flyers beat Pittsburgh, and nobody in Philadelphia is going to care who his favourite player was when he was growing up if he is scoring against the Penguins.
Now Martone gets to experience the other side of it. He went from watching and admiring Crosby to playing against him, and he gets to do it while wearing a Flyers jersey. Which is a pretty interesting full-circle moment, especially for a Canadian kid, who had to go from idolizing Crosby to being forced to hate him in the heated battle of Pennsylvania.
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