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October 24, 2002
OFF THE POST BLOWS INTO CHICAGO
By Matt Petersen
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CHICAGO -- You know the old brainstumper, “If a tree
falls in a deserted forest, does it make a sound?”
Well, a 500-ton Redwood could have fallen at center
ice of the United Center on Wednesday night and no one
in Chicago would have flinched.
All right, sorry for the lousy, clichéd metaphor, but
it was kind of a downer for us to find a sparse
turnout for the Blackhawks game on Wednesday.
An original six franchise with a reputation as a super
hockey town, we found the building half-full, with
little applause and not much energy on the ice. The
only real enthusiasm fans showed was a rousing
standing ovation through the national anthem that we
gather is a tradition around here.
The overall poor turnout could be an early season
aberration, or the fact that the Hawks may have a
sub-par product on the ice. Gone is Chris Chelios
(they still have a Cheli’s Chili restaurant here) and
Tony Amonte, and the last bastion of superstardom,
Eric Daze, is shelved the early part of this season
with a shoulder ailment.
Chicago fell apart early and took the loss in a
somewhat boring game as Minnesota forward Andrew
Brunette put two in the net. We pondered that it could
be a long season for the Blackhawks who were a fifth
seed in the playoffs last year. Their lousy showing
didn’t stop Jeff from really giving it to the hometown
fans periodically through the night.
“I mean, if I were taking someone to a game for the
first time (i.e., this one), they would think hockey
is the most boring game in the world,” he nearly
shouted as three very patient Chicago fans sat through
one of his many outbursts. I tried periodically to
shut him up but he was in a weird mood on the night.
Okay, enough with the negativity. Overall, the United
Center had a cool feel to it and it was a cozy arena.
It was neat seeing all of the championship banners
hanging from the rafters (uh, mostly from the Bulls),
and we really felt the winning tradition that is
usually such a norm around here. Chicago’s a great
town, and even though we were staying in a rough
neighborhood (Greektown, although the chicken noodle
soup from Zorba’s was a godsend for Joe’s brief bout
with the flu), and the weather sucked, we took in a
lot of great sights.
Before the game, we drove to Wrigley Field, and gawked
at the old stadium from a pizza joint across the
street where a slice of pepperoni and mushroom went
for three bucks. It was a generally dank afternoon,
but it made our drive through the streets of Lincoln
Park, with its brick buildings and old style pubs and
coffee houses a real treat.
But like almost every other stop we’ve had, it was
pretty much time to move on seemingly as soon as we
got in. Too bad the showing from the hometown fan-base
was lousy; surely it was on off night. Tomorrow night,
Joe Louis Arena, home of last years’ Stanley Cup
winners...and don’t call me Shirley.
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Quiet Crowd in Windy City
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