Lemieux said years ago that he wanted to be remembered as a man who helped keep hockey in Pittsburgh.
Posted on 03/13/2007 10:32:09 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
PITTSBURGH -- They chugged Labatt Blue and shared man hugs at Happy Hour just down from 66 Mario Lemieux Place on Tuesday night because the planets aligned and the politicians agreed and hockey was staying in Pittsburgh.
Lemieux was nowhere to be found.
He slipped out of a press conference a mile across town, shielded in a herd of dark power suits, away from the handshakes and backslaps. The job was done, Lemieux saved hockey in Pittsburgh a third time, and the quiet Canadian who has somehow become the face of a blue-collar American city was tired.
"In the deal business, there's a term that people sometimes call 'deal fatigue,'" NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "I think the process was wearing on him."
Across the street from Mellon Arena, the energy was palpable. Horns played, fans sighed and roughly a quarter of the sweaters worn Tuesday night proudly displayed Lemieux's No. 66.
It had been a long, chilly winter in Pittsburgh, with talk swirling that Lemieux would take the team he built and shuttle it off to Kansas City. And while it prompted plenty of venom toward the Midwestern folk waiting to pounce on a revived franchise, the backlash never really hit Lemieux.
He was a Penguin his entire career, revived the franchise in 1984 and then bought it out of bankruptcy 15 years later. But promises were made then for a new arena, and with each passing month, Lemieux's face grew more worn and his intentions were a little fuzzier.
Last week, Lemieux played hardball when the Penguins issued a letter saying the team planned to pursue relocation actively. Within three days, the negotiations heated up and the deal was done.
"I honestly didn't think he'd let the team leave," Penguins fan Dale Holub said as a sold-out crowd headed into Mellon Arena on Tuesday night to watch the Penguins play Buffalo. "This team means so much to the city. He knows how much it means. He wouldn't let them down."
Holub, wearing a No. 66 jersey, said he couldn't hate Lemieux even if he did move the Penguins. But it became obvious late Tuesday that it was never really an option. Lemieux stood on the ice at Mellon Arena just before the start of Tuesday night's game, grabbed a microphone and sheepishly lowered his head.
He said he had an announcement to make.
"Tonight, I'm proud to announce that your Pittsburgh Penguins will remain right here," Lemieux said. "Thank you, Pittsburgh. Have a great night."
Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" blasted over the speakers, and video of Lemieux's playing days blipped on the big screen. Then it flashed to the present, with kid phenom Sidney Crosby, and the crowd erupted as the Penguins skated onto the ice.
Lemieux looked up at the rafters near a sign that said "Mario for Governor." Years ago, when he was chasing Wayne Gretzky, Lemieux said he wanted to be remembered as a man who helped keep hockey in Pittsburgh.
"That was my goal," Lemieux said Tuesday night, "and we finally achieved it."
But the old haunt was in serious need of a wrecking ball and is older than Lemieux. The new deal calls for a $290 million arena that the team hopes will be finished sometime during the 2009-10 season.
When word of the relocation letter hit eight days ago, Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl received 1,500 emails between Monday and Tuesday. All of them, from owner to governor, felt the burden of a city that has embraced a team zooming toward the playoffs.
Ultimately, the fans had their say in the decision by packing the arena. They were rewarded Tuesday night, sweating out a 5-4 win in a shootout. The demographic varied from middle-aged diehards to teen Crosby swooners.
"Everybody believed the Penguins belonged here in Pittsburgh," Bettman said. "There are fans here that care passionately about this team."
The love starts with Lemieux, who made even the local politicians' jobs a little tougher during the negotiation process. Gov. Ed Rendell said it was hard to sit across the table from Lemieux because he's "a guy I've looked up to."
Another local leader called the process intimidating.
"He personally sacrificed a lot of money to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh," Rendell said, "and you're thinking that in the back of your mind, that this is a guy who already has made a sacrifice. We wanted to make sure it happened."
When it was finally over Tuesday, Lemieux's poker face cracked a smile. He wants a vacation. He'll stay in Pittsburgh and keep his responsibility as an owner.
For Lemieux, it's home.
"He's a legend. Probably the biggest sports legend ever in this town," said Shawn Hoover, a season ticket-holder who endured years of empty arenas and losing teams. "He saved hockey three times.
"He never left this town, even when he had every opportunity in the world to do it. He stayed here," Hoover said.
Lemieux said years ago that he wanted to be remembered as a man who helped keep hockey in Pittsburgh.
Was hoping to have them here in Seattle, but, frankly, the Burgh deserves to keep them. Maybe next time.
Congratulations!
Pittsburgh is a struggling city and have lost a lot in their population. They had to do everything to keep the Pens.
