Wind Power: The Revival of the Chicago Blackhawks

Karen Anderson of the Chicago Tribune has an interesting piece on the Windy City revival experienced by the Blackhawks this season. She has first hand experience on being a Hawks fan for the past few decades:

"I was among those who became disenchanted.

"I grew up in the 1970s when this was a Hawks town far more than it was a Bulls town after football season ended. Hull, Mikita, Esposito—even a casual fan knew these guys were stars. Later, I could imitate former play-by-play man Pat Foley reasonably well: "A save by Ban-ner-mannnn!"

"But that infatuation never blossomed into anything more. The Hawks were seldom on TV, and in the early '80s you had to buy a clunky cable converter box to watch them on an obscure channel. The Cubs, by contrast, were winning the hearts of my generation and others who grew up watching the team on free WGN."

Those days are done now. The Hawks archaic business practices are gone. The Hawks are returning to Chicago TV, allowing the city to reconnect with a team many simply forgot about.

It couldn't be happening at a better time. In the next year or two, the Hawks will emerge as the most talented young team in all of hockey. With the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Jack Skille, David Bolland, Cam Barker and Michael Blunden leading a charge.

While the Hawks came up short in their bid to return to the post-season, with a little luck and health they should be contending in the near future. Which will undoubtedly bring back more memories, such as their last Stanley Cup championship way back in 1961. Here's an excellent documentary on the '61 Hawks from YouTube: