My wife and I (and our part-time author dog Barkley) trekked up to Pittsburgh recently to meet up with our youngest son Ryan (in town from Minneapolis for work) and to visit my parents While we were in Da’Burgh we had the opportunity to take a few strolls down memory lane. Wow, we’ve really come a long way since my younger days in the east suburbs of the Steel City.
We did our obligatory trip to the Monroeville Mall, where back in the day my mother would drop my brother and me off to play hockey in the old Ice Palace rink that was located inside the mall while she shopped. Unfortunately for the owners and long-time patrons, the mall is scheduled for demolition and to be redeveloped into a high-end boutique plaza and apartments.
We also headed “Dahntahn” with my son and his girlfriend, Audrey, to tour Market Square and The Strip District, which included lunch at DeLuca’s Diner. We also visited my early childhood neighborhood in S’liberty (East Liberty) where we showed the youngsters the old Pittsburgh Hospital (now an assisted living complex) where I was born and the homes where my parents grew up just six blocks apart. Looking at my mom’s house on Auburn Street and my dad’s house on Shetland Avenue, I couldn’t believe how small they looked as in my memories they were castles! We’ve come a long way living in large comfortable homes that I hope we never take for granted.
While we were in my old stomping grounds, an old family friend, Dee Rizzo, treated us to the Penguins vs Capitals hockey game. My parents, longtime Penguins season ticket holders, are 93 and 88 respectively and have only been to a couple of games in the last 20 years so this was quite the treat. The Pens jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks in part to Sidney Crosby’s two goals and stellar overall play, and the arena was rocking.
During a media timeout the Penguins did a classy thing and recognized long-time Capitals nemesis Alex Ovechkin for scoring his 900th goal, the first player ever to do so. The vast majority of the home crowd gave “The Great 8” a well-deserved standing ovation. I have no respect for the few idiots who chose to boo him. Penguins fans have been blessed to see some of the greatest players in the history of the game, including Ovechkin, for years and it’s a shame that they don’t respect and recognize greatness when they see it. After the Capitals tied the game at 3 after two periods, the Pens rallied to score two goals in the third to send the fans home happy with a 5-3 win.
Speaking of greatness, watching Sidney Crosby continue to play the game at such a high level is priceless. With all due respect to my Flyer buddies, who always get on Sid with a rather vulgar chant, he is one of the greatest all-around players in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky has scored more points, Ovechkin more goals, and Patrice Bergeron has won more Selke Trophies as the NHL’s top defensive forward.
But Sid is world class in all three categories. He’s currently ninth on the all-time points list (he leads all active players) and is in the top 15 all-time in goals and assists. But as evidenced by his three Stanley Cups as Team Captain, his excellence on face-offs, his feisty corner and dasher board work, his two-way play when 5-on-5, and his exceptional performance on the power play, and 3-on-3 in overtime, his overall performance puts him in very rare company. At 38 he still makes the little plays that don’t show up on a scoresheet, but coaches and players recognize.
I asked long-time Penguins’ broadcaster Paul Steigerwald for his take on Crosby: “Sid belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of hockey. His passion for the game, dedication to conditioning, relentless pursuit of excellence and zest for winning is unsurpassed. None of the other all-time greats are quite like him. He’s the most skilled ‘grinder’ in hockey history.” I concur especially since I was around the NHL at a time when lifting weights and training year-round wasn’t the norm.
As I looked around at the PPG Paints Arena atmosphere, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself, “Wow, we really come a long way!” Everything is branded: the FNB Club, the Lexus Loges, The FedEx Club, and huge Highmark and Mitsubishi Electric signs throughout the arena.
The in-game entertainment featured: T-shirts being shot into the stands by various Pittsburgh team and company mascots (who were all throughout the arena); gift certificates floating down from the rafters with small parachutes for fans to catch; sponsored videos playing games that the fans could participate in on the gigantic scoreboard that has a picture so clear you feel like you are right in the action; fans playing games live with a host; and a live DJ spinning music in addition to the arena organist. The food choices and the merchandise are phenomenal. (It looked like 50% or more of the fans were wearing NHL jerseys, and those babies are not cheap!) The number of employees it takes to deliver this is staggering.
The non-stop entertainment is just this side of the Savannah Bananas. Speaking of Banana Ball, when do we see the full hockey version of the Savannah Bananas approach to entertaining fans? Not sure if hockey fans would embrace a hybrid “Harlem Globetrotters” or “Banana Ball” version of ice hockey but who knows? The Happy Gilmores against the Ogie Oglethorpes? It could be “Cutting Edge” meets “WWE“ on ice! Well, maybe not. But I bet someone is cooking up an idea to try.
Regardless, the branding and marketing have come a long way and are light years advanced from when I was a lowly intern for the Penguins 43 years ago. In June of 1982, I used my Penn State College of Business education to begin an internship with my hometown Pittsburgh Penguins that would morph into a full-time job in sales and marketing. My boss and my mentor in those days was none other than the aforementioned Paul “Staggy” Steigerwald. Paul has spent over four decades working with the Penguins in several capacities, including director of marketing, play by play announcer, color commentator and radio host.
Let’s just say we’ve come a long way since the early ‘80s when our marketing and sales staff was a tenth of what it is now. But it was a lot of fun even back then, especially when a certain French-Canadian kid named Mario Lemieux showed up in Pittsburgh in 1984. Pre-Mario it was rare that we sold out many games in the old Igloo, the Civic Arena. It’s come a long way since then.
One of my favorite guys to work with was Gary Rissling, a Penguins “enforcer” back in the day, and like many “tough guys” of that era, he was an awesome teammate and super nice person off the ice. He was always willing to participate in commercials, and we willingly used him for his genuine enthusiasm and passion. One year we sent out a holiday card to all season ticket holders with referees holding back a fired up Rissling on the front. On the inside of the card it said, “Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward Men. Happy Holidays! The Pittsburgh Penguins.”
I asked Paul Steigerwald to comment on the differences of then and now: “When we were doing it, they were called sponsorships. Today they’re called partnerships. Massive amounts of money are being spent. There are far more venues that can be purchased. The game night experience is far more complex with the gigantic video boards, in-between periods activities, and various clubs and experiential offerings from the teams. There are more ways for fans to enjoy the game and for those elements to be monetized.”
Yup, It’s come a long way from when my dad took us to a Pens game in 1969 and they gave away free street hockey sticks. It literally hooked my brother and I on the sport. On the ride home from PPG Paints Arena, a familiar voice came on the Pens radio post-game show in my old boss Paul Steigerwald. “The fans should go every chance they can to see Sidney Crosby play because there may never be a player quite like him again.” Spot on Staggy!
Before I conclude this column, I have to give a shoutout to my fellow Yinzer, Penn State football interim head coach Terry Smith. It was so fun and felt so right to see a guy who wears his passion for his players and Penn State on his sleeve, finally have his shining moment. It should have happened a week earlier against No. 2-ranked Indiana, but we’ll take the win over the Spartans.
Terry grew up playing football in Pittsburgh and after a stellar career as a player at Penn State, he returned to Da’Burgh to coach Gateway High School, a huge rival of my alma mater Penn Hills High School. Coach Smith has come a long way as well. Here’s to Coach Smith, his staff and most importantly the players, finishing strong and becoming bowl eligible.
