CHICAGO - Two million Blackhawks fans crowded the streets of Downtown Chicago Friday to celebrate the Original Six franchise's first Stanley Cup championship since 1961. The estimated two million in attendence is clearly the largest number of fans to ever attend a Chicago sports team's championship celebration.
Ever since the Hawks won Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals in San Jose, it was clear that the Cup was headed to Chicago. There was no way any team still in contention could beat them four times.
Philadelphia gave it their best shot. The Hawks won the first two games of the series by a goal each time, and Philadelphia responded with wins in Game Four. Game Five was the best game of the series, with the Hawks winning 7-4. And Patrick Kane's overtime goal that no one saw in Game Six put an exclamation mark on one of the quickest turnarounds in sports history.
To truly put this in perspective, all you have to do is look at how things were three years ago, when the Blackhawks were seemingly irrevelvent.
The team was giving tickets away. They were the exception in an otherwise successful sports city. The Sox and Bears were less than two years removed from a championship appearance. The Cubs were the favorites to win the National League and the Bulls were even in the second round. The Hawks were the forgotten team. No one knew who the head coach was or even the leading scorer. Home games weren;t on television. Few were outraged because few cared.
But ever since the Blackhawks won the No. 1 pick in the draft and selected Patrick Kane, things have steadily improved. Over the last two years, this young group has won six of seven playoff series. Perfect free agent signings and good draft picks gave them the talent. And the 09-10 group meshed as well as anybody.
This isn't the greatest hockey team of all-time, but it seemed to have captured the hearts of Chicagoans more than any team in my lifetime. And hockey is suppose to be only the fourth most popular sport.
Chicago went crazy when the Hawks won it all Wednesday night. On Friday, the fans proved that the windy city will support a winner more than any other town. It was a party atmosphere all day. News cameras caught shots of not just one sea of red, but one on every street. People used anything to get a better view of the rally happening at Wacker and Michigan. There were no rules. It was a jungle.
Walking down Michigan Avenue at a snails pace because every space is occupied while confetti is flying all over the place and Chelsea Dagger playing on the stereos. It was a great moment.
I was happy to jump back on the "bandwagon" of Blackhawks fans last year. I don't feel bad about it either. About 80 percent of the people who will call themselves Hawks fans today couldn't name one player on the team in 2007. But when teams begin to do things the right way and compete at a high level, the influx in fans is the reward.
The number of Hawks fans tripled this year. Everyone is happy about this. So what argument is there against sports? Sports always have been a distraction at best, but, what else can make a mass of people collectively happy? The Chicago Blackhawks did that. As obvious as it was two weeks ago that the Hawks were going to win the Cup, it is still hard to believe it. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Unbelievable.
Photo: Patrick Kane (88) with the Stanley Cup and a bottle of Champagne on the parade route.
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