Hockey Noob: Confessions of a Bandwagon Jumper
While most of Chicago's sports media will be focused today on the rising body count at Halas Hall, I'm more excited to see how Martin Havlat's going to play against his old team.
While coordinator and assistant coach candidate names will be bandied about, I'm wondering how Cristobal Huet will respond tonight to teammate Antti Niemi's year-long game of "Can You Top This?"
And while the majority of national sports television time will be devoted to breaking down this weekend's four NFL Wild Card games, I'll be watching the Blackhawks pre-game show.
With the Blackhawks at the top of the NHL just past the halfway point of the season, I obviously come off like a fair-weather fan. And I have no rebuttal to that accusation. Three years ago I hardly cared that Chicago owned one of the Original Six franchises--and I probably would've had to cheat to guess who the other five were. So I guess I gotta come clean: I am a bandwagon jumper.
If you wore this in the 90s, I probably hated you.
I hate bandwagon jumpers in other sports. Hate them as much as I can allow my mind to hate over something as trivial as sports fandom. But I feel like the entire Chicago sports universe has aligned recently in such a way that we should all get comfy, guilt-free seats on the wagon.
In 2008, the Cubs and Sox made the postseason in the same year for the first time since anyone you know was born. They underdelivered in '09. In early '09, the Bulls fought the defending champs in an unforgettable seven-game playoff series. So far, they've not lived up to the hopes generated by that series. The Bears signed the Franchise QB and then played like they should be working at a franchise, possibly Arby's.
"Omiyale! Are those curly fries done yet?"
Now, if one of you could explain to me what that blue line is for, I would appreciate it.
7 Comments
plamorte said:
I'm with you Quigs, I jumped so high to get on the Hawks bandwagon I almost nailed Gheorghe Muresan in the chin. Also, I'm saddened you probably hated me in the 90's, not my fault what Santa brings for Christmas but if you didn't have a "Starter" you weren't cool.
Alex Quigley said:
If you didn't ask for it, then you're cleared of any wrongdoing.
But your parents are guilty as sin. I MEAN SANTA.
SkaterRich said:
I'm ok with you jumpers on...I guess the only worry I have is what happens when you all jump off. Times wont always be this good and then what? The loyal fans will continue on and the fans of the Blackhawks (Not Hockey) will move on to wearing thier cute little cubby shirts and whining for another 100 years of being served garbage.
I'm fine with the sudden surge of revenue which enables the Hawks to market a supreme product but what happens after the honeymoon? Will the bandwagon jumpers stay on or jump off again? In my opinion about 30% will stay on and the rest will go back to worrying about the Cubs or ridig the coattails of the Yankees, Lakers and Patriots.
Hockey is a "2nd tier" sport and true fans have a lot of pride in doing the research that isn't always available on ESPN or the likes. Thats why the bandwagon is so annoying, 21,000 fans a night and about 15,000 of them dont know any other players besides the ones on the Hawks and Sidney and Ovie.
Do the real fans a favor and don't try to argue about stats and players you dont know of, dont act like you have been a fan forever just because you googled Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita after seeing their names on the back of jerseys duriing your first trip to the U.C. for a Hawks game.
To break this all down, if you jumped on the bandwagon thats awesome....Just stay for the long ride and learn from those that have been on for a while. If you dont your only ruining the experience for yourself and the people who truely love the game.
Oh, and never bring your dislike for fighting up to any real fan, it will take a while before you can understand why its a vital part of protecting the players as well as shifting the momentum of the game.
Alex Quigley said:
In my opinion about 30% will stay on and the rest will go back to worrying about the Cubs or ridig the coattails of the Yankees, Lakers and Patriots.
If there's one fanbase in all of pro sports that's proven to stick around for losing seasons, it's the Cubs'. They tend to stay loyal in the lean times.
Now, I can think of another fan base in town that likes to "send a message with their wallet"....
jdudhead said:
Skaterrich: I am worried about people leaving the hawks bandwagon as well but all things considered, I think we can all rest assured that the hawks have converted more than a few chicagoans to embrace hockey and the NHL. Even if the hawks struggle for a few seasons after this year (which is entirely possible considering how ridiculously compepetive the western conference is) the hawks will still have a lot more fans that they did a few years ago. Ultimately, it will take the NHL returning to espn (or the soon to come NBC/comcast super sports network's increased hockey coverage) for chicagoans (and americans in general) to embrace the sport, even when their team struggles. All things considered, it appears as though the NHL is making huge strides towards the mainstream of US sports culture. Much better product/stars after the lockout and people are noticing, even outside of chi town.
SkaterRich said:
jdubhead: I did say 30% would stay so I'm not discounting all bandwagon jumpers. I know a lot will stay especially the younger people who have never had a chance to experience NHL hockey in Chicago.
As far as how competitive the Western Conference is, Thats not a concern for me because the Hawks (Even when it was ran by Dollar Bill) made it to the playoffs a lot, It's the salary cap. The thing about it was that Dollar Bill did not want the Hawks to go to the Stanley Cup and win because then the players would get more money. He wanted a team to get to the playoffs and then fail so he can keep the season ticket holders happy and not have to pay the players more money.
I think you may be a bandwagon kind of guy since you think the NHL is making strides to make hockey mainstream. If you were a true hockey fan you would know the NHL has always done what they can given the popularity of the sport. Hockey will never be a revenue giant like football and baseball but it seems that way in Chicago right now because the Hawks were a niche team untill last year. Now hockey coomes into everyones life and people think its because the NHL had something to do with it. In fact they had nothing to do with it, Dollar Bill was a chairman of the board of governers for the NHL for 18 years, they loved Bill Wirtz. It is his son that realized the wrongs his father made and is making up for them 10 fold right now. If you think its the NHL your dead wrong. Any bandwagon jumper out there that enjoys the sport and found a new team to cheer for should buy Rockey Wirtz a 10 foot thank you card. Not the NHL.
Jane Rickard said:
Alex,
Come and spend a night on the wild side and join us for a Wolves game. Hockey 101 is more fun closer to the glass and given by someone raised on a frozen pond and a hockey photog. I promise a night in the wild and wooly minors will not hurt a bit and you just might like it.
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