Whether you want to call him Bourque, Bourquey, the Ole' #29'er, or that guy on the radio with Mike Lange, you cannot deny the impact of Phil Bourque...
As with quite a few people on my top #20 list, career points only play a very small role in my selection. Phil Bourque never recorded over 50 pts. in a season in his tenure as a Pittsburgh Penguin. He was never known as a scorer, but more of a bad boy in a pop boy band. Or, as another analogy, let's think of Mario Lemieux and Phil Bourque as Jerry Lewis and Dean Howard. Mario scores the goals, Phil gets the assist and gets the girl... girl(s)...
If anyone is a frequent of the Jim and Randy morning show on WDVE, it is no secret that the legacy of the ole' 29er is still apparent. The ongoing joke was that Phil Bourque was more of a role player than a scorer, and it's a constant reminder that Bourque was the player off the ice rather than on it.
However, this is not to take away the playing style of Bourque. He was a hard nosed forward, a grinder and a team player. Sometimes in hockey, as we are all well aware, we tend to favor the players that just work hard. We tend to enjoy the players that just excude hockey from every pore in their bodies. Phil Bourque is one of those players.
Even still, Phil Bourque is known as a champion, and is known for his actions as a champion. That is what ultimately makes Phil Bourque one of the most memorable Penguins. When the Penguins won their 2nd Stanley Cup, they took it upon themselves to take it to Mario Lemieux's place for a pool party. As players were enjoying alcoholic beverages, and taking pictures with the cup, they decided, "This isn't a Stanley Cup Party!" Therefore Bourque took it upon himself to scale the rock waterfall at Lemieux's estate, stood at the top of the waterfall like King Kong and proceeded to chuck Lord Stanley's coveted prize in the deep end of Lemieux's pool. It was then that players jumped in after the cup (which sunk like a brick) and proceeded to take pictures of the cup while underwater. What later ensued was a book written that described that trials of Lord Stanley's Cup. The Title, "Why is the Stanley Cup in Mario Lemieux's swimming pool?" Thank you, Phil Bourque.
Additionally, Phil Bourque owns a catch phrase that is almost as memorable as Mike Lange's celebratory, "Lord Stanley Lord Stanley, get me the Brandy". Yes, Phil Bourque has been able to say this coined phrase twice in his tenure as a Penguin icon, but who could forget, "Let's take the Cup to the river, and party all summer!" So it didn't rhyme, poets and english majors alike would be less than impressed. However, to a roaring crowd of 40,000 yinzers in the Stanley Cup parade of 2009, poets like Robert Frost, couldn't have said anything better.
For years to come, as Penguins fans, we should all remember what a great impact the Ole' 29er has on the city of Pittsburgh. He is the man who "scored most blondes in Pittsburgh in the 90's", he is the man that famously sits beside the legend Mike Lange in radio play by play, and he will be the man who will be at the river when the Pens win the Cup in the near future, and you can bet, we will all party all summer very soon.
Thanks Phil.
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