Saturday, October 25, 2003

Identical signs draped from both balconies at the start of Wednesday's hockey game at Mellon Arena read as follows: 1,696. What an odd way to announce the attendance, I thought.

At the end of the first period, the signs were upgraded to 1,697. I figured they sold a discount ticket to a late-arriving college kid.

Turns out the signs were keeping track of Mario Lemieux's career points. Philosophical question: If an all-time great reaches a scoring plateau in an empty arena, does it still make a sound?

The tickets are expensive and the team might not be very good. But people will still show up tomorrow at Heinz Field. As for the Penguins, I can't make people go to the games. But when it comes to making them feel foolish because they don't, I can give that a legitimate shot.

The Steelers missed the postseason for three consecutive years from 1998-2000. Many seats were empty during that period, but not one ticket was unsold.

The Pirates haven't had a winning record for 11 seasons in a row, yet attendance figures for each of the past five years all rank among the club's top 15.

The Penguins haven't made the playoffs for two seasons after making them 11 consecutive times and suddenly just 10,425 tickets get sold for this past Wednesday's game. Only a fraction of those people showed up, and only a fraction of that fraction displayed a pulse.

I understand the ticket-buying loyalty the Steelers have built, even if that concept does contradict the stands being half-empty at kickoff, at the start of the second half and during the fourth quarter. Oh, wait, I forgot: beer.

I understand the idea of "a fun night out at the ballpark," especially if you're a fan of a big-budget franchise and you want to have fun guessing which high-salaried standout the Pirates will dump to your team at the trade deadline.

But I don't understand why the citizens are ignoring the Penguins, and I don't understand why they don't latch onto the obvious buzz surrounding the team.

The constructor and conductor of said buzz is not Mario Lemieux, although he still packs a lot of bite for a lion in winter.

No, the man to come see is barely a man. He's 18-year-old rookie goaltending phenom Marc-Andre Fleury. If early returns are an accurate indication, Fleury will realize his full potential no later than Thanksgiving and probably steadily improve after that, too.

We've been down this road before, of course. Fleury is the second coming of a charismatic French-Canadian hockey savior to this town. Problem is, three wise men didn't accompany him, nor any NHL-caliber defensemen.

As with Lemieux during his salad days, Fleury's individual brilliance might not be enough to get the Penguins in the playoffs right away. It shouldn't require Fleury the five years it took Lemieux to get to the postseason, but the Penguins certainly figure to be golfing early this coming spring.

As with Lemieux during his salad days, Fleury's obvious magnificence might not be enough to jack up Mellon Arena attendance. It seems hard to believe now, but the Penguins averaged only 10,018 fans per game during Mario's rookie season, 1984-85.

I feel bad for those who didn't attend when Lemieux started. They missed out on the origin of something very special. Someday I'll feel bad for those who didn't see Fleury as a rookie, too.

The similarities between the two men and two situations are frightening, something Mario acknowledges. Fleury is Lemieux in leg pads, come to save as well as make saves.

Even the halting en Francais verbiage rings familiar. I remember a young Lemieux saying after a loss that, as the highest-paid player, he had to do more to help the Penguins win. This utterance came after Mario did something like get six points in a 9-7 defeat.

The Penguins tied Carolina, 1-1, Wednesday as Fleury made 35 saves, including several of the "mon Dieu!" variety. But Fleury's puckhandling gaffe led to the only Hurricanes goal, and he was visibly upset about that afterward. Fleury earned the point almost single-handedly, but he wanted more.

What would Tom Barrasso have done? I think the great man's postgame commentary would have gone something like this: "You can't make every save, clear every puck, and win every game on your own. We only got one goal. Ask the forwards what happened."

I like Fleury's way a lot better. He may be naive. Or perhaps he's wise beyond his years.

This is just the latest in my ongoing series of "Fleury is good" columns. I hope to ride the wave for 15 years or so. If nothing else, I'll be able to say I first met Clark Kent when he was a teenager in Smallville.

The Penguins should send Fleury to Giant Eagle to sign autographs. Hey, Mario had to.

Mark Madden is the host of a sports talk show from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays on WEAE-AM (1250).

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