Bandwagon Jumpers

So what about all these bandwagon jumpers for the Hawks and the Bulls? Obviously both teams have increased in popularity over the last 12 months. The Bulls were supposed to compete for the Eastern Conference championship last season but had a supremely disappointing season leading to the firing of the coach that helped bring them back into relevance with three straight playoff appearances. Some serious luck came their way when they surprisingly won the coveted NBA Draft Lottery and made the RIGHT choice bringing Derrick Rose into the mix. Derrick helped lead the Bulls to an 8-game turnaround getting them back in the playoffs as the #7 seed.

The Bulls' epic playoff series with the defending champ Boston Celtics will go down in history as the best first-round (if not THE best) playoff series ever. All the experts say that just having that playoff experience will help the young Bulls develop as a perennial contender for years to come. They were a couple of shots or a couple of referee calls away from upsetting the #2 Celtics and moving on to face the very beatable Orlando Magic. But the extra media attention and being in the limelight for an extra month brought along what most call bandwagon jumpers. "True" or "die hard" fans tend to despise these people as they only come along when the team has success, but aren't there when the team really needs them to get over the hump. To me, the more people at the games means more noise at the UC which only helps out the home team and that's what I want. Eventually (I hope) the Bulls will start to get some actual calls especially at home...that's what all the experts are saying about Derrick Rose. Can you imagine what this kid would have done with 5-6 more FTs per game? I'm looking forward to that time.

The Hawks saw an absolutely INCREDIBLE transformation this year. It "helped" that they haven't been relevant since 2002's playoff appearance. They made HUGE strides last year thanks to their two AMAZING rookies (Kane and Towes), but floundered a bit down the stretch and missed the "cut" for the playoffs. They did NOT falter this season though, did they? The transformation started when Dale Tallon moved from the radio booth to the front office as GM in 2005. He then picked up Towes (#3 overall) and Kane (#1 overall) in the first round in 2006 and 2007 and the Hawks were on their way. With the death of their long-time and ultra-cheap, stubborn, and arrogant owner "Dollar" Bill Wirtz and the ownership change to son Rocky Wirtz along with the hiring of ex-Cubs President John McDonough, the franchise transmformation was complete. But wait, who doesn't love Savoir Faire? When the Hawks decided to fire him only 4 games into the season this year, I was scratching my head. Well, what do I know? Joel Quenneville was the final piece so he actually completed the transformation.

Getting the home games back on TV helped build a more consistent following. This was THE BIG decision behind getting this team the support they needed to get them over the hump. You can literally watch every single Hawks game on TV and nearly all in HD (that helps too - NHL in HD is the BEST). How did this not make sense to Dollar Bill?

The home attendance and revenue numbers for this season have been ASTRONOMICAL. What a perfect storm to redevelop a fan base. With that totally nuts Game 6 at the UC, the Hawks exceeded 1 million fans and that does NOT count the Winter Classic at the Frozen Confines. The Hawks set an NHL club record by attracting an average of 21,783 to their 40 home dates at United Center (not including the 40,818 who filled Wrigley Field for the Winter Classic) this season. Chicago is averaging 22,578 fans per game through their first five home contests of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. How can that be with all the fans they should have lost with everyone staying home to watch the home games? Ya...nice logic there Dollar Bill.

So where did all these people come from? This goes back to my original point. Are all these people coming out of the woodwork only here because the team has been so successful? Or were they always there keeping an eye on the team to see when the franchise cared as much as they did? Speaking for myself, I'm going with the latter. I've always followed the Hawks but not as closely as I have these last two years. It REALLY helps me since I don't have season tickets and only get to a couple games a year to have the games on TV. Having THE BEST announcers on the planet doing the games, REALLY helps too. Eddie O and Pat Foley are simply amazing. Eddie O's analysis of Kane's 3rd and pretty much game and series clinching goal on Mon night was so insightful. Amazing! And that's why people like to watch. I can't find any current revenue numbers for this season, but last year's merchandise revenues were up 175% so this year should be right in that same area. Season ticket sales increased 300% from last year to this year too.

So I say WELCOME BACK fans...WELCOME BACK!

How about those HAWKS?!?

I already mentioned that I don't really know enough about hockey but...it doesn't take an expert to tell you how awesome that game was last night. I was writing my blog last night during the first two periods and had the game summary up in my web browser. 1-0 Hawks, 1-1, 2-1 Hawks, 3-1 (feeling REALLY good at this point), then 3-2, 3-3 (what's going on here?), and that's where the 2nd period finished up. I'm thinking OK, we're still at home, the crowd is still NUTS, we can do this and punch our ticket to the conference finals for the first time since 1995. Then I started thinking about the 2003 Cubs - NO get those HORRIBLE thoughts out of your head man!

It didn't take long but there it was - a stupid penalty for too many men on the ice (really?). Mats Sundin made it 4-3 Canucks (what?!?). Wait! What happened to that 3-1 lead at home? NO! Officially, it was not considered a power play goal, but the tally occurred 2 seconds after the Canucks finished their power play so the Hawks 5th skater wasn't in the play yet. But wait, these guys are so resilient, it's really only me that's nervous at this point. So how do these guys do it? How do they not get nervous in BIG spots when they're down? I think maybe its because they're too young and inexperienced to really get the gravity of the situation. You know? Too dumb to be scared! Whatever it is...it worked!

The 3rd period was one for the ages...UNREAL! Down 4-3 against arguably the best goal tender in the world...no problem. Then the barrage started...Burish (really? yes!) tied it less than 2 minutes later at 4-4. And then back and forth, back and forth...finally about 6 1/2 minutes after Burish tied it, Vancouver struck again to take their final lead of the series...of the season when Sedin scored his second goal of the game.

The rest of the 3rd belonged to the young Hawks. First Kane tied it at 5-5 with a great steal and wrap-around from behind the net. Really? 5 goals against Luongo - isn't he supposed to be the best in the world? Less than 30 seconds later, the Hawks drew a borderline (looked like a good call to me :)) hooking penalty and then Towest took advantage on a pass intended for Sharpe that went off the skate of a Vancouver defenseman about 25 seconds into the final power play of the series to take the lead for good. That was Towes second goal of the game matching Kane to that point. Well, last year's Calder Trophy (i.e. Rookie of the Year) winner wasn't to be equaled on this night...Kane scored the 7th goal of the game to get his very first hat trick of his 2-year career (there will be PLENTY more in the very near future for this star).

The final seconds of the period could not tick down fast enough. Tick...tick...tick...whistle...tick...tick...tick. But the Hawks would finish off the Canucks on home ice before an absolutely ecstatic crowd. What a roller coaster ride for those folks! I was going crazy at home by myself and I was only able to watch the 3rd period (couldn't have picked a better period to watch though); these people were there for the whole game. Up 3-1 and feeling pretty good...down 4-3 and sick to your stomach just a little bit...tied 4-4 and thinking "OK, here we go now"...not yet; down 5-4 and going "come on boys - let's cheer louder!"...tied 5-5 and going "now?"...then 6-5 "woohoo"...then 7-5 "WOOHOO"...then tick, tick, tick..."bring on the Red Wings (or Ducks)!"

What a fantastic season...and it ain't over yet! GO HAWKS!!!