The 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins were a franchise trending back upward after a long stretch in the wilderness. They’d made the playoffs in 2007 ending a four-season drought that stretched over five years, thanks to the cancelled season of 2005. Even though Pittsburgh lost in the first round in 2007, the arrival of Sidney Crosby and his MVP award that year had put hockey back on the map in the Steel City
This is part of a series of sports history articles aimed at preserving the best moments of the modern sports era, from 1976 to the present. The focus is team sports—college & pro basketball and football, major league baseball and hockey.
This article offers a snapshot of 2008 sports, a year that saw a big Final Four three-point shot and four traditional franchises win pro sports titles.
Let’s look back on how the sports year unfolded for these Pittsburgh-oriented fans in central Pennsylvania, going chronologically from the NHL playoff run of spring to the football success of fall and winter.