CHICAGO, IL -- Since it's the off-season for the Hawks and this kind of post has been floating around Twitter and the SB Nation blogs lately, I figured I'd give you all a little more insight into the reasons why I love the Blackhawks so much. Instead of just a list, I'll make this a story time with a few little anecdotes--mostly about Patrick Kane.
I didn't really know much about hockey until I saw the movie Miracle. I was probably 11 or 12 when I saw it, I guess. Pretty self-explanatory--I loved the movie as a kid, and Herb Brooks' speech is basically committed to memory at this point. It's been a while since I've seen it all the way through, but it gave me a nice little foundation for what hockey was all about.
Then came the Olympics in Vancouver. I've always loved watching the Olympics--my mom and I watch them together every time they're on. I'm partial to the Winter games, only because I like more of the events. Anyways, 2010 is kind of when I got back into hockey for a bit, cheering for Team USA, obviously. This was actually my first exposure to Patrick Kane. She'd mentioned that he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, who were her favorite team growing up. I didn't think much of it, because between the years 2009-2013, I basically refused to like sports. Something in me thought it was cool to hate everything while I was in high school. But, Patrick Kane impressed me with the way he handled the puck and seemed to just float on ice. I kept that to myself, but nonetheless, I watched him intently.
The summer of 2010 was fun, too. My mom, like I said, loves the Blackhawks. She always follows them, even though we live in North Carolina and hockey just doesn't have the same presence down here (though I love going to Hurricanes games now). She'd been telling me that they looked so good, that these new guys, Kane and Toews, were good. Like, really good. And, sure enough, the boys found themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals. And, I found myself watching every game in my neighbor's garage--they were (and still are) huge Flyers fans, so it was incredibly fun. And, I remember really clearly watching Game 6, my red t-shirt on (I didn't have a Blackhawks one, so I thought red was good enough--it was!) as I all but chewed my nails. Overtimes in any sport were stressful, and though I hadn't really been following hockey, I knew that if the Blackhawks lost this game, there would be one last game to determine the ultimate winner. So, here I was--watching this kid who's really only about 7 years older than me skate around and do his signature spin-o-ramas, until he finally scored. And, to be honest, I didn't even realize he did until he threw his gloves and stick into the air and the bench all came onto the ice. It was the craziest thing I'd ever witnessed. My mom was cheering and screaming with excitement, I couldn't believe what I'd just seen, and my neighbors were just as shocked as I was. Little did I know, I saw the start of an era.
2013 rolled around, and the Blackhawks had fallen out of my purview, mostly due to the lockout. I'd been busy trying to get ready to head to college, so I wasn't really focused on the lockout and shortened season. Not until we found out that the Stanley Cup Finals would be between the Blackhawks and the Bruins. The Bruins are my stepdad's favorite team, which meant my house was absolute chaos during that week or so of Finals. I remember watching another Game 6 downstairs with my parents, sitting on the edge of my seat. Again, I still (outwardly) detested sports at this point. But, something about this team just drew me in. The Blackhawks were down until there was only 2:15 left on the clock. That's when things went insane. Bickell tied it up at 2-2, which meant that the Blackhawks really had another shot at this. I was incredibly impressed. Not seventeen seconds later, they scored again. My mom and I were cheering as my stepdad lost all hope, grumbling about how the Bruins had the Cup in their hands, and they blew it. The Blackhawks had just won another Stanley Cup. I really couldn't believe it, and thought, hey, maybe this is something I'd like to follow a little more. I watched the rally parade, and I remember laughing so hard when Corey Crawford got up to speak. Still one of my favorite hockey moments ever.
Like I said, though, I was just starting college, and I was so stressed out my freshman year that I didn't watch a lot of hockey. But, I loved the Olympics, and I wasn't going to miss out on watching them because of classes. In fact, I may have skipped a class or two to watch the US men's hockey team play. I was taken away by two American players--TJ Oshie and his incredible shootout run against Russia, and none other than Patrick Kane. I knew he was small, which I think threw me off. I'm a very small person, so seeing athletes like Kane who can play just as well as the bigger guys around him makes me super happy. Anyways, I fell back in love with hockey, and followed it loosely the rest of the season (at least the best I could).
