Shame, shame on those who booed Fleury
Share with others:
There are days I can't help but feel embarrassed for Pittsburgh sports fans.
This is one.
Not all of the fans, of course.
Those at Mellon Arena who gave Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury a mock cheer Friday night for stopping a puck early in the 2-1 Game 2 win against the Ottawa Senators.
You know who you are.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
"It probably was people who don't normally come to the games," Penguins winger Max Talbot was theorizing Saturday after the team's optional practice, not long before the fellas boarded an airplane for Ottawa and Game 3 tonight with their playoff series tied, 1-1. "Maybe some had too much to drink. Or they were probably people who didn't even wear white to the game."
Sorry, there are no excuses for those who jeered Fleury.
They are fools.
Not for being upset that Fleury gave up a soft goal to the Senators' Peter Regin just 18 seconds into Game 2 on the first shot he faced. Not for being disappointed that he played poorly in the Penguins' 5-4 loss in Game 1. Not for being concerned that he was inconsistent for much of the season.
Fleury is a fair target for criticism for all of those things.
But he didn't deserve that mock cheer seconds after Regin's goal when he stopped a routine shot by the Senators' Nick Foligno.
Not in his home building.
Not after he has been such a clutch playoff goalie for a very long time.
Not after he meant so much to the Penguins last season when they won the Stanley Cup and the year before when they went to the Cup final.
Here's hoping Versus wasn't able to pick up the mock cheer on its national telecast. Pittsburgh looks awfully bad today if it did.
"I didn't care much for it," Penguins winger Mike Rupp said, speaking for all his teammates, who, it is fair to say, were annoyed with Fleury's treatment.
Fleury wasn't available for comment Saturday. If he had been, he surely would have given that goofy grin of his and shrugged it all off. He has been around long enough to know that the goaltender always is going to be the guy who is blamed when the other team scores, no matter whose fault it really is.
But the mock cheer had to sting.
It would sting anybody.
The good news is Fleury is mentally strong enough to deal with it. He has proved many times he can handle just about anything. A mock cheer. A bad goal. A bad game ...
Fleury showed that mental toughness again Friday night. He stopped all 19 of the Senators' shots after Regin's goal and the awful disrespect from the crowd that followed.
First Published April 18, 2010 12:00 am
