the magnificent

as pittsburgh gets ready to cheer it's beloved steelers to victory in super bowl xl, they must simultaneously say farewell to one of it's greatest athletes. mario lemieux, the most talented hockey player to ever play the game, is retiring citing a number of mounting health concerns.

it is one thing to be the face of a franchise, which lemieux was for two decades, however it is something altogether different to rescue the franchise from financial and professional disarray (twice). as the first overall pick in 1985, super mario immediately brought the penguins respect on the ice and stability on the balance sheet. during his time in pittsburgh, he lead the penguins to two stanley cup victories, and gave hockey fans a reason to go to the igloo year after year, hoping to see him display his superhuman skills. obviously i am biased, growing up in the northeast, but for me mario was the greatest player to play the game and i only wish that i had the chance to see him play in person.

with his retirement, lemieux is also expected to sell his stake in the penguins franchise, which will likely spell the end of hockey in the pittsburgh. as one of the nhl's expansion six" franchises, the penguins figure rather prominently into the fabric of the league and it would be an embarrassment if they were sold and moved to texas to become the houston hombres.

a pictorial retrospective

a snapshot of his accomplishments.