Mario Lemieux finally had a statue built in his honor. He never wanted one to be built, Lemieux has been known to be very standoffish about things like this, but too many people in the organization wanted this done. Lemieux, despite being the most talented hockey player of all-time, is know to be extremely humble.
I've already seen/heard a lot of criticism about the statue, with people saying that it should have just been him, alone, either scoring a goal or looking victorious, but that statue already belongs to Wayne Gretzky.
Lemieux's statue shows exactly how he played the game of hockey. He went through defenders, who tried to slash him, hack him, hit him, which rarely if ever happened to "The Great One". Lemieux went through defenders and this statue represents his game perfectly.
Lemieux overcame so much throughout his career, including back problems, and most of all, the big "C" cancer. Had Lemieux not endured all of that he may very well have went on and broke all or many of Gretzky's records. Lemieux was the most talented hockey player, EVER!
I can't think of anyone that deserves a statue in Pittsburgh more than Lemieux. Some will say Roberto Clemente, which is a good answer, but not more than Lemieux. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series before Clemente ever came to Pittsburgh. The Pirates were already beloved.
Fact is the Penguins are still here because of Lemieux. They almost left Pittsburgh TWICE, and Lemieux saved them twice. He should have won the F*cking Vezina for that. Lemieux changed the culture in Pittsburgh. Lemieux made hockey cool and made it into what it is today. The Penguins are the hottest ticket in town, they have a great following and more and more young people are getting involved in the game of hockey.
On top of that Lemieux has made the city of Pittsburgh his home, which is rare for professional athletes. You don't see guys like Jerome Bettis, for example, staying in Pittsburgh, making it their home, and helping the city become a better place. However, Lemieux does. Lemieux has done so much for the city of Pittsburgh he should be mayor. The statue should have been 200' feet tall with Lemieux looking over the entire city.
The statue is a great thing and a great way to celebrate the greatest athlete on and off the field(ice) in Pittsburgh sports history.
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