Thank you Mario!

Yes, a post that's not about politics!

Mario Lemieux retired today, for the second and final time.

Throughout most of my life, since I started watching hockey at least, Mario has been one of my heroes. I was lucky enough to meet him in person twice, at charity golf tournaments. This year, after watching him at Maple Leaf Gardens a few times many years ago, I finally saw him play in Pittsburgh, at the Mellon Arena. I had no idea then that this would be his last season.

But Mario made the right choice in retiring. Once you start to develop heart problems like he did, playing hockey should be the least of your concerns.

It's simply amazing what Mario has done for hockey in Pittsburgh - God knows I wouldn't be a Penguins fan if it wasn't for him. He's done a lot for the city of Pittsburgh as well, participating in several local charities and starting up his own - the Mario Lemieux Foundation - to help, mostly, children in the city.

And that's why it really bothers me reading the stuff I do online. It seems like the governor of Pennsylvania could not care less if the Penguins remain in Pittsburgh or not. The team draws in tourism for sure, the Penguins' official message board is filled with stories of people like myself who travelled to Pittsburgh and spent money there solely because of the Penguins. And yet, no one in the government seems to care about the team. Living in Toronto, where the Leafs are essentially a religion, that really confuses me. (Okay, there's a BIT of politics in this post!)

Hopefully Mario can do one last great thing for Pittsburgh and gain some leverage that will help them get a new arena. Maybe he can sell the team to someone who is dedicated to keeping the team in Pittsburgh.

But even if he can't do that, the city of Pittsburgh, and hockey fans all around the world, should thank Mario Lemieux for everything he had done for the game, the city of Pittsburgh, and Canada (Canada Cup, World Cup, and Olympic Championships afterall!)

It's ironic that someone who didn't even want to put on the Penguins' jersey when he was drafted would be responsible for such a large part of the Penguins past, present, and - hopefully - future.

But a lot of that future is left up to the various levels of government that could award the slots license to the Penguins and help them get an arena.


And Sidney Crosby. A lot of the future is up to him as well. (=