Penguins, Steelers are rivals for first place in fans' hearts
By Zain Siddiqui
Over the years, Pittsburgh residents have been captivated by many sports: football, baseball, hockey, even soccer, and now arena football. The home football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, has been the talk of the town, the main sport that has overshadowed all the other professional sports.
Since 2005, hockey has been one of the most watched and loved sports in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Penguins has housed the National Hockey League’s greatest players in the world. During the early 1980s and up to the early turn of the century, Mario Lemieux, who is now co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, saved hockey in Pittsburgh. To this day, he is still the greatest player to ever touch the ice in a Penguin uniform, and to most, the greatest hockey player in the world.
When football was not doing so well in the '80s and '90s, hockey stole the show in Pittsburgh. To most people living in the area, hockey was the most-watched televised sporting event. The Penguins won two Stanley Cups in the early '90s on the back of Mario Lemieux.
According to one observer, “During the time of Lemieux, football was something I didn’t really look forward to. Hockey was on and talked about all the time throughout the city. It was on in all the bars, homes, and in the hospital where I worked,“ said Kimberly Dove a former pharmaceutical nurse at Allegheny General Hospital, who provided medication for sickness or after surgery to some of Pittsburgh's professional athletes during the 1990s.
Once the second retirement of Lemieux took place, Sidney Crosby brought hockey back into Pittsburgh. Crosby, at the time of his draft in 2005, was being compared to hockey legends Wayne Gretzkey and Mario Lemieux. The Penguins in the 2005 draft, drafted him at No. 1 overall. And 2005 was the final year Mario Lemieux played in the National Hockey League, giving Crosby time to shine.
Before Crosby was drafted, the Penguins were among the worst teams in the NHL. They reached the playoffs a few times and posted as the Top 5 worst team in the NHL from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. During the time of hockey's downfall in Pittsburgh, football shined again, with the Steelers bringing home Super Bowl trophies in 2005 and in 2008.
Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins were taking time to become the best franchise in the NHL today, bringing home Pittsburgh’s third Stanley Cup in 2009. Since then, the Penguins have reached the playoffs almost every year. Crosby attracts fans from around the world. Hockey, for the city of Pittsburgh, has grown, and so have the Penguins.
Once again, football is at its low point, while Crosby and the Penguins are at their high point. Some say that Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby are the saviors of hockey in Pittsburgh. The Penguins are on the right track to becoming the No. 1 sports team, and hockey, the No. 1 sport, in Pittsburgh.
As former high school sports writer Lena Salvio of Swissvale sees it, “You see fewer and fewer people wearing football jerseys and more and more people wearing hockey jerseys and talking about [hockey] as well. Hockey is growing once again in Pittsburgh. The dark days are over, “ she said.
So now, once again, hockey flourishes in Pittsburgh.
Learn more about Zain Siddiqui on his blog.
Over the years, Pittsburgh residents have been captivated by many sports: football, baseball, hockey, even soccer, and now arena football. The home football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, has been the talk of the town, the main sport that has overshadowed all the other professional sports.
Since 2005, hockey has been one of the most watched and loved sports in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Penguins has housed the National Hockey League’s greatest players in the world. During the early 1980s and up to the early turn of the century, Mario Lemieux, who is now co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, saved hockey in Pittsburgh. To this day, he is still the greatest player to ever touch the ice in a Penguin uniform, and to most, the greatest hockey player in the world.
When football was not doing so well in the '80s and '90s, hockey stole the show in Pittsburgh. To most people living in the area, hockey was the most-watched televised sporting event. The Penguins won two Stanley Cups in the early '90s on the back of Mario Lemieux.
According to one observer, “During the time of Lemieux, football was something I didn’t really look forward to. Hockey was on and talked about all the time throughout the city. It was on in all the bars, homes, and in the hospital where I worked,“ said Kimberly Dove a former pharmaceutical nurse at Allegheny General Hospital, who provided medication for sickness or after surgery to some of Pittsburgh's professional athletes during the 1990s.
Once the second retirement of Lemieux took place, Sidney Crosby brought hockey back into Pittsburgh. Crosby, at the time of his draft in 2005, was being compared to hockey legends Wayne Gretzkey and Mario Lemieux. The Penguins in the 2005 draft, drafted him at No. 1 overall. And 2005 was the final year Mario Lemieux played in the National Hockey League, giving Crosby time to shine.
Before Crosby was drafted, the Penguins were among the worst teams in the NHL. They reached the playoffs a few times and posted as the Top 5 worst team in the NHL from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. During the time of hockey's downfall in Pittsburgh, football shined again, with the Steelers bringing home Super Bowl trophies in 2005 and in 2008.
Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins were taking time to become the best franchise in the NHL today, bringing home Pittsburgh’s third Stanley Cup in 2009. Since then, the Penguins have reached the playoffs almost every year. Crosby attracts fans from around the world. Hockey, for the city of Pittsburgh, has grown, and so have the Penguins.
Once again, football is at its low point, while Crosby and the Penguins are at their high point. Some say that Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby are the saviors of hockey in Pittsburgh. The Penguins are on the right track to becoming the No. 1 sports team, and hockey, the No. 1 sport, in Pittsburgh.
As former high school sports writer Lena Salvio of Swissvale sees it, “You see fewer and fewer people wearing football jerseys and more and more people wearing hockey jerseys and talking about [hockey] as well. Hockey is growing once again in Pittsburgh. The dark days are over, “ she said.
So now, once again, hockey flourishes in Pittsburgh.
Learn more about Zain Siddiqui on his blog.