The return of Eric Lindros

I was just getting over the idea of playing second fiddle.

Last night it all came rushing back again.

That's what happens when you're married to the world's biggest Eric Lindros fan.

The Big E was back in town last night, along with his Flyers' Legion of Doom buddy John LeClair. They were inducted together into the Flyers Hall of Fame.

By every appearance - with the possible exception being the notable absence of Lindros' mother and father - the long, twisted tale of separation that led to one of the ugliest breakups in Philly sports history is just that - history.

Lindros spent the day doing interviews and TV spots, and then he and LeClair soaked up the adulation in an hour-long pre-game celebration.

Lindros suffered the same mythic fate as so many titans of lore, seemingly invincible, but with a fatal flaw.

Lindros possessed a rare combination of brute strength, finesse and skill, a mix rarely if ever seen in a superstar.

He was at times a bull in a china shop, and at others the deft, skilled passer who set up LeClair again and again as they tortured opponents.

But the bull in the china shop shared another tragic fate, a vulnerability to breaking.

Lindros became the early poster boy for the problem of concussion in sports.

The vision of him being laid out at mid-ice in a playoff game by Scott Stevens of the Devils haunts still.

Then there were the bitter accusations between Lindros, his parents, and the Flyers' organization, including the belief that his injuries had been mishandled.

Eventually he was banished to New York, of all places, to the Rangers.

But last night Lindros was back where he belonged.

So was my wife.

She never missed a minute of his games. And she has not watched a minute since he left. The bitterness was not carried just by the Lindros family.

I'm not sure my wife will ever forgive her one-time hero, the guy who Lindros so emulated, Bobby Clarke. She also has no great feelings for Flyers owner Ed Snider.

But she has remained true to Lindros.

Last night she was smiling as he watched her hero return to the building that was built largely on his shoulders.

Welcome back, Eric.

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