Here Come The Hawks…
I just had to take a second to talk about just how awesome the resurgence of the Blackhawks has been.
See, I grew up in a hockey family. Not a hockey family like the Hulls or the Staals or the Hansons or anything, but a hockey family none the less.
My Grandfather used to work for the Blackhawks (long before I ever met him). And my parents spent a good portion of their first dates camped out in the cheap seats at the old Chicago Stadium.
And then the glory days of the early 90’s (and the emergence of Roenick, Belfour, Chelios, etc) started to erode into a truly miserable 10-year stretch (unexpected 2002 playoff run included).
It got to the point where my father wouldn’t even acknowledge the team existed anymore. Old Man Wirtz had become Scrooge McDuck and the once proud franchise was simply just fading away.
A few years ago you could get a ticket for $8 with any student id card. I remember toward the end of the 06-07 season they were actually giving tickets away in an effort to drum up any sort of interest in the team (and still only getting 5,000 or so fans a night). It was basically the hockey version of Siberia.
But then, almost overnight, everything changed.
It easy to point to the death of Bill Wirtz as the most important factor, but really it was a perfect storm.
Rocky Wirtz immediately deciding to televise all home games (for the first time ever) was gigantic. As was bringing in John McDonough. Tallon’s free agent additions and a couple of fantastic draft picks. Replacing Savard with Quenneville. Bringing back Pat Foley (who, even if I’m watching a hockey game with a different announcer, his is the voice I always hear calling play by play). And, the move that is probably overlooked the most, bringing in Scotty Bowman as your Senior Advisor (the man craps hockey pucks, folks).
They made a 17 point improvement each of the last two seasons. This year they won 42 games and led the NHL in home attendance. They’ve made such a quick 180 I’m pretty sure that all the ice girls have whiplash. And, most importantly, once again they are a force in the city.
Blackhawks in six.
