As we wrote about last Friday, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews shared an intriguing exchange on social media, but what did it mean? There were unsurprisingly some comments -- most joking, but others not so much -- that it alluded to the Edmonton Oilers superstar joining the Toronto Maple Leafs when he agrees his next deal.
However, there was another more substantive theory by a lot of people, that the duo were going to appear in an advert together. This theory only gathered steam, when McDonald's Canada also took to social media to share a message of their own.
We're loving it
Any doubt was eradicated altogether on Tuesday morning, as McDonald's unveiled their latest advert, indeed featuring McDavid and Matthews. And to the delight of sports fans in general, it was a throwback to two previous adverts produced by the fast food restaurant chain.
More specifically, we're talking about the original advert from back in 1993, with NBA legends Michael Jordan and Larry Bird attempting increasingly ludicrous trick shots for the chance to eat a Big Mac. Closer to home, the advert was repeated in 1997, this time with Wayne Gretzky and Mats Sundin similarly competing for a Big Mac in an NHL version.
We won't go into much detail about the latest update, given that you can watch it below. However, it's certainly fun to see McDavid and Matthews in an entertaining setting and showing a little more of their personalities, albeit still not quite at the level of a Jordan or Bird. (Which we'll admit isn't exactly a fair comparison for most people.)
Aiming to win more than a Big Mac
Understandably, both McDavid and Matthews will be hoping their respective careers play out more like Jordan, Bird and Gretzky, as opposed to Sundin. The former Maple Leafs is the only one of the quartet not to win a championship in his sport, with the other three combining for 13.
Of course, we wouldn't have expected McDonald's to just produce this advert for the fun of it, with them indeed using it as an opportunity to also promote something. More specifically The Big Mac-David and Smoky Quarter Papi, along with some other tasty additions including The Hat Trick triple cheeseburger and Power Play Poutine.
Matthews missed the first meeting this season with the Oilers, although the Leafs still emerged victorious 4-3 in overtime back in November. In any event, fans will be looking forward to his next showdown with McDavid in Edmonton at the beginning of February, although we'll assume they won't be playing for a Big Mac on that occasion.