Wrigley Field readies itself for the NHL Winter Classic

I have always thought it a shame that professional hockey never caught on in much of America. Even in cities that feature a hockey franchise, fan support is limited to a relatively small, but enthusiastic minority.

In the northeast it is much better with civic pride in the Bruins, Sabers, and perhaps the Flyers allowing hockey to rise to a step above being considered as a “minor sport.” And, of course, the game in Canada is still followed as a religion.

But here in Chicago, the Blackhawks had fallen precipitously - not only in fan support, but media coverage as well. One of the “Original Six” NHL franchises, the fortunes of the Hawks have turned sour as a result of the monumentally poor business decisions of now deceased owner William Wirtz. ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski explains:

The Hawks, one of the Original Six, haven’t won a Cup since 1961, haven’t reached the playoffs since 2002 and haven’t been worth watching until, well, now. Not that you could have watched them until now anyway. This is the first season in the 82-year history of the team that all of its games are on local TV.

With all due respect to Knicks knucklehead James Dolan and the Lions’ clueless William Clay Ford, no franchise has a richer history of ownership blunders than the Hawks. The late Bill Wirtz and his 41-year reign of ownership terror make Dolan and Ford look like amateurs.

The Wirtz Way: Don’t spend money. Don’t broadcast home games. Don’t help the media. And when in doubt, distance yourself from your legendary players. With Wirtz, the organizational motto was “The Customer Is Always Wrong.”

Wirtz tried very hard to drive the franchise into the ground, but only partially succeeded. The reason is that until 1994, the Chicago Blackhawks played in the best hockey venue in history; the old “Madhouse on Madison,” officially known as Chicago Stadium.

Now Boston Gardens and the current incarnation of Madison Square Garden were both fine, old arenas, each dripping with history and memories. (I had season tickets to St. Louis Blues games that were played in another great theater of sport, the Arena.) But you will pardon me if I express some civic chauvinism and declare that you haven’t seen or experienced a professional hockey game unless you witnessed the event in the old Chicago Stadium.

Not only was the drafty old hall the loudest indoor arena of its kind, it was a singular place to compete if you were a hockey player. The ice was 20 feet shorter than regulation, the difference made up by shortening the neutral zone. But the thing that set Chicago Stadium apart from any other was the world’s largest theater pipe organ that blasted music using a 100 HP Spencer Blower that in the old days, blew out windows and lights in the building when cranked full.

Taking up an entire section in the third tier, the organ was visible to the entire crowd. The playing of the National Anthem (sung by legendary Chicagoan Wayne Messemer) could barely be heard above the cheering fanatics who began screaming at the first notes of the Anthem and didn’t stop until the puck was dropped to start the game.

Alas, those days are gone and the Hawks now play in the rather sterile United Center. In recent years, the “House that Jordan Built” has seen a falloff in fan attendance for the Hawks as the team fell into mediocrity. Until…

Weird, but it wasn’t until after Wirtz’s death on Sept. 26, 2007, that his franchise came to life. In the next 188 days the team had a new chairman (Wirtz’s son, Rocky), a new president (former Chicago Cubs president McDonough), new team ambassadors (the once exiled Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita returned), and a new television deal.

Later, there was a new radio deal, a new play-by-play man (former Hawks announcer Pat Foley returned), a new spending policy ($56.8 million for defenseman Brian Campbell, $22.4 for goaltender Cristobal Huet), a new senior adviser (Scotty Bowman), a new staff directory (41 changes in the front office), a new Cubs-like Blackhawks Convention, and, just four games into the 2008 season, a new coach (Joel Quenneville for Denis Savard). About the only thing that stayed the same was the Hawks’ sweet logo.

The fans have responded to this Phoenix-like rise by returning in droves. And to put a cherry on top of this welcome resurgence, the Blackhawks will host the Detroit Red Wings today. And they will do it at the only other place more historic than old Chicago Stadium; Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs and perhaps the most historic stadium in America.

The NHL’s Winter Classic will mark the league’s second year for a New Year’s day outdoor game. It is the most innovative professional sports idea since the inception of the Super Bowl. Last year’s premier event was held in Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium where more than 71,000 fans were treated to some great hockey between the Buffalo Sabers and the Pittsburg Penguins.

The outdoor venue for hockey harkens back to a time when most of the league was made up of Candadian farm boys who learned their hockey on the ponds and lakes of rural Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The fact that this game will feature two of the Original Six teams in the league also brings back memories. For me, it is of Saturday nights in the 1960’s watching legendary Hawks players like Bobby Hull, Stan Makita, Kenny Wharam, Phil Esposito (before he was traded to Boston), and Pierre Pilote. They competed against the hated Montreal Canadians who featured equally legendary players like Guy LaFluer and Scott Lamaire as well as the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The game was much different back then. The players were much smaller, faster, better with the puck, and probably dirtier. The game itself was more wide open with speed being the key to victory.

But today, for a few hours, it will be throwback time as Wrigley Field will see its first major winter sports event since the Bears left for Soldier Field in 1970. And the resurgent Blackhawks, putting fannies in the seats once again and playing exciting hockey, may find that hosting this game with a large, national audience just the catalyst they need to elevate the status of their sport to the heights it previously occupied in this city when the old Chicago Stadium rocked and roared during the golden years of Blackhawk hockey.