New York Post sports media columnist/conscience Phil Mushnick has long railed against hypocrisy amongst professional athletics’ leading lights on both sides of the camera, much as he’s long been a critic of simulated violence in sports video games. However, in recalling a Sega Genesis game that was introduced in the year 1991, Phil has revealed himself to be a bit of a zippity-zappity trainspotter type. From Friday’s NY Post :
It’s tough to disagree with Penguins’ co-owner and legend Mario Lemieux. He condemned last Friday’s revenge-themed, fight-filled Penguins-Islanders game as “a travesty.”
“It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow,” he said, adding that the NHL failed to “send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport.”
Funny thing, though, one day the kids in the neighborhood dumped the Mario Bros. video games for “Mario Lemieux Hockey.” Just one look. They loved that video game. Not that they all were hockey fans.
As a “sideshow,” Mario Lemieux Hockey had a fighting mode — the kids could skip the hockey, click straight to the fighting mode. The Mario Lemieux video game even scored the fights, knockout punches to players’ heads worth the most.