Hockey Sadness

I took my son to see his first professional hockey game yesterday. I had not been to a Blackhawks game in years. I had followed their long slow decline over the past 14 years - from Stanley Cup finals to basement dweller. But this was sad. Oh, not for my son, who had a blast - but to see what had happened to a team, that you used to have to inherit tickets to get in the door to see...

The parking lots were fairly empty - so I was able to go right to the front of the $15 "cheap" lot. The parking attendant mournfully told me that when the team had even a little winning streak, they could pull in a full house...oh, and was Denis Savard going to be back next year as coach? Heh.

The seats were quite empty - allegedly, the attendance was 11,295 (capacity is 20,500). I'd say more like 8,000. I feel bad for the vendors too - Blackhawk fans can eat, oh, and can they put the beer away too.

So it was an easy night to get to the concessions, the restrooms, and pull back onto the highway and get home quickly. The game result? Home team loses 3-1 to a listless Anaheim. If Anaheim had played like they cared at all, it could have been 7-1.

I think the 'hawks need a new logo....