It's almost surreal. A couple of years back I was standing side by side with Marty Brodeur smiling for a picture during what turned out to be his last season with the New Jersey Devils. Fast forward to yesterday and I was standing side by side with his larger than life likeness immortalized in bronze. It's not exactly easy to capture two decades of success in one still shot pose. Especially two decades that featured three Stanley Cup Championships as well as countless other personal accolades. Well, I am happy to say that is exactly what was accomplished.
The statue -that features Martin Brodeur acknowledging a fanbase for it's support as they acknowledge his greatness- shows exactly what he meant to the state of New Jersey, and more importantly it's only remaining professional sports organization. He was so much more than just the guy that manned the crease. He was the face of the franchise. The model for what it meant to be a Devil. A once in a generation talent that was more concerned about winning -and winning in New Jersey- than he was about his own finances. The appreciation he has for the New Jersey Devils will now forever be etched in a timeless sculpture. A timeless sculpture whose wink and smile present the confidence and swagger that not only made Marty the most accomplished goaltender of all time, but the most accomplished New Jersey Devil of all time. It's a credit to his prolonged excellence that there was simply too many Kodak moments to canonize just one, but the image of his stick raised in victory towards the fans of the state he now calls home will always bring back the wealth of memories that he was largely responsible for. His jersey may be just a few short hours from getting retired, but his face will never, ever get old.
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