(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
When the Pittsburgh Penguins were defeated in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, no one with a computer or a pen or a job at any major sports outlet was giving them a chance of returning to the Finals the following season.
When Dan Bylsma took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins with just over 20 games remaining in the regular season, no one was giving the Penguins a chance of making the playoffs.
When the Washington Capitals won the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the whole world was ready to end the debate about who the best player in the National Hockey League was with two letters "AO".
When the Penguins' headed into the Verizon Center for Game Seven against the Caps, no one outside of Pittsburgh expected them to win.
When the Detroit Red Wings stole the first two games of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals on their home ice, people around Detroit were already planning their parade.
When the Pens forced yet another Game Seven, people said that there was no way that Marc-Andre Fleury could overcome his history of choking under pressure to win a game of this magnitude.
No one thought the Red Wings would, or even could, lose to the Penguins on their home ice.
No one outside of Pittsburgh thought Max Talbot would do anything beyond blocking a few shots on the penalty kill and finishing his checks in the corners.
In each of the above circumstances, the Pittsburgh Penguins overcame adversity.
You see, it didn't matter what "no one" thought.
It didn't matter that the Penguins might not have been the most experienced or even the most physically talented team in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
All that mattered was the will and determination of the 21 Penguins who set foot on the ice at one time or another during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bill Guerin, Petr Sykora, Philippe Boucher, and Hal Gill were playing for what could have been their last chance at raising the Cup.
Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Max Talbot, Kris Letang, Rob Scuderi, and Brooks Orpik were playing for a chance to fulfill boyhood dreams of winning the greatest trophy in professional sports.
Everyone in a Pittsburgh uniform was playing for a chance at redemption.
Marian Hossa wasn't even playing. Whooooooooooooooo!
Let's make one thing clear, the Detroit Red Wings did not lose the Stanley Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins won it.
17 years ago, the Lemieux-led Penguins hoisted Lord Stanley's Chalice for the second time in as many seasons.
You can be sure that not-one Penguin fan thought it would be another 17 years before they would do it again.
The 2008-09 season was not the Penguins' most prolific season in team history.
However, 2009 has now become an integral part of their history.
The 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins will forever be the Stanley Cup Champions.
No one can take that away from them, or from us, the fans.
Pittsburgh has once again become the self proclaimed city of champions after the Steelers and Penguins both won their respective championships in 2009.
Which is nice for now but doesn't really matter after the celebration is over.
Next season, 29 other NHL teams will take the ice again, looking to cash-in on what could be their last chance at greatness, or fulfill boyhood dreams of their own.
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