So, this is what heaven feels like huh?! The 2010 Blackhawks will be remembered by Mr. Chi City forever.
Well, that sure as hell wasn’t easy. You’ll have to excuse me if I’m a little out of it. I forgot what’s it’s like to celebrate a championship and was up all night. Stand up Chi-town, your Blackhawks are world champions. A 4-3 overtime (overtime? REALLY?!) win in the house that Rocky built, propelled the Hawks to their first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years. Patrick Kane scored the game winner and seemed to be the only person in the place that knew the puck went in the net–along with yours truly. I was at the bar and screamed out “GOAL! F*ck yea! It’s over!!!” I was the only one in the place to figure out what had just happened. A guy turned to me and said “How did you know it went in?” I wanted to be my sarcastic self and say “because I haven’t had 27 drinks tonight, but I just shook my head and smiled. I didn’t as much care that there was a delayed reaction throughout the restaurant. The Blackhawks were Stanley Cup CHAMPIONS. That’s all that mattered.It’s all that mattered because my dad was finally able to see his team hoist the cup that has eluded them since 1961. He was at the old Chicago Stadium in 1971 when the Canadiens beat the Hawks in game 7. This is a long time coming for him. I couldn’t be happier for him.
Random Thought: I know I’ve been in over- kill mode with the Rocky references, but when you go the distance with Apollo Creed, and slay Ivan Drago, it’s hard not to. Plus, what else is there to talk about when it comes to Philadelphia? The fans? Oh, I’ll get to them later. Now ,let’s get to some of my thoughts from game 6–otherwise known as the game that made me forget game 6 of the 2003 NLCS had ever happened.
Jonathan Toews elevated himself into the top 3 players in the NHL with his spectacular playoff performance.
Before the series started, I said the Hawks in 6. I was confident going into last night’s game, but those damn Flyers are like an annoying girl who just won’t leave you the F alone. They refuse to go away, and go quietly. This was going to be a battle from the get go. I tweeted during the 3rd period that I felt like I had died 4 times already. When the Flyers tied the game at 3, I was convinced the Hawks weren’t bringing the cup home. I was convinced they were bringing the Flyers with them. Thank goodness for Antti Niemi. Niemi’s stop on Jeff Carter will be looked at as the play of the game. Niemi was questioned coming into these playoffs, but he became only the 4th rookie goalie to ever win the cup. Not bad, kid.
Time to make fun of the NBC broadcast team:
I have to give NBC’s Doc Emrick the business. I know that it was a bizarre ending, but look alive pal, huh?! The guy has a porn star style orgasm every time a goal is scored, but he treated the Hawks game winner, seemingly, with a hint of resentment. I hate to nitpick, but Emrick, Pierre McGuire, and Mike Milbury all must be on the Flyers payroll. Let it go fellas. The Hawks won. Deal with it. The only guy who seemed remotely happy for the Hawks was Jeremy Roenick. This guy cries more than Dick Vermeil. I’d be all for JR enjoying the moment, but this is the same guy who open rooted for and picked Philly. No problem with that–just don’t tell me how happy you are and how much that moment means to you. I loved JR as a player, but his over the top emotion is tired already. Poor Eddie Olczyk. Eddie O was the most balanced broadcaster on the entire NBC team, and he’s the damn Hawks color guy. Let’s get back to the champs. I told you I haven’t slept much and am a little out of it.
However, 4 minutes into overtime, Patrick Kane stunned the Philly crowd, the refs, the announcers, the Flyers, and the Hawks themselves. Again, apparently, only Kane and yours truly knew the puck went in. Most important was the fact that Kane knew his dream as a kid had come to fruition. He dreamt of one day scoring the Stanley Cup clinching goal. Take a bow Kaner….You deserve the moment.
There are so many things that happened during this game that I have to touch on. Shall we?
The guy who cleans and polishes the cup: Who is he and how does one become that guy with that job? He was polishing the greatest trophy in sports for what seemed like 27 hours. Either way, it looked great when it made it’s way on to the ice. I had a Joker sized smile on my face seeing the cup carried out on to the ice in front of the scummiest fans this side of the loser who cheer for the Raiders. This was the Blackhawks moment. They rule this town for now, and are deserving of all of the praise that will come there way. I’m willing to bet some cash that Coach Q’s Steakhouse is already being discussed. There will be thousands of kids rocking mullets all summer trying to pull off a Kaner, more car commercials (even guys like Ben Eager and Brent Sopel will be Chicago celebs), and at least 482 stories of who saw which Blackhawk hammered at a Chicago bar. They have earned it—so have these Blackhawks fans who gave the best rendition of We Are The Champions I have ever heard……
Rocky Wirtz has been one of the best owners in sports. Everything changed when he took over the now Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks.
How sweet it is. I’m especially happy for Rocky Wirtz. I’ve long held the belief that building a well run organization isn’t that tough. You just need people who give a shit, know what they are doing, and an owner who puts the right people in place and let’s them do their job. This would exclude Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyder, and Mark Cuban. It took all of 3 minutes for the Hawks to become a well run franchise once old man Wirtz kicked the bucket. He put games on TV before his dad was cold, he hired marketing wiz John McDonough away from the Cubs sinking ship, hired Scotty Bowman as a senior adviser, went along with the firing of Denis Savard when it wasn’t popular, and made the Blackhawks fun & relevant again. Not an easy task. Too often in sports owners want to win, but on their terms. The dinosaur mentality hardly, if ever, works anymore. I credit Rocky for being flexible and willing to do whatever necessary to build the Hawks into a champion. He didn’t just want a championship team, he wanted a championship organization. Mission accomplished Rock. 13 months ago he promised to bring a championship to Chicago. Again, mission accomplished. It feels weird to have an owner in Chicago who’s fans don’t despise him. I love that the Hawks have the owner every other team would die to have. It’s easy to root for teams who “get it” and know how to build an organization from the top on down. The Bears could learn a thing or 40 from the Blackhawks. Congrats, Rock. You deserve it.
I also want to mention Captain serious Jonathan Toews. The Conn Smythe winner and Hawks captain is on his way to super stardom in this town. The 22 year old captain finally let loose and enjoyed his moment last night. I nicknamed him hockey Steve Sanders after the Gold Medal game. I did so because of how cool he is on the ice no matter what the situation. He was the best player on Team Canada, the leader of the Stanley Cup champs, and has a mom who got Ron Harper drunk after the game. Did you see Mrs. Toews?! Holy shit. She was drunker than half of the west loop on Wednesday night. Good for you, Mrs. Toews.
Patrick Kane celebrates the Blackhawks Stanley Cup championship. Kaner also proved why he's the # 1 Chicago athlete I'd like to go out on the town with.
Perhaps the only person more intoxicated during the celebration was Kaner and his crew he brought with him. NBC stiff Pierre McGuire asked Kane if he would behave himself during the parade? “Not a chance, not a chance!” Kane shot back. When you score the game tying goal in game 5 of the 1st round with your season on the line, and the Stanley Cup game clincher, you can get as shitty as you’d like Kaner. The best part of the post game celebration for me was seeing Kane party it up with his boys. It was as if they had their own VIP section of the locker room. It was hysterical. Kaner is my number 1 Chicago athlete I would like to go out on the town with. Is there a number 2? I’d say Jay Cutler, but he’d probably drop drinks all night and somehow find a way to throw another interception.
All of the players on this team deserve praise. From Joel Quennville to Dustin Byfuglien, they are all worthy of this moment. I know this team will look a lot different next year, but I will always remember this team. I will always remember what this moment feels like. One goal? Accomplished.
This championship means a lot to so many people in Chicago. I’m happy for my uncle Lou who got to celebrate with his wife and two boys. I’m happy for my brother and my mom. The long suffering Cubs fans have earned a chance to see a championship. Most of all, I’m happy for my dad. He has stayed with the Hawks through the down times, and has been there all season long. I hope now the memory of the 1971 game 7 loss to Montreal is nothing but a distant memory. Soak it in pops, the Chicago Blackhawks are the Stanley Cup Champions.
Speaking of champions, I’ll let Chicago’s Kanye West take me out of here…..Champions!
