SUUUUUUUUUUUUNDAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!
Remember the guy screaming that out for US 30 Dragstrip?
No?
Just me?
We've had a few days to bask in the glow of the series win over Vancouver, which got the Chicago Blackhawks into the Western Conference Finals. Finally, we know who the Hawks will face.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Sunday afternoon the Hawks start their series with the Detroit Red Wings. This is a quantum leap from where this franchise was a year ago, which was a huge leap from where they were a year prior to that.
Last year, they were a team with promise, yet were still mired in a long playoff drought. The year before, they were one of the worst teams in the NHL. Now they stand on the precipice of becoming an elite team in the NHL. They will be sharing the rink with the very definition of an elite team in the NHL, the defending Stanley Cup Championships.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
The Detroit Red Wings have established superstars, future Hall of Famers, and players who have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup multiple times. They didn't have the best record in the NHL this year, but everyone knew that at some point they would have a say in who raised the Cup. So here they are, and here are the Hawks, a team with some budding stars, players still filling out the first part of their hockey resume, and exactly three players with their names on the Stanley Cup (Pahlsson, Ladd, Khabibulin), once each.
Two years ago, the Blackhawks literally couldn't give away tickets to paper the house. The games weren't televised, and anyone in the city of Chicago who was a Blackhawks fan felt a need to look for some sort of support group, since there was obviously something seriously wrong with anyone who would claim themselves to be a "fan" of a team that had so little regard for those who were ready to love the team.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings' fans are a rabid bunch who have come out to love their team year in and out, with an owner who for years has done for the team what we've seen Rocky Wirtz do the last two years, give them the resources necessary to put a winning team on the ice, and garner unabashed love from the community. Hell, they call themselves "Hockeytown", for God's sake.
David vs. Goliath. Luke vs. Vader. Hawks vs. Wings.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
No?
Just me?
We've had a few days to bask in the glow of the series win over Vancouver, which got the Chicago Blackhawks into the Western Conference Finals. Finally, we know who the Hawks will face.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Sunday afternoon the Hawks start their series with the Detroit Red Wings. This is a quantum leap from where this franchise was a year ago, which was a huge leap from where they were a year prior to that.
Last year, they were a team with promise, yet were still mired in a long playoff drought. The year before, they were one of the worst teams in the NHL. Now they stand on the precipice of becoming an elite team in the NHL. They will be sharing the rink with the very definition of an elite team in the NHL, the defending Stanley Cup Championships.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
The Detroit Red Wings have established superstars, future Hall of Famers, and players who have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup multiple times. They didn't have the best record in the NHL this year, but everyone knew that at some point they would have a say in who raised the Cup. So here they are, and here are the Hawks, a team with some budding stars, players still filling out the first part of their hockey resume, and exactly three players with their names on the Stanley Cup (Pahlsson, Ladd, Khabibulin), once each.
Two years ago, the Blackhawks literally couldn't give away tickets to paper the house. The games weren't televised, and anyone in the city of Chicago who was a Blackhawks fan felt a need to look for some sort of support group, since there was obviously something seriously wrong with anyone who would claim themselves to be a "fan" of a team that had so little regard for those who were ready to love the team.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings' fans are a rabid bunch who have come out to love their team year in and out, with an owner who for years has done for the team what we've seen Rocky Wirtz do the last two years, give them the resources necessary to put a winning team on the ice, and garner unabashed love from the community. Hell, they call themselves "Hockeytown", for God's sake.
David vs. Goliath. Luke vs. Vader. Hawks vs. Wings.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Posted by Forklift at 5/15/2009 8:21 AM 
Categories: 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Chicago Blackhawks
Tags: 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Red Wings Hockeenight
Categories: 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Chicago Blackhawks
Tags: 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Red Wings Hockeenight
Actually it was Sunday, Sunday, Suuuunnnndayyyy.
Let's tee it up and give em hell. If they don't win, at least let Detroit there is someone chomping to knock them off!
Reply to this
Definitely the more interesting of the 2 Conference Finals, as far as compelling stories go.
The Hawks will surely give Detroit a bloody lip, but as I saw firsthand last year, it takes more than a bloody lip to drop Detroit in the playoffs.
A Penguins team, very similar to (but probably better than this Hawks team) looked a little slow and unsure in Games 1 and 2 against Detroit's level of play. I hope that the Hawks play well early in the series, so that they can be there late in the series.
It's going to have to come from a real commitment to defense and an explosive offense, because Khabi (at least so far) is no J.S. Hiller.
Reply to this
You may have a seat for these playoffs, but you only need the edge.
2pm just cannot come soon enough at this point.
Reply to this