Mario Lemieux, one of the greatest hockey players to ever lace up a pair of skates has bid his final farewell today, and this time it’s for good. Walking away from the game that has given him such great success and hardships, Mario is retiring due to health reasons. Over the past 17 seasons, Lemieux has been plagued with cancer, back problems, major hip problems, and the latest, heart complications.
Mario actually retired back in 1997 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later the same year, only to return for the 2000-2001 season. As owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last seven years, Lemieux is the first major pro sports star to buy the team for which he played, assembling a group that bought the team in federal bankruptcy court in 1999.
Since talks have announced the Penguins eventual move to another city, the team has partnered with a casino company that is promising to build the Penguins a new $290 million arena. This promise does have requirements, including whether or not they obtain a slot machine parlor license for downtown Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the chances of that are quite slim. Therefore, Lemieux doesn't want to be remembered as the owner who relocates the team from Pittsburgh.
This extraordinary career, unfortunately cut short due to various health reasons, is coming to an end, not only as a player, but as a Pittsburgh icon as well. An instrumental part of what made the Penguins who they are today as well as the city itself is seeing a sad end of an era. On the other hand, with the Steelers Super Bowl appearance this year, Pittsburgh definitely still has something to cheer about.
