An unforgettable day
I thought I had seen almost everything in my time covering sports for the Daily Herald. I covered the first night game at Wrigley Field, the White Sox winning the World Series, four of the Bulls' six championships, one Super Bowl and Tiger Woods winning majors at Medinah.
But the Blackhawks playing hockey at Wrigley Field on Thursday tops them all. Maybe it's because I'm a hockey guy. Maybe it's because it was just so darn cool. What scenes. What an atmosphere.
I bumped into John McDonough in the press box lunch room after the first period and all I could tell him was how spectacular it all was. McDonough seemed at a loss for words himself.
So the Hawks lost to the Red Wings. There's no shame in that. With all due respect to San Jose, the Red Wings still are the best things on skates.
I've never seen Chris Chelios as excited as he was to play in this game, and I've known Cheli a long time.
Could the Hawks have played better? Certainly. The second and third periods weren't very good, but the Hawks are having a great season and it promises to get even better.
It's back to reality when Calgary comes to the United Center on Sunday. Time to move on to the next stage of the season, but there's no way I'll forget Thursday. Ever.
I watched on the tube from Toronto and got goose bumps as the U.S. anthem grew to a pulsating crescendo. But after a strong opening stanza, the Shy-Hawks went into a shell, took off their shoulder pads and stopped HITTING.
But the worst performance of the day belonged to $5 million sieve Christobal Huet. Like his head coach who is known for this lack of success in the post-season, Huet fell apart when the going got tough. After being badly out of position on the 3-2 and 3-3 goals, Huet as the last line of defence forgot to use his goal stick to poke check Pave Datsyuk or at least defend his 5-hole thus making the 4-3 goal look better than it was.
To top matters off, Huet was down quicker than Monica Lewinsky on the 5-3 goal and once again forgot about using his goal stick to defend the gap between his pads. Did you see the complete look of "what the &*%#" on Seabrook's mug when that goal was scored? And where is our goaltending coach? These are pee-wee mistakes and this clown is getting paid $5 million to smirk off these bonehead, spirit killing goals. What the &*%#?
Khabibulin plays Hawks would have won this game. I know it was not his turn but he would have better suited to play in this atmosphere. Khabibulin will be missed after he is traded before the deadline!
I'm not a hockey guy -- don't care for it at all -- but an an event like Thursday's was impossible to ignore because of the venue. What a great, memorable event that transcends sports. A pat on the back to those who had the foresight to make something like that happen.
Tim, I agree, it was a smashing event. Couple of little nitpicks:
1. Snow!!! We needed a little snow in the third period. That would have put the cherry on the sundae. I'm surprised Mr. McDonough didn't order some up!
2. We sat behind the net on the first-base side, third row. It was strange how little "hockey noise" was coming from the rink. I know there's no roof on Wrigley, but the sounds of the game were almost inaudible, other than the "tink" of the puck hitting the glass. Maybe they could have used microphones to get the sounds of the skates, the hitting, etc., played on the speaker system.
Other than those two little details, it was a great, great event -- despite the loss of the two points in the standings.
I was there, wish I hadn't wasted my time. Not just because the Hawks lost, but because you couldnt see anything and other hassles. Tim from the White box upstairs you sit in, the view should have been better. The tickets were over priced and the game did not live up to hype, the phoney snow all over the infield was stupid too. Any game at the old barn was better than what we saw yesterday. From what I could see, the hit by Seabrook on Cleary was neat. Glad this event won't be back for 15-20 years now that everyone wants it. Note to other NHL cities, careful what you wish for. Hopefully if J-mac is going to lean on the NHL and Bettman for the All-star game, it comes off better than this. Even though there is no way any all-star game at the UC can top the one from the old barn. I set my VCR to tape the game, should have recorded the Rose Bowl instead.
Frankly glad I didn't pay $650 for a pair of seats to the "event". I am hoping that I can buy a 2K ticket to a Stanley Cup Finals game in a year or two with the money I saved watching it at home.
I have been excited to watch this game since I first heard that it was going to take place in Chicago. A little worried though that the opponent (Detroit) would embarras the Hawks once again.
