Welcome to Chi-City Hockey!

Let me first take this moment to welcome everyone to the official, unofficial, unofficial, official Blackhawks blog!

So, where to begin? Let’s first get the name of title of the blog out of the way. Why “Chi-city hockey?” Two reasons: 1) Because just about every other name surrounding the Blackhawks, Chicago, Chicago Blackhawks has already been taken in the form of a url. 2) Because Kanye West says it in “Homecoming” numerous times!!! Seriously though, I’m just trying to stay hip and look cool by staying current with Chicago’s most recent nicknames.

So a little bit about me: I’ve been a hockey fan for as long as I can remember. I started playing on the ponds when I was about 6 or 7 and began playing competitively at age 10 when they finally open an ice rink in my hometown. Although I played many sports growing up, hockey has always been and will always be my true passion surrounding the sporting world. It’s the best game to play and is without question the most exciting sport to watch in person. And with HD television bursting onto the scene the past couple of years, you won’t hear many grumblings about not being able to see the puck while taking in a game on TV. (And never will you ever have to witness something like this ever again!)

As far as my NHL knowledge goes, I’d say it is somewhat limited. I paid very little attention to the Blackhawks after the era of Roenick and Belfour passed through the Windy City. Sure, I’d watch the occasional road game on TV (because, as most know, home games were not offered on tv) with Foley broadcasting, but that was about it. However, that all changed last year when the Hawks former owner, Bill Wirtz, passed away, leaving the team in the hands of his son, Rocky. Rocky pulled almost all the right strings during his first few months on the job and just like that, I was back in.

Last year, I attended about 6 games during the season at the UC, which is pretty good considering I did not live in the city at the time. This year, I’m in on a 9-game “Hull” plan with my friends that included this past Saturday’s game against Wings. And despite the SO loss, the game/crowd/play was invigorating and included a record crowd for a regular season Blackhawks game played at the United Center.

So, needless to say, I am extremely excited for this season. A few years ago, the Blackhawks played on 82 nights a year and I maybe caught 2 or 3 of those games. Now, I find myself looking forward, home or road, to every game. That’s 82 nights where I normally wouldn’t have much to look forward to and now will be glued to the radio or tv whenever possible to catch the action. It’s a great time to be a hockey fan and even greater time to be a Blackhawks fan. I’m not sure what direction this blog will head or how often it will be updated, but that’s something I’ll find out as I go.

To leave you with something that will send chills for any current Blackhawk fan, watch the video of the 2007-2008 highlights below. That Matchbox 20 song has been one of my favorites since they showed this video at the last home game last year vs. the Preds (where I had standing room tickets to). LET’S GO HAWKS!