Simply the Best
"There is no way of knowing how great he would have been. We only have the knowledge of how great he was." - Dave Hodge, TSN
I refrain from most sports talk on this site, but the re-retirement of Mario Lemieux is something that should not go unnoticed. He was simply the best. He may not hold all the records, he may not have all the awards, but he was the first of his kind. When Mario came into the league, and you went after him during a one-on-one, not only would he school you, but he would bring your goalie back to grade school then beat the crap out of you on the next shift. He wouldn't have his body guard do it. HE would do it. I will miss him. I will miss his style of play, what he meant to the city and most of all, his determination to make this team better for the fans.
My top Mario moments:
1. I had tix to see him play the Devils on Oct 28, 1995. He was playing the Islanders on the 26 and had 497 goals. I was going to see him get 500. Back in the day, SportsChannel, had the NY Metro games and I had to listen to it on my walkman. Looking back, I feel like I was in the 50's back then. Anyways, Mario had scored 498...then he scored 499... then, in the third, the bastard scored 500. I missed it. Low and behold, he rang up three more, all going on my side of the ice that night against the Devils. For a record 3 straight games with a hat trick, he had to take on the Lightening, and well, he didn't do it. He only 6 assists.
2. Against the Devils again, on Dec 31, 1988. In one game, he scored an even strength goal. A shorthanded goal. A power play goal. A penalty shot goal. An empty net goal. In one game. Read that over and let it sink in....and then read it again.
3. April 23, 1997. Mario's last game at home. Playoffs vs the Flyers. Time running out, Penguins will win the game, but will be down 3 games to 1 going back to Philly. But the last few minutes were nothing short of something magical. Chants of "Mario! Mario!" echoed the arena, and then the puck found him. Flyers players, Penguins players, 18,000 fans had their hearts stop, while Mario took the puck from left to right and went in on Snow. The earth may have stopped rotating just to take a look. Nothing but net. (I hate Philly, but they even game him the number one star the following game when the Pens got ousted. Respect).
4. March 2, 1993. He had a radiation treatment for Hodgkin's disease that day. And oh yeah, he also took the bus over to Philly and played in a game later that day.
5. Everything else.
He led the Pens to 17 straight wins (of course I was in NJ to see that streak STOP when Mullen just missed a redirect to win it in OT, but I'll settle for a tie and an 18 game unbeaten streak to end the year), 2 cups, and much, much more.
It was a pleasure (except for not seeing 500 vs the Devils).
I refrain from most sports talk on this site, but the re-retirement of Mario Lemieux is something that should not go unnoticed. He was simply the best. He may not hold all the records, he may not have all the awards, but he was the first of his kind. When Mario came into the league, and you went after him during a one-on-one, not only would he school you, but he would bring your goalie back to grade school then beat the crap out of you on the next shift. He wouldn't have his body guard do it. HE would do it. I will miss him. I will miss his style of play, what he meant to the city and most of all, his determination to make this team better for the fans.
My top Mario moments:
1. I had tix to see him play the Devils on Oct 28, 1995. He was playing the Islanders on the 26 and had 497 goals. I was going to see him get 500. Back in the day, SportsChannel, had the NY Metro games and I had to listen to it on my walkman. Looking back, I feel like I was in the 50's back then. Anyways, Mario had scored 498...then he scored 499... then, in the third, the bastard scored 500. I missed it. Low and behold, he rang up three more, all going on my side of the ice that night against the Devils. For a record 3 straight games with a hat trick, he had to take on the Lightening, and well, he didn't do it. He only 6 assists.
2. Against the Devils again, on Dec 31, 1988. In one game, he scored an even strength goal. A shorthanded goal. A power play goal. A penalty shot goal. An empty net goal. In one game. Read that over and let it sink in....and then read it again.
3. April 23, 1997. Mario's last game at home. Playoffs vs the Flyers. Time running out, Penguins will win the game, but will be down 3 games to 1 going back to Philly. But the last few minutes were nothing short of something magical. Chants of "Mario! Mario!" echoed the arena, and then the puck found him. Flyers players, Penguins players, 18,000 fans had their hearts stop, while Mario took the puck from left to right and went in on Snow. The earth may have stopped rotating just to take a look. Nothing but net. (I hate Philly, but they even game him the number one star the following game when the Pens got ousted. Respect).
4. March 2, 1993. He had a radiation treatment for Hodgkin's disease that day. And oh yeah, he also took the bus over to Philly and played in a game later that day.
5. Everything else.
He led the Pens to 17 straight wins (of course I was in NJ to see that streak STOP when Mullen just missed a redirect to win it in OT, but I'll settle for a tie and an 18 game unbeaten streak to end the year), 2 cups, and much, much more.
It was a pleasure (except for not seeing 500 vs the Devils).
posted by Vandelay Industries @ 11:27 PM
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