PENGUINS by mtncorg
Back before 1967, the National Hockey League consisted of the Original Six - a mere six team league. Pittsburgh did have a team in the NHL back in the 20?s - the Pirates - but the longtime success of the American League local franchise, the Hornets, gave Pittsburgh one of the franchises in the big expansion in 1967 when the NHL doubled to twelve teams. They have played their home games in he Pittsburgh Civic Arena - now the Mellon Arena - which is better known as the Igloo - the shape makes the name obvious. The original team had a real penguin mascot that was trained to prance across the ice. Alas, as a harbinger of things to come, the penguin caught a cold and died shortly before the opening of the initial season. In similar fashion, maybe a result of an extra-long mourning period, success eluded the Penguins for many years until, at last - and here, I should also make mention of a childhood hero of mine, Jean Pronovost - the advent of the Marvelous Mario. Mario Lemieux is one of the two best players ever to play in the NHL and when the team acquired enough talent to complement his skills, the Pens broke through to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in the early 1990?s. Mario has returned to save the Penguins again - the Pens like to intersperse their great seasons with seasons of horrible futility which almost sent the franchise out of town - can you say ?Portland Penguins?? - but also gave the team the anchors for their present successes - Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Success begets success and by pushing themselves into last year?s Stanley Cup finals, the Penguins have made themselves very relevant on the Pittsburgh sports scene. Relevant enough for a new sports arena to be erected across the street from the present Mellon Arena to be opened next season.The Pens have always been my favorite NHL team - I think the name and the scarf on the original mascot had something to do with it. I haven?t had the privilege of seeing them play at home, but did catch them once, in person, at the old Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto where Mario showed some of his magic. I must admit to having added another team to my stable of favorites, but it is good to remain a Pen fan for the short run, at least, because the Los Angeles Kings aren?t going anywhere for awhile ;-[
