http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Thursday, April 8, 2010
I hadn't seen ex-Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis for about three years when he tapped me on the shoulder one night in 2006 in the Mellon Arena press box.
Never a fan of formalities, Kaspar skipped hello and went straight to the point when he noticed my graying hair.
"You got old," he said.
He was right, and that is part of how I will remember Mellon Arena: The place where I got old.
However — and I can't stress this enough — Mellon Arena is NOT where I went bald. I'm not bald yet. Not fully. I re-affirm as much each year by obsessively checking my hairline in the mirrored ceiling of the arena's press-box elevator. Where else can I get a bird's-eye view of my cranium?Funny what you'll remember about a place.
And this isn't just any place. It is one of the world's most unique and dramatic (and decayed) sporting venues. Even if a lot of us have become immune to the sight of a giant, silver spaceship in the middle of our city, newcomers routinely are blown away.
Thursday's matchup against the New York Islanders marks Mellon Arena's final regular-season game. For many, it will be a melancholy occasion, so maybe it's fitting that the visiting franchise has inflicted more emotional pain than any other in this building.
In 1975, the Islanders capped a historic rally from a three-games-to-none deficit by beating the Penguins, 1-0, in what was then called the Civic Arena. In 1993, they ruined a potential Penguins dynasty in another tortuous Game 7.
I was thinking about all this late Tuesday night, sitting in the press box after the Penguins' loss to the Washington Capitals. The lights had been lowered, the Zamboni was purring along, and my colleagues — as always — were feverishly finishing their stories amid an array of stat sheets and half-finished Cokes.
For better or worse, these are my people, and this was my work place for some of the prime years of my life.
It sure beat some of my previous work places. During the Stanley Cup runs of 1991 and '92, I was finishing grad school at Duquesne University and working across the street from the Igloo, punching tickets at Chatham Center Parking Garage and breathing in exhaust fumes as giddy fans celebrated another big win. I never dreamed I would someday work inside the arena covering the Penguins.
The greatest event I witnessed at Mellon Arena was Game 6 of last year's Stanley Cup Final, but, truly, it isn't the games or players that come to mind first when I think of sporting venues that are important to me. It's the personal connections.
I don't remember who the Buffalo Braves played in my first trip to the old Memorial Auditorium, when I was 7. I just remember how I couldn't catch my breath in the bitter cold and how my father suggested I turn around and walk backward like him. And how that strategy worked perfectly.
Nor do I remember much about a playoff game between the Braves and the Boston Celtics in the mid-1970's. I just remember the surreal feeling of sitting a few rows from the court, seeing John Havlicek and hearing the squeaking of the sneakers — and knowing that my grandfather had splurged for the tickets.
Three Rivers Stadium was a special place, because my father and I would make the pilgrimage once a year. We didn't have Major League Baseball in Buffalo, so I adopted the Pirates of Willie Stargell and Dave Parker.
I was 25 when I moved to Pittsburgh, 27 when I got that job at the parking garage, early 30's when I began covering the Penguins and now mid-40's as I sit here late on a Tuesday night, after the second-last regular-season game in Mellon Arena history.
I got old here.
I guess I'll go bald at the Consol Energy Center.
Arrive early to send out the Igloo
Gates will open at 6 p.m. Thursday for the final regular-season NHL game at Mellon Arena between the Penguins and New York Islanders.
The Penguins are requesting that fans be seated by 7:20 p.m., because a special pre-game ceremony will begin soon after. The ceremony will involve more than 50 former Penguins — players, coaches and general managers — who will be on hand to send off the NHL’s oldest facility.
Trib Total Media readers are encouraged to send their Mellon Memories via e-mail to hockeyday@tribweb.com.
More Columnist Joe Starkey headlines
Starkey: It's (not) time for Pirates
Starkey: Living, dying with Mountaineers
Flyers fold in final visit
Pitt, Dixon trending upward
Starkey: NHL at break-even point
Starkey: Sandle perfect fit for Pitt
Starkey: No buzz for Pitt
No comments:
Post a Comment