A lot of people at work and several regular readers of this blog watch the new NBC show "Heroes" every week. It's a frequent topic of discussion. One of the guys in the pod next to us will come over, chat briefly about Studio 60 with me and then join the Heroes conversation with two of my other pod-mates. During this week's conversation there was a turn to heroes with super powers and regular people raised to the hero level. The natural flow of the conversation turned to pop culture. Big name actors, rock legends, sports personalities all mentioned in the same sentence as the word hero. But they were mostly in the past...Bogart, Brando, Dylan, Cash, Howe, Lemieux, all guys that are either retired from their profession (either by choice or by nature) or guys that are simply trying to keep a little of their past alive by lacing them up for a pick-up game, playing some benefit concerts, whatever. By the time Gage grows up will there still be heroes? Will there still be someone to look up to? Or will society be jaded beyond the point of raising a common man to an uncommon status based on ability? Since hockey is usually the prevalent theme...will someone like Sidney Crosby have the same level of career that Mario Lemieux did? 90% of the time most of the fans in the arena aren't even sure that Lemieux is in the building. Yet, they simply show a clip of one of his goals or a charitable act and the whole place is on their feet in a standing ovation. And it's not just hometown bias. I thought for sure it would on YouTube, but I couldn't readily find it. When Mario Lemieux first retired from the game of hockey in 1997 it was during the Playoffs. Pittsburgh was playing Philadelphia and ultimately ended up losing the series in Philadelphia. So, at that point, Mario had played his last game on the road. The fans in Philly stood and applauded for several minutes to the point where Lemieux did a farewell lap in the opponent's arena. Ask Matt to confirm, there is no love period between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the world of the NHL, but they showed respect to a premier athlete of the game. A man who could change the entire course of a game with one play. People in Pittsburgh sometimes called it Mario Magic. When television did a close-up on Mario, Mike Lange used to warn people about his "hungry" look. When Mario looked hungry, things happened. Will Malkin make a similar impact? Malone, Fleury, Armstrong...will they match up to Orr, Howe, Richard? Doubtful. Will they make their own impact like Trottier, Stevens, Francis? Only time will tell, but it's to the point now where the media is gun-shy to even make comparisons or observations about talent and productivity at any level. Johnny Cash's music is ingrained in the fabric of American society. Will Toby Keith have the same effect? Mark Twain's fiction is available in any book store. Will Stephen King prevail beyond his time? Most people in Pittsburgh and beyond recognize the names of Terry Bradshaw and Jack Ham. How many people remember Roy Gerela? Tom and I had a similar discussion about Entourage and the fact that neither one of us truly bought Grenier's character as the newest hottest actor. He had no presence. Yet when we started looking at the "hot" actors of today, there was no presence among them either. Maybe it's just the cold medicine talking, but I hope that Gage or Nathan or Katie or Nicholas or Andrew or Kadin or Jacob or Norah get to grow up and experience some form of awe over an everday hero, someone who has overcome the odds and still come out on top. Whether that's a famous athlete, a teacher, or even a next door neighbor I hope they are sitting around in 30 years talking (okay rambling) about how impacted they were by childhood and adult "Heroes."