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I was in Mellon Arena on Dec. 27, 2000, when Mario Lemieux returned to the NHL. It was an experience like no other--crowds milled outside in the cold, waiting for the doors to open and staring up at the giant "66" projected onto the sloping roof of the old Civic Arena. When the doors did open, people flooded in and filled the seats in mere minutes. They wore Lemieux jerseys, they waved signs that read "Welcome Back, Mario!" They chanted "MAR-I-O" over and over.
When Lemieux took the ice for the pre-game skate, the crowd noise ratcheted up another level. When the time came to lower the #66 banner from the rafters, though, you could have heard the ice melting.
When Mario was announced-- "...and at center, number sixty-six, Mario... LEMIEUX!"--I thought it couldn't get any louder in there.
Until he set up that goal on his first shift.
Mario was pure magic. The sport of hockey and the city of Pittsburgh are better because of the Magnificent One.
P.S.
By the way, King, that game was against Toronto, not Philly.
