Posted 11:45 AM by Mike
An end of an era for me yesterday..... My last remaining "sports" idol officially retired. Obviously I don't consider athletes role models, that is left for parents, but Mario Lemieux was as close of a role model as I would let an athlete get. When I told Kristin that Mario hung up his skates she said something that made me think. She said "Well, now Sidney Crosby can be your idol". I thought about that. He's only 18 years old! There is no way and 18 year old kid will ever be my idol. He is now officially my new favorite hockey player, but not idol status. I thought back on all my sports idols. They are all gone now. Mario, Jerry Rice, Larry Bird, Joe Montana, Ryne Sandberg, Lawrence Taylor....all retired. Now that I'm almost 30 years old, I don't think I will ever hold another athlete in the same regard as I did those six. Probably because I started idolizing them when I was a kid. When you're a kid, you tend to look up to the athletes you idolize. Well, since I'm probably older or around the same age of all the players I cheer for now, I don't think I can ever idolize another athlete ever again.

This is what makes Mario's retirement even sadder for me. This time it's for good. I will never again see my favorite athlete of all-time on the ice. The last link to my childhood hero's is gone. Some Mario memories for me:

Living up in God's country, we were able to get a Canadian TV station. I remember watching a hockey game in the early 80's. It was a Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens game. This was before Mario came to Pittsburgh. The Penguins were a pathetic group then. They got pounded (something like 5-1 or something). But for some reason I latched on to the Pens. Can't really explain it. I think it comes down to the fact that I don't like to be like everybody else and root for my own teams. From that day forward the Pens were my team.

Around 1985 I started collecting hockey cards. Of course I pulled all of the Penguins cards out and kept them seperate. I came across a card of some rookie named....you guessed it...Mario Lemieux. Now I bet if I asked my dad about this he wouldn't recollect it, but I was showing my cards to him and he saw the Lemieux card. He said "I heard that kid is really good". From that day on I followed Mario as best I could (remember this was before we had satellite with ESPN) through the papers.

1990: It was coming towards the end of the season and the Pens were on the brink of a playoff spot. Mario was out of the line up because of a back injury (little did I know how serious it was). It came down to the last couple of game that they had to win in order to get in. They of course didn't make it. I remember thinking "Wait until next year when Mario comes back"

The summer of 1990 was a bad one for Mario. His herniated disk was repaired, but he got an awful staph infection following the surgery. He spent three months in bed and had to learn how to walk all over again. It looked as though his career might be over. The 90-91 season started without Mario. I remember thinking that there was no way this team could make it without him. To their credit (and to Jaromir Jagr, Mark Recchi, and John Cullen's credit) they stayed within striking distance of a playoff spot. Well.....Mario came back mid-season...nothing short of a miracle. I remember the highlights of the game against the Flyers when he came back. He didn't miss a beat with three assists in the game.

1991: The Pens finished the season on a roll and made it to the finals against.....the Minnesota North Stars! I was now Enemy #1 in my school. I got to watch each of the finals game except Game #6 (we were traveling to Muscatine that day). The Pens were up 3 games to 2 in the series. Mario had sat out a game because of his back, but other than that he was single handedly destroying the North Stars. The second we pulled into my grandparents driveway I ran out of the car to catch the news. Score 8-0.....Pens win!! Stanley Cup Champs!

1992: Mario leads the team to a second consecutive Cup....this time I got to watch all the games. This time it was the Mario-Jagr show as they steam rolled over the Blackhawks.

1992-93: The Pens were on the brink of a dynasty. The Pens were an overwhelming favorite to win the Cup. Mario was in the middle of scoring outburst never before seen. He was on pace to shatter Gretzky's single-season scoring record. Things were good. Then.....it all came crashing down. Mario was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease.....Cancer. At that point I was more worried about his life than his career. He started radiation therapy. Again, the Pens did a good job while Mario wasn't there. Jagr had blossomed into one of the best RW's in hockey and helped carry the team. All of a sudden I heare on the news that Mario is going to be playing against the Flyers....the same day as his last radiation treatment! He came back and got a standing ovation from the Philly crowd. He had a goal and an assist, but the Pens lost the game....but I didn't care....my idol was back. He was 24 points behind Pat LaFontaine for the scoring lead. He had missed 20 games. The barage that he went on made the early season outburst look like child's play! When it was all said and done Mario won the scoring title by 12 points despite playing in only 60 games!! In the process the Pens set a new NHL record for consecutive wins with 17. Unfortunately the Pens were upset in the second round of the playoffs by the NY Islanders.

1995: Mario sits out the entire year. He needed to recover from all he had been through. It all caught up to him. Again I think he is done.

1995-96 season starts with Mario back and better than ever. He easiy wins another scoring title and MVP. The Pens get to the Eastern Conference Finals and lose in 7 games to the Florida Panthers. My highlight of this season was watching Mario score 5 goals against Wayne Gretzky and the St. Louis Blues.

1996-97: Mario still productive...leads the league in scoring but the Pens aren't that good of a team and barely make the playoffs with the #8 seed. Mario has said he is going to retire after the playoffs citing fatigue and general unhappiness with what the game has become...a hack league. Mario gives his home fans one more reason to cheer as he scores on a breakaway goal. The crowd erupts and he gets a 10 minute ovation from the crowd while Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" is played during the ovation....I've got goosebumbs just thinking about it. Unfortunately they lose the next game and Mario's career is over....at 31 years old. Way too early, but I understood. He wanted to leave on the top of his game.

1999: Mario buys the Penguins as they are on the brink of bankruptcy. Again he saves the franchise....

December 7th, 2000: I remember it like it was yesterday. I logged on to the Penguins message board that I post on. People were posting things like "Merry Christmas!" and "possible line combo's with Mario". What? Huh? Jump onto ESPN.com.....It's true! The man is back! I was so excited I couldn't even stand it. Kristin thinks I'm a major freak!

December 27th, 2000: Mario's first game back against the Maple Leafs. Like he never left. Assist 30 seconds into the game. Scores a sweet goal and adds another assist.

February 11, 2001: I had already had tickets for the Wild-Pens game at the Xcel Energy Center before Mario had come back. This just made it even sweeter. Finally getting to see the man up close. I even got interviewed before the game because they were interviewing Pens fans about Mario. I made the news!

I got to see Mario one more time in person in 2002 before he got injured. That was it. Too bad injuries derailed this god on skates. He had it all. Size, strength, hands, grace.... The perfect hockey player. Had be been healthy his whole career and hadn't been driven from the game for 3 years he may be challenging Gretzky's records. He's a class act...not only a great hockey player, but a great person. As I type this, the Pens future in Pittsburgh is bleak. Mario is selling the team because finally it's time he thinks about himself for once. He has given everything for the city of Pittsburgh and it will be a shame if the team is moved. He is selling because he doesn't want to have to be the owner who possibly moves the team.

I want to thank Mario for all the great memories over the past 21 years. Especially these past 5 years since he came back because he allowed me to hold onto a part of my childhood. My last idol. This chapter of my life is over. Now I'm just a fan....not a kid looking up to his idol.

Thanks Mario!!