20 animal-human matchups we’d like to see besides Michael Phelps vs. a shark

NASHVILLE, TN – JUNE 11: Sidney Crosby

10. Sidney Crosby vs. a penguin

Sidney Crosby has led the Pittsburgh Penguins for more than a decade at this point, and he’s given the city of Pittsburgh three titles in his tenure as the team’s captain. But, what if he gave back to the city in another fashion and held a competition against an actual penguin?

Crosby is an impressive, all-around athlete on the ice, with supreme puck-handling and speed on the ice, and some solid leadership abilities in his time as the leader of the locker room. Fans in Pittsburgh obviously love him, and he’s given back plenty in terms of charity work over the years to show his love for his fans and kids around the world.

Now, it’d be fun to get him out onto the ice in a competition against an animal, and the best possible option is to have him battle his own team’s mascot. Not a man in a Penguin costume running around on the ice or in the crowd at the PPG Paints Arena, but a literal penguin.

This one could easily be done as a charitable fundraiser, with Crosby racing a penguin in a quick spurt on the ice to raise funds for an organization of his choice. Maybe he could skate on his knees to give the penguin a fighting chance, but either way, it’s a golden idea.

Forget about Michael Phelps against a shark, or Floyd Mayweather against Conor McGregor. I want to see Sidney Crosby up against a penguin, and it’d all be for a better cause than the previous two.