Parade of the Penguins and Mario's Messages

by James Mirtle on Jun 16, 2009 1:20 AM CDT Comment 4 comments

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Click on photo for full gallery of Penguins parade pictures.

Some great shots from downtown Pittsburgh Monday afternoon (click above for more). Looks like quite a time.

One of the neat stories that came out Monday was the fact that Mario Lemieux played a small role in the Penguins victory, sending all of the players text messages and helping inspire them after Game 5 and before Game 7.

Here's the first, sent to GM Ray Shero after a brutal 5-0 loss in Game 5 in Detroit:

We are a family and in this together. We don't need anyone that is only with us WIN or TIE. I really think this is our year. Let's forget about tonight ... It happens. We will win Tuesday and win the Cup Friday.

And the second, sent to every player on the day of the final game:

This is a chance of a lifetime to realize your childhood dream to win a Stanley Cup. Play without fear and you will be successful! See you at center ice.

Mario never really got much credit as a motivational figure during his playing days, but what he said apparently made a big impression on the team. And I love that shot of him on the bench, downing champagne out of the bottle.

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im only partially being sarcastic...

…so inspiring players has come down to impersonal mass texts? What, Mario didn’t have time to Twitter a speech?

Glen Sather is a Hockey Genius.

http://glensathersucks.com/
http://twitter.com/ThGeneralissimo

by poploser on Jun 16, 2009 8:11 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Heh, I think that’s as close as Mario gets to being a rah rah guy.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Jun 16, 2009 11:38 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Clarification about "The Texts"

Mario did not send out “mass texts.” According to news reports in Pittsburgh, Mario sent the first text to Dan Bylsma. He was so moved by it, he asked Mario if he could forward it to the team.

Mario doesn’t need to be a “rah-rah” guy in the traditional sense. All he needs to do is hold up his two Stanley Cup rings, and people listen.

by JBM425 on Jun 17, 2009 12:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Stanley Cup rings don’t make people listen. If it did, Craig MacTavish would be a Jack Adams finalist because of his 4 rings. I think Mario just has the “it” factor. The strong silent type that only speaks up when he has something of great import to impart.

And btw, Mario has 3 rings now.

RT40 writes with Strange Deadfellows Oilerblog and is an avid hockey fan.

by raventalon40 on Jun 18, 2009 1:28 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs