A new statue for Pittsburgh - 03-07-12
A few observations from today's unveiling of the new Mario Lemieux statue.
Here's the statue under a black tarp with the Civic Arena's bloody carcass in the backround:
-They Penguins couldn not have picked a better day to do this in terms of weather. It was in the 60s (we've been told it hit 66 degrees officially) and somewhat windy. Very few clouds.
-Given the ongoing demolition of the Civic Arena, it probably could have been aestically better to do this for a home opener. Having the old building half chewed away in the backround just didn't look good.
-A video screen was set up with Lemieux's highlights:
-Plenty of fans showed up:
-The Penguins' current players attended the ceremony:
-On the right hand side, you can see NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke:
-Mike Lange emceed the event:
-The statue was unveiled:
-The man being honored spoke to the masses:
-We're assuming Gary Roberts inspired this choice of Fiji water:
-A few better looks at the statue. The front:
The rear with two players attempting to defend Lemieux:
-From the side:
-A touch we really enjoy is he skate grooves on the "ice" the players are on:
-The plaques in front:
-Lemieux and his mother Pierrette posed in front of the statue:
-As did Lemieux and his brothers Alain and Richard:
-Several former Penguins players such as Alain Lemieux, Bill Guerin, Luc Robitaille, Rand Hillier, Bryan Trottier, Phil Bourque, Gilles Meloche, Bob Errey were on hand. Former Penguins executives Eddie Johnston and Jack Riley were also on hand.
-The goal which the statue is modeled after came in a 5-3 home win against the Islanders, Dec. 20, 1988. The two Islanders defensemen incorporated into the photo are Rich Pilon and Jeff Norton.
-The goal:
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-Overall, we're not impressed with the statue. It's too busy. There's no need to have Lemieux posed with two opponents. He's Mario FLIPPING Lemieux. He has stood out by himself for his entire life. He can stand out in bronze by himself alone as well.
-There is a Penguins logo on the chest of Lemieux's portion of the statue, but it is very faint. That aspect could have been a little bit more dominant. You have to look very carefully:
-Overall, it's not a perfect statue, but ultimately, the important thing is there is a statue as well as an NHL team in Pittsburgh. They don't have either in Hartford, Atlanta, Cleveland or Quebec City.