The first period was awesome as the Hawks displayed the physical aggressiveness needed to keep a team like Detroit in check. Alas, as myself and fellow beer league friends watched and cheered the mood from the 2nd period turned sour as the Hawks started to melt and allowed Detroit to take advantage.
I hope these "boy's" learn from this experience and it burns in their psyche that you have to play the body (Buff) and take it to the Wings later in the season.
From where I was sitting (lower concourse) I couldn't see a thing. I felt like one of those nuts sitting on Waveland for a Cubs playoff game not being able to have any clue what's going on inside the stadium. I relied on the jumbotrons and the players reactions because I was blind. For what I paid, that was inexcusable. I wanted to see a hockey game, not be a part of a sideshow. The buildup before the the puck first dropped was intense as anyone could imagine for a regular season game. Once the puck dropped, so too did the intensity as fan reaction was delayed because nobody could see a thing. People around me didn't care at all as they had been drinking all day and for them it was cool "just to be there." Starting to sound like most events at Wrigley.
I did enjoy the experience but I walked away more upset with the Hawks then I did the Classic. They got destroyed and it feels like when Detroit wants to play, they can blow us out at any moment. I'm not really nervous moving forward but it would be nice to play better against our hated rivals. On a side note, I watched that Datysuk goal when I got home........WOW.
Wow? The Hawk defense was a joke on that play just like it was for the entire second and much of the third.. If memory serves correct it was Barker and Campbell who parted like the Red Sea for Datysuk.
Yes it was fun yesterday, but no sporting event in my lifetime will rival play-off games at the old Chicago Stadium. Not sure if the league gave Detroit half the tickets or they just used their unemployment checks, but it was sad to see so many Red Wing fans in what should have been a total home ice advantage for the Hawks yesterday. The Hawks played well in the first period, but the refs gave Detroit a few gift penalties and HOLet let in a few soft goals. Still don't understand why Q didn't start Bulin in the biggest game most of these kids will ever play.
The sad reality is that Detroit may not even have a hockey team in two years. They can't even sell-out after winning the cup and once GM and Ford go under no one in that bombed out city will have money to spend on hockey games. Even if the government bails them out this year, they have not fixed to core Union problems that are causing these companies to bleed. The Wings will be forced to move or have a pay-roll that is so low they won't be able to compete with the Hawks who are selling out every game.
jeb jeb you are a disgrace to Hawks fans everywhere. What a moron.
I don't understand why Bulin didn't start myself.
Redwing fans always flock to Chicago when the play the Hawks. Nothing new. I get frustrated too when our house is full of Redwing fans and the Hawks play poorly, but the bottom line is the Redwings are a great team. This point in time really reminds me of when the Bulls were chasing the Pistons before they won the championships. I too look forward to the day when the Redwings are dethroned by our Hawks.
But I will stop there and tell you that I think you are a coward. Yes a coward. Fans are fans wherever you go. But to talk down to them and to sit here and seemingly relish in their personal and economic troubles is just downright cowardly.
I would not wish the demise of the Detroit team (or city for that matter). From a strict hockey point of view, they are an original six team and a fine hockey organization. From a personal standpoint, these fans are people just like us. These are scary times for us people. And none scarier than for the thousands of people who could lose their livelyhoods because of this economic crisis. And for you to sit here and bolster your ego on their plight....COWARD.
You guys need to take off your skirts and relax a bit. What next do you want to censor the Onion to make sure nothing offends your thin skin. We sat around Red Wing fans yesterday and things that were said by these trash were a lot worse than anything I just posted. It is sad but true that this team may not be playing in Detroit in 5 years.
...we had seats close to the scoreboard. Not much for seeing the game (glad I recorded it), but it was something that I was glad I didn't miss.
The Red Wings proved again why they are the best team in the West and the Hawks showed they have plenty of room to grow, but what a great day for Blackhawk hockey!
It rivaled the playoff atmosphere against Toronto in the old Stadium. I'm cynical but even I was looking around and thinking about how cool it was to be there.