Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Hawks Bring the Cup Back Home in Epic Finish

Knowing these Blackhawks, we should have figured that the season would end with drama. But I don't know if anyone could have predicted what we all witnessed last night in Boston. Raise your hand if you thought the Hawks, down a goal with just over a minute left, were headed to a Game 7 tomorrow in Chicago. It's ok, I'm sure the majority of us were. That is, of course, until a furious, nearly simultaneous 2 goal onslaught gave the Hawks the lead within 17 seconds of each other. Less than a minute later, the Hawks were the Stanley Cup Champions and a celebration for the ages began in Chicago.



Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Dramatic Blackhawks Advance to Original Six Clash with Bruins

Call them the cardiac kids, a team with a flair for the dramatic and a penchant for scoring clutch goals. The Blackhawks, with a tense, epic double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings, advance to face the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final in a game surpassed in electrifying moments perhaps only by their own Game 7 victory over Detroit in the previous series. Unlike the Detroit series, however, here the Hawks clinched the series in Game 5. And yet, with the desire to advance to their second Stanley Cup Final in the last four seasons combined with their ability to close out the defending champs, the victory in this game added yet another spectacular moment to an already memorable season.


Saturday, June 1, 2013

Blackhawks Advance After a Game 7 For the Ages

There are certain times in sports when you realize why you care so much. Why you're such a big fan. Why it matters so much to you. There are certain times that transcend reality, that transcend sports, where you feel almost bonded with a team, or maybe a player, or maybe an overall sport. It doesn't happen often, but those fleeting moments are the reason why you care for each and every shift, each and every period, each and every game, each and every series, and each and every season. Wednesday night was one of those instances.

The way the Hawks played, the way the game went, the way that the series had gone - it was simply unbelievable. I haven't experienced much like it in my sports life. I felt personally wronged when the Niklas Hjarmalsson goal was taken out, like someone had just hurt a family member or friend or cheated them in some way. I don't know if I've ever lived shift to shift, minute to minute, or shot to shot in any other sport in quite the same way. Of course, there's Michael's Bulls teams, the Super Bowl Bears, the 2010 Hawks Cup team, the 2005 Illini basketball team and a few others scattered in my years watching Chicago sports. But this Hawks team has bonded and intertwined its identity with this city so well that I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like it in my lifetime. The crowd last night had their blood running and a frenzy about them that created an atmosphere that was awe-inspiring even on TV. It's something that I can't really even properly explain in words, but I do know it's something I'll never forget.