Tampa Bay, Ironically, Makes Chicago Stand Proud

With the extent of uproar the Blackhawks have provoked, instilled within the people of Chicago, it’s no surprise the media’s placed exceptional attention on all the clamor-as today’s journalists, broadcasters, bloggers, critics, and more long to being the first, and leading, media personnel to get involved in the most recent and hottest issues occurring today.

Patrick Sharp, my mother's "Sharpie"

Well, not me.  Beginning my career as a blogger of Chicago, my mother being the vehement Blackhawks devotee she is, would habitually plead for a post related to the Blackhawks, for she is committed to the dream of one day meeting her beloved Patrick Sharp, or as she calls him… her “Sharpie.”  She’s a woman of faith, exceptional faith in me, and is so strongly hoping enough Blackhawks blogs by me will grant her face-to-face interaction with Sharpie. 

I politely negated her requests, as I not only am not the biggest hockey fan, but I was certain everything had already been covered and discussed, and my work would resemble redundancy and lack uniqueness.  Though, my mother’s not the only Blackhawks fan of tremendous passion; in fact, her level of fervency probably stands insignificant in comparison to several others.  The Blackhawks have generated great success throughout recent years--winning the Stanley Cup twice in the last five years and going for their third championship this 2015--so it’s reasonable to deem this team as a cause of remarkable devoutness among the people of Chicago. 

With all that being said, this week finally ignited the need to write about the Blackhawks that my mother so desperately implored-and my chief reasoning for writing lies in my mother and her zealous devotion to supporting them. 

My reasoning derived earlier this week when finding that the Tampa Bay Lightning set both fan gear and ticket purchase restrictions on certain sections of the arena and for any fans outside of Florida zip codes.  Hence, I may not be a specialist on Blackhawks and hockey overall, but I do, however, love my mother deeply and take note of her passionate interests.  Therefore, I imagine my mother as if receiving the astounding chance to witness a Stanley Cup final in one of the seats they prohibited, in which the opposing team denies her utmost experience, leaving her slightly disappointed and frustrated-though would never outwardly show it because she’s far too optimistic and rarely exhibits fear, sadness, etc.  She doesn’t show it because she’s fixated on being the strong, kept-together woman she conveys, though that’s what irritates my inmost anger, for this theoretically should be the one occasion she need not come anything close than the opposite of strong and kept-together.  The same goes for all Blackhawks fans, including those restricted this Wednesday. 

I’m outraged, honestly.  However, I’m mostly proud. 

I’m outraged because having no affiliation and holding much ignorance to the rules of professional sports, I’m finding it so difficult to believe such restrictions aren’t considered illegal.  Forbidding outside fans, disallowing certain apparel?  This seems nothing less than that of an invasion of privacy, a violation to discriminatory laws.

I’m outraged because it appears discourteous and selfish, as I’m perplexed as to how a team could exclude even diminutively the pure, exceeding amusement fans get out of live hockey games, a Stanley Cup final nonetheless.  And for what-to increase the chances of winning?  That, with less Blackhawks fans, they’ll be what… less distracted?  Well, Lightning, less distracted or not, you made me very proud… proud to be a member of the Chicago Blackhawks family.

And I’m proud because these restrictions… They say something about Chicago; they say something about the Chicago Blackhawks, and they say something about the Chicago Blackhawks’ fan base. 

They reveal Chicago’s both historical and present foundation of successful professional athletics.  They reveal the Chicago Blackhawks’ fruitfulness, as even outsiders have even become intrinsically aware of the incomparable gratitude fans feel regarding the talent and personal character of the players; it reveals the intimidation they strike in opponents, as teams are willing to even eliminate just sections of support in order to potentially diminish the capacity of the players… which leads me to the revelation of the Blackhawks’ fan base.  Aside from revealing that our fans are evidently perceived as excessively more ardent and prevalent than customary, the mere fact that they only prohibited sections, rather than the full arena, reveals that the Blackhawks’ fan base has become so renowned for their affectivity, that the Lightning’s satisfied with keeping some parts of the arena free of Blackhawks apparel restrictions; but God forbid it be all.  These restrictions reveal that Chicago and the city’s Blackhawks have induced bewilderment among outsiders… Why are they not even so much so gifted but rather, why is their work ethic so consistent and hardworking-what’s the source?  I don’t deny the talent of other hockey teams including the Lightning; I shouldn’t being the hockey foreigner I remain, though I can’t help my biasness when I am a Blackhawks-surrounded inhabitant and the farthest from a Chicago foreigner.  Nevertheless, irrespectively of the alternate prosperous professionals and history of hockey I know nothing of, I do know something about our players from the talk of the media alone-and that’s that the Blackhawks are good, and teams recognize that.

So, I elucidated the origin of my motive to blog-though I chose to prolong the start of my writing because I had one more thing to do.  I had to see who won. 

I realize we’ve still got some games left, and I’m too superstitious to speak on behalf of how well they played to get us a win; I am here to say, however, that we DID win, less fans in the crowd or not.  Whether the live action of boundless exhilaration contributes to the Blackhawks’ success doesn’t matter-they’re going to play for their supporters regardless.  Fans present or not, our players still fully cognize and accept our desire for championships; they appreciate our desire to both see them win as well as hear their viewpoints and feelings concerning the game.  Conversely, the quantity and appearance of fans may have just been enough, and in that case, whether the exhilaration is boundless or not doesn’t matter, for solely a handful of Blackhawks fans can grant the city justice. 

Needless to say, no matter the final outcome, we did get one win, and it was a win attained no matter the Lightning restrictions.

I’m honored to be a part of city that’s subjected to such restrictions.  And I may be honored to be part of a city embodying an imposing sport establishment, though I’m even more honored to be part of a city embodying such a striking fan base; for it represents something greater than purely the city’s athletic ability, but the undying pride that depicts Chicago. 

So let’s go Chicago Blackhawks and let’s go fans!  Let’s encourage those wins that stimulate fear within our opposition.