Wishful Thinking
Wednesday night, the great Mario Lemieux returned to the NHL. This was a great holiday present for the Penguins organization, the fans in Pittsburgh, the National Hockey League, and the world of sports in general. Mario retired three and a half years ago because of physical problems and a genuine desire to spend more time with his family. Though his playing career was temporarily on hiatus, he stayed close to the game he loved by heading a group that would buy the struggling Penguins franchise. He and the other investors have certainly saved the franchise, but the Stanley Cup image that Mario embedded into Pittsburgh hockey is not quite there yet. Though the Penguins have the best player in the game in Jaromir Jagr, the team has not established itself as an elite team this year.
Mario Lemieux went into the phone booth to rest his back for a few years only to come out with his cape on, and skating so that his 4 year old son Austin could finally watch him play the game he masters. His retired jersey number was lowered from the rafters, and he once again put on his Penguins jersey with the number 66 on it. Once he stepped on the ice to skate alongside Jagr and the other Penguins, this team was instantly made elite.
In front of a sold out house in Pittsburgh and a national television audience, Mario revived his career, his team, and the sport in 33 seconds. It took him a mere 33 seconds to exhalt the eager sold out crowd by putting his first point of the season in the books. He did this with an assist to Jagr on the first shift of the game. Though his son asked him for a tall ordered hat trick, Mario managed to finish the night with Super Mario numbers, one goal, two assists, and a win; perhaps just as important, he also helped Jagr be Jagr. Jagr, who has recently struggled and asked to be traded, looked like the spectacular player he is. He scored 2 goals and dished out 2 assists (one to Lemieux) in the Penguins one sided 5-0 victory over the Toronto Mapleleafs.
The return of this one 35 year old player is the talk of the sports world, putting the nameless faceless NHL back on the map, and in just enough time for the playoffs. ESPN is televising every moment of Lemieux's return, and the masses are once again returning to the great show on ice that turned good when Lemieux and Gretzky retired. Imagine how cheated hockey fans have been for the last three years by not being able to witness what this incredible athlete would have done in that time. Well, he's back, and from the looks of it, he's still Super Mario; the sporting world can only rejoice for the resurrection of a legend.
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