http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Saturday, January 1, 2011
A penguin ice sculpture frames downtown Pittsburgh, Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. (AP)Before Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin skate onto the ice today at Heinz Field, one forecast is crystal clear.
The Winter Classic has been a smashing success for the City of Pittsburgh and, especially, the partnership between the Penguins and Steelers to turn it from the NHL's signature game into an outstanding event.
Only the magic touch of Mario Lemieux could have created an atmosphere where Pittsburghers spent the final week of the NFL regular season — Steelers-Browns with the AFC North title and No. 2 seed in the playoffs on the line, no less — captivated by hockey instead of football.
"It's exciting for the franchise, for the players and, of course, the fans supporting us throughout my career since I've been here," Lemieux said. "Anytime you can host a Winter Classic in your own city is very special."
No matter what happens today against the Washington Capitals, the Penguins already are winners for how they have handled the Winter Classic and HBO's "24/7" series by portraying Pittsburgh in such a positive light and bringing the region what Penguins CEO and president David Morehouse predicted would be a "dramatic economic impact."
"Huge winners," said Morehouse, a Beechview native. "Pittsburgh's just a great sports town, and Pittsburghers recognize hosting an event of this magnitude is a special thing.
"It's not something we often get to do ... so it's been embraced by Pittsburgh sports fans and it's been good for hockey in the region."
The only thing that could screw it up is the NHL.
The league did, of course, by capping ticket sales for the Penguins-Capitals alumni game at 10,000 when it could have sold out the 70,000-seat stadium for what was a pseudo-reunion of the 1991 and '92 Stanley Cup champions.
And, likely, Lemieux's last game in a Penguins uniform.
Not only that, but the league left those in attendance disappointed by not allowing the 5-5 tie to be settled by shootout. Instead of watching Lemieux and four other Hall of Famers shine in the spotlight one last time, the NHL insisted on sticking to its schedule, entertainment be damned.
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 31: Pascal Dupuis #9 of the Pittsburgh Penguins wears a Pittsburgh Steelers helmet during practice for the 2011 NHL Winter Classic between the Penguins and the Washington Capitals on December 31, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)"The biggest problem we've had is we haven't been able to let as many people who have wanted to participate in as possible," Morehouse said. "It's a good problem to have. We're disappointed we couldn't open the game up to more. I actually think we could have sold this out - there were 14,000 that showed up to see Wilkes-Barre (play Hershey on Thursday at Consol Energy Center) - so I think we could have easily had 60,000 here.
"Unfortunately, the magnitude of the event - it's like hosting a Super Bowl - to have an event the day before, the league didn't think they could change the stadium over in time for the Winter Classic. But we gave it a shot ..."
Shame on the NHL for not taking advantage of the fan interest, even if the alumni game was Lemieux's late-developing idea added to the Winter Classic weekend. The league owed it to Lemieux, who saved hockey here in the mid-1980s and again earlier this decade, to have his moment almost 10 years to the day he returned from retirement.
"The thing I like about Mario isn't just that he was a great hockey player, but that he stuck with Pittsburgh," said Paul Coffey, the Hall of Fame defenseman who played on the Pens' first Cup champions. "When they had financial problems here, he could have left and gotten $10 million or $15 million a year to play in Montreal. That, to me, is his defining moment."
Maybe as a player but, as an owner, this Winter Classic is only adding to Lemieux's legacy of being a powerful presence that moved mountains to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh, help get a new arena (Consol Energy Center) and form a partnership with the Rooney family and Steelers to bring such a major sporting event to the city.
After crowning it the City of Champions with a Super Bowl and Stanley Cup in 2009, this winter showcase has proven this to be a two-team sports town. It's no longer the Steelers and everyone else. Today, the Penguins and Steelers don't just rub shoulders.
They stand side by side.
And that's classic.
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