I’m not much of a hockey fan, yet I will be the first to admit I would like to see the Blackhawks make it to the Stanley Cup finals for the sole reason that it would be yet another step away from what had become the Chicago sporting mentality of losing ball clubs.
Being in my 40s, it means I came of age in the 1970s. Some people want to think that polyester and disco makes that decade a shameful period (I say Boy George makes the 1980s even worse).
YET FOR ME, the thing about the ‘70s is that it was an era that established a mindset for many sports fans in this city (myself included). Back in that era, all the teams stunk. And that was just the way it was meant to be.
Chicago sports successes were supposed to be so far in the past that few contemporary people could remember them.
Heck, that includes that Blackhawks. Despite having some talented players when I was a kid (I remember Stan Mikita as something other than a stupid gag from that ridiculous Wayne’s World film), the Blackhawks hadn’t won a Stanley Cup championship since 1961 (they still haven’t).
The Chicago Bulls, despite players like Norm Van Lier and Bob Love, had NEVER won anything. And forget about the Bears, White Sox and Cubs. This was the era with players such as Bob Avellini, Bill Nahorodny and Dave Kingman.
IF ANYTHING, 1976 was the quintessential season. When other people were getting excited about the Bicentennial, we in Chicago were following dreadful teams, with the Blackhawks coming closest to having a good team (32-30 that season, with 18 ties).
The White Sox, Cubs and Bulls all had losing seasons (with the Bulls being the worst team in the National Basketball Association that year – 24-58). You figure if people should have got excited about the Bears’ 7-7 record that year.
These losing records came despite the fact that three Hall of Fame players in their respective sports were with Chicago teams that year – Rich Gossage of the White Sox, Bruce Sutter of the Cubs and Walter Payton of the Bears.
The lesson learned was that not even an occasional skilled athlete would make a difference – the concept of a championship sporting team being from Chicago was an oxymoron.
THIS WAS THE era where no so-called “major” sports team from Chicago won a championship – not between the Bears’ NFL title in 1963 to their Super Bowl victory in 1986. (The Chicago Sting won titles in 1981 and 1984, but some people like to discount those victories. Besides, they didn’t come in the 1970s).
It is the reason why I have the mentality that a sporting championship that brings attention to Chicago is something to be cherished. I’m not going to look down on the White Sox’ World Series title in 2005 just because it was not followed up with a repeat performance in 2006.
The Bears aren’t a failure because they didn’t follow up their Super Bowl appearance of a few years ago (although it is a bit of a blemish that they let themselves get beat by a team from a minor league town such as Indianapolis).
And the idea that the Bulls rose to a level of six championships in an eight-season period is something that ought to be celebrated. The Bulls of that era, with Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen, give Chicago the closest it has ever come to experiencing what places like New York had back in the days of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig leading the Yankees in their glory days.
IT IS WHY I think too many of the nitwit kids (which is the way I think of anyone under 30) who call in to sports talk radio to rant and complain ought to get a clue. Things could be a lot worse than they are these days.
Heck, they used to be much worse. But that only means it would be all the more enjoyable if the Blackhawks are able to make it past the Detroit Red Wings to play in the Stanley Cup finals.
It would eliminate “1961” from the list of “Chicago lasts,” just like the White Sox title of four years ago took “1959” off the list.
I’d love to have things turn out so that one day, it will be thought of as quaint that Chicago teams were expected to stink (and perhaps people will think I’m just addle-brained and senile for thinking that a ballplayer named “Larry Biittner” ever really mangled the outfield as badly as he did).
IN FACT, I can think of only one reason why I would prefer NOT to have the Blackhawks prevail over the Red Wings – and it relates to those sports-related bets that Mayor Richard M. Daley is so fond of making with government officials of other cities.
Our mayor of two decades has offered up the usual assortment of foodstuffs manufactured by Chicago-area companies, including a few of those gourmet-type pizzas from Lou Malnati’s.
Yet if I comprehend the bet properly, Detroit’s payoff should the Blackhawks prevail will include pizza from Little Caesar’s. Ugh! Am I the only person who thinks the Second City is getting the worst end of this deal?
Not having to envision the thought of anyone at City Hall having to eat one of those cardboard-type pizza pies would make it worth having to go yet another year in Chicago without a Stanley Cup at the building across the street from the lamented Chicago Stadium.
-30-
EDITOR’S NOTES: I always thought the one redeeming feature of the Chicago Blackhawks, no matter how bad the franchise sank in recent years, was their theme song (http://www.imeem.com/ilovehockey/music/lEaQ4MN_/chicago-blackhawks-here-come-the-hawks/), which I think is the catchiest of any Chicago sports franchise (and I don’t want to hear from Chicago Bears fans on this point).
Oh well, the Blackhawks merely have to win four of the next six games in order to (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/chi-18-blackhawks-red-wings-may18,0,3412719.story) keep this season going.
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