On-Ice Support
Forbes Magazine recently listed Pittsburgh Penguins fans as the most passionate in the National Hockey League.
It wasn't the first time.
The publication gave Penguin fans this distinction for the third time since 2009. Five Stanley Cup championships and 12 years worth of consecutive sellouts have a lot to do with that.
But the passion dives much deeper.
“It's not a one-way relationship,” Butler High School history teacher Martin Rubeo said. “The Penguins do it right by their fans.”
A teacher at Butler since 2003, Rubeo grew up in Peters Township and used to work at the Pens' old practice facility at Southpointe.
“I cleaned the ice, cleaned up the locker room,” he said. “That was years ago. I met Mario Lemieux, Dan Quinn, Wendl Young ... The players always took time for the fans.
“Ian Moran reall stood out. Whether there were five people or 250 watching practice, he would sign every autograph and pose for every picture until everybody was gone.”
Forbes based its rankings on local TV ratings, attendance in relation to seating capacity, secondary ticket demand, merchandise sales and social media reach.
Rubeo added that David Morehouse, CEO of the Penguins, was a guest speaker in one of his classes at Butler and “stayed quite a while, telling some stories.”
He pointed out that the Penguins also give game tickets to every member of the National Honor Society as a thank you for community service.
“Local pro sports teams usually don't do stuff like that,” Rubeo said.
Butler High School varsity hockey coach Mavrik Goepfert began playing hockey when he was 3.
“I was born in 1990, the Penguins won the Cup in 1991,” he said. “I was hooked at a young age.
“I had Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr as my heroes when I was a kid. Youths today have (Sidney) Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.”
Goepfert owns plenty of Penguin memorabilia, including broken sticks, hats and jerseys signed by various players.
“Hockey players seem more down to earth (compared to other athletes),” Goepfert said. “And this being a smaller market, they identify with the fans more.”
They particularly identified with Alexis Barbati, 24, of Prospect. She was 12 when she suffered a forearm injury in a cheerleading accident that required surgery.
While in the hospital, her father visited her and put the Penguin hockey game on TV.
“I remember watching that game with him. I haven't missed too many on TV since.”
A few years later, Barbati was diagnosed with HLH Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that prevents the body from destroying damaged on infected cells. She required chemotherapy treatments to fight the disease.
But while hospitalized, she received visits from Crosby and then head coach Dan Bylsma.
“The days that Sidney and Dan Bylsma came to see me ... I didn't care if there was any hair on my head, those were probably the best two days of my life,” Barbati said. “They were so nice. They stayed a long time and we just talked.
“Sidney had just scored an incredible goal at Ottawa the night before. as soon as he walked in to my room, I yelled out, 'Sidney, that goal last night was awesome!' He couldn't believe that was the first thing that came to my mind.”
Barbati is in remission today. She has autographed pucks and an Olympic hockey shirt from Russia as gifts from Crosby and Bylsma.“Pittsburgh people are open and friendly. We're a hard-working community and hockey is a hard-work type of sport. We identify with that and with that team,” Barbati said.Butler graduate Ashley Gallagher, now a student at Gannon University, agrees with such a theory.“Hockey players work their butts off and they're appreciative of things,” she said. “The Staals' (NHL brothers, including ex-Penguin Jordan) parents have a farm and the brothers work on it during the summer.“Most players come from blue-collar familiies. Their parents drove them to practice at 5 a.m. because that's when they could get ice time. They pay a lot of money for skates ... Hockey players give back because they know so much has been given to them.”A Penguin fan all her life, Gallagher has frequented practice sessions at Southpointe, the UPMC Lemieux Complex, the Robert Morris University rink, wherever the team has worked out over the years.She's gotten autographed jerseys and sticks and has talked to players.“Marc-Andre Fleury was one of the friendliest players. Ian Cole was so nice. I've got Mark Recchi and Bill Guerin stuff,” Gallagher said.Her favorite Penguin of all-time?Darius Kasparaitis.“He was just in town this year for a Pittsburgh Junior Olympic event and I went down to get a jersey signed,” Gallagher said. “Of course, he signed it.“It's been tough not having hockey to watch the last two months. I've been watching a lot of (hockey) videos. I have Stanley Cup videos, Crosby videos, but I miss the real thing.”But the Penguins haven't missed bonding with their fans throughout this region.Penguin fans beat out fans of the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Knights on the Forbes list. Buffalo Sabre fans were ranked fifth among NHL cities.Steeler fans were ranked fourth overall by Forbes, trailing fans of the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.“The Penguins have been consistent winners and have earned their popularity,” Rubeo said. “Even in the lean years, a lot of my students would come by my desk and we'd talk Pens. It's been a good way for me as a teacher to relate to the kids.“I consider Mario Lemieux the patron saint of Penguin hockey. He saved the team twice — as a player and owner — and is responsible for a lot of happiness and a a lot of great memories around here.”And the best fan base in hockey.
