Living in the guest room of greatness.
Today I read this report that Sidney Crosby is living with Mario Lemieux. A couple weeks ago in Fontana, Nationwide driver Brad Keselowski told me that he lives with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kings phenom Jack Johnson lived with veteran Rob Blake last season, before Blake got traded to San Jose, bought Craig Rivet's old house and now lives down the block from my cousin.
This seems to be the trend nowadays, though for all I know Mickey Mantle once bunked in the guest room behind Joe and Marilyn's mansion.
For the youngsters, it's got to have a profound influence. You get to see your hero/owner/elder teammate off the ice and realize that he, too, puts his pants on one leg at a time. Did Dale/Mario/Rob Blake eat his Wheaties this morning? You better believe Brad, Sidney and Jack will, too. Did the old guys go clubbing or study game/race film at night? It's off-the-job training by osmosis.
I'm sure the older guys love having the kids around, too. Whatever they did to get themselves to this point -- their greatness DNA -- gets passed on to the next generation. (Except in the case of Earnhardt, who can only advise Keselowski to become his sport's next transcendent figure then name his son Brad Jr.)
Rabid fans, however, benefit the most: Stalk one superstar athlete on his way home from work -- and receive two autographs!