However, for every happy fan there always seems to be a pissed off fan. Believe it or not, some Pittsburgh-ers actually resent Mario for the tactics that he used in trying to lockup a new home for the Pens.
Thisarticle from the Trib-Review suggest that some fans are upset with "Lemieux's ruse."
These jokes are whining that Mario "duped" the fans into thinking that he would move the team if he didn't get what he wanted. C'mon people... he duped us? What he did was save our team... again.
Regardless of the way he did it, next year when you are watching the Penguins on your local FSN Pittsburgh station instead of hitting the refresh button on "kcpenguins.com" to see the score of the game, maybe you will reconsider your notions of being duped.
One example of this comes from Kristin, a South Side resident. Kristin says that "He (Lemieux) knew how to strike at the heart of the fans and the city. I think he really duped the people of Pittsburgh, and he'll definitely get away with it because of who he is."
You're damn right, Kristin. He did know how to strike at the heart of the fans and the city. And what became of it? Petitions, letters, e-mails, phone calls, and protests, all rooted in the "heart of the fans and the city", to show the politicians that this deal was as important to us as it was to Mario.
Perhaps Kristin failed to consider that Mario knew he couldn't do it alone. He knew that if the politicians were hearing directly from the fans, and more importantly the tax-payers, that they did not want the Penguins to leave town, it would carry a much more forceful punch than the same words coming from the mouths of wealthy businessmen.
Caryn of Millvale added that "he (Lemieux) bluffed, and no one called him on it."
Isn't it much easier to bluff when you are short-stacked? Mario wasn't holding all the chips, the politicians were. He knew he had to do something drastic, because he had nothing to lose.
You see, if his tactics would not have worked, the inevitable was the only thing that could have happened. It would not have been a shock to anyone when Pittsburgh wasn't granted the money for the new arena, because that's what was supposed to happen. Mario changed what was supposed to happen... he prevented the inevitable, further solidifying his god-like status in this city.
What these absent-minded Pittsburgh-ers are failing to realize is that, we won. Mario won. The Penguins won. You were not duped because nothing has changed. It's not like Mario went out and said "well, if I can get more money for an arena in Pittsburgh than in Kansas City, I'm staying here" and then left for K.C. anyway.
Duped or not, Mario knew what he was doing, and it worked. He swallowed his pride and pulled out all the stops in trying to prove just how serious getting the arena deal done was.
Regardless of where the money is coming from, regardless of which casino gets the slot license, regardless of how many people feel duped, one thing is for sure: the Penguins aren't going anywhere, and we all have one man to thank for that.
The man that got on a plane, took in the sites, shook the right people's hands while posing for a few pictures, then sat down for a delicious three-course meal in a fancy restaurant in Kansas City and Las Vegas, politely smiled and said his thank you's, knowing that he was headed right back to Pittsburgh where he, and his team belong.
Full article at Experiencing the Evolution.
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