And, you guessed it--June 2015. I was up in Chicago for my half-sister's bridal shower, and I remember when we landed at O'Hare, it was filled with red. I was confused, until I saw the logo on someone's sweater--right, the Blackhawks. This is actually when I fell in love with the logo, and when we got back to the hotel that night, I doodled it all over the little notepad hotel rooms give you. I remember watching Game 5 at the hotel, which was a nice win for the Blackhawks. I heard the announcers say that Game 6 would be back in Chicago on the 15th, which was the day we were scheduled to leave. I couldn't believe it--I'd be in the same place as Patrick Kane, that American player I'd loved so much in the Olympics and the other Stanley Cup Finals I'd watched. I thought it was so cool, and for the next few days when we had a few hours to not do wedding things, we went downtown. Downtown was a sea of red, and I loved it. I saw so many Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Crawford, Saad, Sharp sweaters, and I remember wanting to get my hands on one. For some reason, I remember being in Shedd Aquarium and all but begging my dad to go to the team store with me later. He told me that I didn't even really like hockey, which at the time, wasn't wrong. I didn't hate sports like I used to, but I was really, really into baseball, so it would have been kind of dumb to get a sweater. I wouldn't have gotten much use out of it yet.
We left Chicago on June 15th almost two summers ago. I remember talking to one of the guys in line at security after I'd complemented him on his Toews sweater (that I still pronounced 'toes,' since I didn't know any better--luckily he thought I was joking), and him being so upset that he'd miss the game because he was flying to Tampa to see family. I told him that maybe the Hawks would force a Game 7, and he could see them. But, he just shook his head with a smile and told me 'No, the Hawks are ending it at home tonight. I just know it.' That resonated with me, and I thought about it the whole way home. We got home just in time for puck-drop, so I sat downstairs with my mom and stepdad, watching intently as the Hawks played. Keith opened the scoring after a very stressful first period, making the score 1-0. I still wasn't sure they could pull this off--I mean, three cups in six years seemed impossible to me. In my lifetime, I hadn't seen any team from any sport do something like that. But, these Hawks were determined as all hell. Kane scored a few minutes into the third period, and I thought, this was it. They were going to win the Stanley Cup again, for the third time in six years.
That my friends, is when I fell in love with this organization. I didn't care too much about the Cups, though, to be fair. Yeah, they are pretty cool, special and well-deserved, but something about Patrick Kane and the way he plays just mesmerized me. I couldn't look away. I still can't. The way he plays always amazes me, and I know it will for years to come. I love this team. I love how resilient they are, how ready they are to win it all, even if they can't. This isn't a team that half-asses anything. Oh, no.
This is an all or nothing team, and you bet they're always playing at 110%, firing on all cylinders. And, that's what makes them my team. That's what makes the Blackhawks so special to me.
Patrick Kane, though. His awards and accomplishments kind of speak for him, honestly. He was named to the NHL's Greatest 100 Players list earlier this year; received the Ted Lindsay, Hart and Art Ross trophies at the NHL Awards last season; won the Conn Smythe trophy in 2013; attended the All-Star games in six seasons; won three Stanley Cups in six years; took home a silver medal at the 2010 Olympics; won the Calder trophy his rookie season; and there are even more awards than that. He's one of the most decorated players in the game.
Despite the trophies and awards--which are impressive in their own right--it was all of the goals Patrick Kane scored, all of the beautiful goals I'd seen with my own eyes that drew me in. His will to play, to be the absolute best player he could be--that's what made me want to watch hockey. And, I couldn't have picked a better season to watch than the 2015-2016 season. Sure, it didn't end the way I wanted it to, or likely how he wanted to either. But, I got to watch that amazing 26 game point streak, his first regular-season hat trick, and him become the first American player to win the Art Ross trophy.
So, I guess what this post is really saying is thank you, Patrick Kane. You helped me find something to be passionate about, something to cheer about even on days when I just want to break down. You helped me find a place where I feel like I belong, a place that makes me endlessly happy no matter what. Sure, there were tears and frustration along the way, but in the scheme of things, this sport has gotten me through the roughest few semesters I've had thus far. All thanks to an American boy who does what he loves.
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