Jarome Iginla once again shows tremendous class following retirement ceremony.

Last night marked a huge night in the career of National Hockey League superstar Jarome Iginla but in many ways it was a night that he has worked very hard to stave off for as long as has been possible. On Saturday the Calgary Flames organization paid tribute to one of the greatest players in the history of their franchise when they retired jersey #12, hanging it in the rafters, where Iginla's name will remain for as long as the team remains in business.

 Much of the focus on the night of course was on Iginla and his retirement ceremony on the evening. Not only did several members of the Flames organization, both past and present, speak at the event but as you would expect Iginla himself gave a rousing speech for all of those in attendance and the thousands of fans who were no doubt glued to their television stations at home. Iginla handled the moment with the kind of class that you would expect a player of his reputation to show and carried himself with grace and dignity throughout the entire affair. However this is Jerome Iginla we are taking about so it should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that he went above and beyond what was expected of him on the evening. 

You wouldn't blame a player for being emotionally fatigued after such a ceremony and after taking in a game that lasts several hours on top of it. In such a situation it would be perfectly reasonable for a player to simply head home or tend to personal business after everything had wrapped up, but Iginla made this night about the fans who have supported him through his many years in the National Hockey League.

According to a report from Flames reporter Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet, on his way out of the building at 1:00 am following the game, that's 4:00 am for those of you on the East Coast, Iginla was spotted surrounded by a large crowd of fans while he was still taking pictures and still signing autographs long after the game itself had ended. It's an incredible show of respect for the fans from Iginla and one that I have no doubt will be appreciated by the hundreds of fans he must have spoken to remain in the building that late. 

It will also serve as one more note in what will no doubt be the enduring legacy of Jarome Iginla.

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