Laughter. Like a child, giggling.
Yes, when I see tape of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks scoring two goals in 17 seconds -- in the final 1:16 of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals -- the feeling of emotion that overcomes me is like a giant wave that's crested, then crashes down upon my sports-fan-of-a-heart.
Perfection.
You see, in 2010, when the Blackhawks won the Cup, I was about two minutes from home in my car, listening to it on the radio. Don't ask. There were overdue movies to be returned that night.
Perhaps that's why this time I waited weeks to write about the team I grew up loving. So I could appreciate it. Soak it in. Vicariously bathe in every moment of it and all its ridiculous glory. The city of Chicago, plagued with headlines that grow more troubling by the day, needed something like this.
That's not to say Boston, who went through some emotional times of its own in the weeks leading up to the NHL playoffs, didn't. And fortunately, the media wisely chose not to make this a manufactured "Boston vs. the World" scenario, following the horrific bombings that took place there earlier this year.
This game, this series, needed no additional hype. Because the two Original Six teams that took the ice treated spectators to a grandiose display of hockey the likes of which I hadn't witnessed in decades. Any other season, Boston walks away champs.
Not this time.
Not when the Hawks are literally in the midst of a mini-dynasty, having now tallied two Cups in the past three years.
Championship parades you see, have now become expected in the City of Big Shoulders. (Insert Cubs joke here). That's what this team, led by a grey-mustached hockey genius we simply call "Q," can do for your confidence.
Not only has Joel Quenville molded a group of young hockey players into a team that has captured the hearts and imagination of fans locally, but across the land.
Dare I say the Hawks have become "America's Team?"
As a writer, I can sense this from things I see. In our digital age, I see hockey fans from across the country on Twitter, Youtube, Facebook ... you name it, really ... supporting the Hawks. Giving
thumbs up and "liking" the Hawks, by the ton, so to speak.
People relate to the Hawks, who won with hustle, determination and effort as much as they did talent. Which is saying something, because this team is so talented, they've done the unthinkable.
Outside the United Center, A.K.A. the "Madhouse on Madison," there are statues of a couple of men you may have heard of. Bobby Hull, and Stan Mikita. A.K.A. the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of their sport and era in Chicago, for lack of a better comparison for you youngsters, or even you bandwagon fans just now hopping on.
Funny thing is, the current Blackhawks roster has a couple of fellas who I guarantee you almost every person in the state of Illinois would recognize now walking down the street. That being center and Captain Jonathan Toews, and winger Patrick Kane.
The duo are the baby-faces of a franchise that, despite hoisting two Cups now, hasn't reached its peak yet. Mark my words.
That's also one more Cup than Hull and Mikita, for those keeping score.
I'm not suggesting Kane and Toews are better. But really, how do we define better? It's similar to current NBA arguments that rage currently about a fella named MJ and another named LeBron.
Say what you want about individual talent, but in my world, you play for championships. Otherwise, why even be out there?
I could go on and on about salary caps, or how the Hawks are in such great position still compared to 2010, when the league forced them to trade some of their top up-and-coming players. Or how deep their team is.
I could also ramble on and on about Corey Crawford, whose play was so valiant and underrated during the postseason that if he ever has to pay for food or drink in this town again, I want names.
But I won't.
Rambling is overrated. Winning, on the other hand, is not.
Feels nice to be the hammer and not the nail Chicago, doesn't it?
This hammer, however, seems intent on pounding hockey puck-sized nails into the coffins of the rest of the NHL's teams, no matter how talented they may be.
Kinda reminds me of the killer instinct another guy who played in the same building and won six rings had.
Just the fact the Hawks are the first team to defy the salary cap era's attempts to level the playing field should make Chicago fans giddy. They are now kind of the "anti-establishment."
They're the team that keeps rising above, when the NHL's owners keep trying to level the playing field --- yet failing.
How can you not root for that?
Like I said...
Mini-dynasty. America's Team.
