A video of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon playing a golf match against Paul Bissonnette and Ryan Whitney at Ashburn’s New Course is going viral.
The 16-minute behind-the-scenes look at the two NHL stars going head-to-head against Crosby’s retired ex-teammates was filmed in late June. The concept was for the pairings to play each other for dinner and the Bissonnette-Whitney team won amidst some lighthearted accusations of the competition being rigged.
“Biz is a (bleeping) sandbagger; get that on camera,” MacKinnon shouts at one point.
“We’re giving him a stroke every hole right now and he’s (beating us).”
The video already has almost 350,000 views on YouTube after being released on Saturday and showcases the two Cole Harbour natives laughing throughout at the antics of their opponents. It’s a rare look at Crosby and MacKinnon with their guards down in front of the cameras.
Bissonnette and Whitney do most of the talking and entertaining, much like they do on their popular Spittin’ Chiclets podcast.
“Crosby and MacKinnon were just being themselves and weren’t really putting on any sort of show for the viewers,” said Pasha Eshghi, the Vancouver-based filmmaker who produced the video. “Even with Whit, most of his humour comes from him just organically being himself. While the same can definitely be said for Biz, he certainly is more of a showman. The Chiclets fans have grown accustomed to their silly sense of humour and this video is definitely a continuation of that.”
Some of the footage is not suitable for work, with plenty of expletives peppered throughout. The whole feature has a locker room feel, including the athletes’ natural competitive fire flaring up in what is just supposed to be a fun match for little more than bragging rights
“I think MacKinnon as a whole was my favourite part of the video,” Eshghi said. “Of course having Crosby is cool, especially since he doesn’t often do this type of stuff with the media, but when MacKinnon’s competitive side started shining through that provided us with great content. He began to grow a little bit frustrated with Biz’s ‘sandbagging ways’ and it definitely showed. Those were his real emotions and certainly weren’t played up for the camera. I think that’s a big reason he’s been so successful in his career is that fierce competitive edge he has and his ability to channel that into his athletic endeavours. Despite the loss, he played a hell of a round.”
As part of their trip to Nova Scotia, Whitney and Bissonnette also got MacKinnon and Crosby to join them for separate one-hour podcasts. Those too are going viral, mainly for getting a loose Crosby to share locker room stories.
“The whole Chiclets crew is very grateful to Crosby and MacKinnon for giving us their time for both the interviews and the golf video,” Eshghi said. “They’re both really genuine guys. We all went out for dinner and drinks afterwards to celebrate a successful day and the tab was picked up by Crosby, who I suspect would have done so even if he hadn’t lost the golf wager. It’s cool to see how humble they are despite being showered with love and attention everywhere they went in Halifax. Hopefully we can visit again next year for the Sandbagger Invitational revenge tour.”
The video is titled “The CCM Sandbagger Invitational” and is being promoted under the Barstool Sports umbrella.
