Penguins a Big Part of German Exchange Student's Pittsburgh Experience

After Penguins season ticket holder Mark Riggio and his family welcomed German exchange student Lucas Jeromin to their home in Mars, they wanted to give him the full Pittsburgh experience - including trips to see all three local pro sports teams.

"Pittsburgh is such a huge sports town and it's such a fabric of the identity of Pittsburgh, so we wanted to share that with Lucas," Riggio said with a smile.
After an international flight cancellation and a Riggio family road trip to pick up Jeromin from Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., Lucas was finally able to call Pittsburgh his home away from home.
Jeromin, who turns 17 on Feb. 1, came here to improve his English skills and to learn more about American culture - and what better way to do so than with Pittsburgh sports? Back home, Jeromin is a big football (or soccer, as it's called in North America) fan and goes to cheer on the local team with his dad, so the Riggios wanted to give him a similar experience in Pittsburgh.
"We try to go every year to games that way they can build a relationship with the city and the teams, and since Lucas is one of my kids now, he got the full thing," Riggio said.
They took Jeromin to his first Pirates game, which happened to be the 9/11 remembrance game, at PNC Park. While the home team won, Jeromin enjoyed the taste of popcorn and the sights and sounds of the fireworks more than the victory on the field. Next up on the Pittsburgh sports bucket list was a trip to Heinz Field for a Steelers game against the Cincinnati Bengals. And while both were great, it turns out the best was saved for last.
Jeromin's host family had been hyping up the experience of a Penguins game ever since he arrived in Pittsburgh. So Lucas would occasionally watch games on TV, but he didn't really understand what was happening on the ice. However, this all changed on Jan. 5 when Mark took him to a game in person when the Penguins hosted the St. Louis Blues at PPG Paints Arena.
Their game day started by going down the street to Pizza Milano before heading to their seats, where Lucas loved watching the comeback attempt from the Penguins. They were down by one goal heading into the final frame, but scored three unanswered in the final frame to secure a 5-3 win.
"At first, it was looking like they were going to lose and in the last two periods, they scored five goals to win the game. So my day was pretty good," Jeromin said with a laugh.
Riggio gave Jeromin a Kris Letang jersey to wear to his first game, and while he likes the defenseman, Lucas left the game an even bigger Evan Rodrigues fan. Jeromin admires how fast and hard the forward skates - in fact, he hasn't stopped talking about it since attending his first game.
"He played pretty good for my first national hockey game ever, and he even scored a hat trick the game before," Jeromin said.
The Penguins game was Jeromin's favorite local sporting event, saying the atmosphere compares to the excitement in the air at the soccer stadium in Cologne, Germany. He went from not really understanding the game, to rooting on the Penguins whenever they take the ice, and even wearing a Penguins shirt to school at Mars High.
"Put him up in the 200 level, give him some popcorn and a Fanta," Riggio said with a laugh. "Just as long as he's in the arena, he'll be good to go."
When communicating with his family back home, Jeromin fills them in on some of his favorite things about Pittsburgh, and the Penguins (and the food) are always at the top of the list. When he can't attend games at PPG Paints Arena, he loves to watch them on TV to keep up with his favorite NHL team and players.
"Through WhatsApp, we keep his family connected to what we're doing," Riggio said. "We can always tell what Lucas really likes, and the Penguins game has quite a thread with all the different things he liked about it."
Jeromin will never forget his first Penguins game, and 22 years later, Riggio still remembers his from December 30, 1999. Jaromir Jagr made it a memorable one against the New York Islanders, with seven points on the night and a hat trick contributing to that total.
Riggio's love for the team continued to grow and in 2016, he became a part of a season ticket holder group. When it's Riggio's turn to attend a game, he usually splits the tickets between his two sons Jack and Michael, his wife Amy and now, Lucas.
"But I always have to go, that's part of the rule," Riggio said.
Riggio has seen so many exciting moments, from Game 1 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final to watching Sidney Crosby
quickly grab a stick from the bench to go down
and score a goal. And now, getting to witness even more great plays alongside a brand-new fan just adds to the experience.
"Hosting somebody is always a little bit of a challenge, thinking about letting someone come into your house for a year and what all that entails," Riggio said. "One of the really cool things is when you do that, you kind of get to see your own city again, and you can go to a game and see it with fresh eyes."