I think everyone can agree that the Chicago Blackhawks have been a terrible team for many years. Bill Wirtz was blamed for the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup drought, which is the second longest in NHL history and the longest in team history. In 2004 the Hawks were rated the worst professional sports franchise in the United States by ESPN.
Bill Wirtz passed away in 2007 and the team was handed over to his son Rocky. Major changes were immediately made to turn the team around - including the franchise allowing for home games to be televised on television - which Bill Wirz never allowed as he believed fans needed to pay for a ticket in order to see the game live.
Chicago brought major hockey stars into my life at a young age. Growing up as a Chicago hockey fan in the late 80s early 90s brought glimpses of greatness with memorable players like Denis Savard, Chris Chellios, Ed Belfour and Jeremy Roenick.
But much like the Chicago Bulls, after Jordan & Pippen and co. left the franchise, I was left with a "so what - who cares" mentality. Watching and professional team lose year-after-year is hard to do, unless you are housed in Wrigley Field - which is another story entirely.
Call me a fair weathered fan, but I was never able to get back into keeping up with the Hawks like I did when I was a kid but now that they're winning, I'm totally excited for this talented and very enthusiastic team.
Hawks are up 2-1 and I'm saying my prayers, watching intently and totally enjoying the excitement! GO HAWKS!
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