Mario Lemieux Statue

Have you been over to Consol Energy Center, Uptown, to see the new statue of Mario Lemieux?  It's worth taking a look.

The setting is a little odd, at first glance.  When we drove up Center Avenue, and pulled over just behind Epiphany Church, my first thought was, Why are we looking at these two bums?  Then the scene becomes clearer.  Mario has swept by these two defensemen, whose backs are to you, the viewer.  Mario is cruising up ice with the puck on his stick in a breakaway toward the goalie.  It's from an actual event in a game against the New York Islanders on December 20, 1988.  Some have called the statue "Le Magnifique," one of Mario's many nicknames.  But others have dubbed it "Resiliance," to represent the many health problems Mario had to overcome throughout his great career. 

Initial reviews in the sports pages upon its unveiling earlier this month were mostly negative.  But I have to say (just another opinion) that it is a worthy and suitable remembrance for a great sports figure in Pittsburgh, and a great Pittsburgher.  As many remarked at the statue's dedication, Mario Lemieux came to Pittsburgh as a callow, and not very pleasant, 18 year old.  Over the years, he made Pittsburgh his home, raised his four children here, and continues to live in Sewickley.  He saved our hockey franchise once as a player, and once as an owner.