Seattle is exactly the opposite. Last NHL team here was the Metropolitans, just after the turn of the last century (though they did win a Cup, something like 1906).
Not much of a hockey culture here, except for transplants and a grassroots scene. What would attract the NHL here (likely to get a relocated franchise) is if/when the Sonics get their new suburban arena, with a sufficient hockey configuration.
Paul Allen, owner of the Seahawks, briefly owned the Pens, and wanted to move them to Portland, OR, where his TrailBlazers (JailBlazers) play at the Rose Garden. PDX likely isn't quite an NHL city, either.
Through taxes the people who live here personally sacrifice LOTS of money to fund new stadiums, ballparks, arenas, killer, collapsing convention centers, casinos and more.
Guaranteed with the arena deal it's another "bend over and grab yer ankles" for the W PA taxpayer.
We're livin' in a socialist paradise, I keep tellin' yunzall, n'at!
As further proof as to how bad it is here on both the intellectual and nanny state fronts...
Tuesday was very warm, around 73 degrees. Real nice day. I started picking up wood and twigs around my house that had fallen over the winter. Threw them into the fireplace and lit it up. Threw a couple of logs and some old cardboard on too. Nice, cheery springtime fire that warmed the entire house.
Around 2:30pm I was pretty tired, had a toothache and decided to relax in a rocker with my feet up on the back window sill and watch the birds and animals in the woods behind the house.
There was a commotion out front, but I figured it was the neighbors or a delivery truck so I ignored it. A couple of minutes later my youngest son got home from school, stuck his head in the door and told me I'd better get out front.
There were a lot of people milling about, 2 police cars, a hook and ladder firetruck, a pumper firetruck, an ambulance and an emergency rescue vehicle. Police, firefighters and the rescue crew were running all about with much shouting and waving of arms while a dozen or so neighbors with worried eyes milled around across the street.
I went out and asked one of the cops what was going on...he was too busy to respond except to say they thought there was a gas leak and maybe one of the houses was about to explode. He started moving everyone back and I tried to get back into my house. He wasn't thrilled about that but I said I had a fire going in the fireplace and that probably would't be a good idea if there was a gas leak.
To make a long, sad story a bit shorter...suddenly everybody stopped, the crowd got quiet and the fire chief asked me if I had a wood burner. I said no, I'm just burning some scrap, leftover wood from the winter in my fireplace...I've done it for over 40 years.
He got upset and along with a couple of cops and another firefighter carrying CO2 and nat gas detectors they swarmed into my house. Stood ther staring at the nice, cozy fire I had going.
Turns out I WAS THE FREAKIN' PROBLEM! A neighbor and some passersby saw smoke >coming from my chimney<, smelled the smoke and called 9-1-1.
I then got a lecture from the fire chief and the police while the neghbors stood by shaking their heads and complaining...I SWEAR I heard people saying things like..." A fire with it this warm out. That's CRAZY! I never heard of such a thing. He must be nuts!"
After about an hour only one cop and one firefighter were still around keeping an eye on me to make sure I didn't do anything else dangerous...you know like maybe LIGHT A FIRE IN MY FARKIN' BAR-B-CUE FIREPIT!
It was so bad the Wife was stopped on her way home from work and told that our house was burning and about to explode. Thank goodness she has a brain and figured out what was going on, so she didn't bother to call. Although I did get questioned about whether or not I blew out on the emergency crews and the neighbors...I've been known to do that before when I've been told things like I can't trap and kill the varmints that raid my garden, or when youngest son and I watched a squirrel meet his end falling from a roof top and we decided to skin it with the hide nailed to a tree in the backyard.
OK I've vented...I feel better..except for my tooth which BTW WOULDN'T BE HURTING if I didn't have to put up with energy saving electric lights at work that are supposed - to - but - don't come on autmatically when you enter the men's room. I walked into an open door and bashed the side of my face all thanks to AL GORE and his enviromentalist whacko friends who REGULATED buildings like ours be so equiped with energy saving devices.
One of these days I'm gonna hit the lottery and have enough money to build FReeperville. A conservative community where like minded folks won't have to put up with the leftist, socialist insanity that so grips us today!
prisoner6
One of the KC radio talk show hosts said that as far as the Penguins were concerned, Pittsburgh is their wife, we were just the "one night stand," pretty much just leverage to get what they wanted in Pittsburgh.
Mark
Can I live in Freeperville with you? We can drink beer, reload, fish, and shoot our guns together.
That my FRiend...would be Paradise!
prisoner6
Maybe I'll get to a Pens game one of these days . . .
If not Kansas City, it would be some other city like Oklahoma City, Houston, Seattle, Portland, and countless others that does not have a NHL team.
Pens could have easily relocated to any of the above cities.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.