We are 42 days out from opening night of the 2024/25 Blackhawks season, and with little to no news out there for the team, I wanted to write a little bit of a different blog today, so please bear with me. We all have our different origins stories on how we fell in love with the game of hockey and our respective teams. For me there are two people I have to thank for that, and those, of course, would be my dad and mom. My parents gave up a lot of their time, energy, and money for me to play this amazing game, and to this day, I don’t think I could ever thank them enough for it. Four years ago today, I lost my dad to suicide, and while it's still tough to come to terms with, I try my best each year to remember the good memories with him, and this year I can't help but really remember all the amazing memories I have had with him and this game and team.
My dad always loved hockey but never played or even skated himself, and from what my mom told me, the first reaction he had when they found out I was a boy was, “I can't wait to get him on the ice." He wasted no time getting me out there right when I turned two. I will always laugh that I used to put up a fight, telling him I didn’t want to skate and I wouldn’t use it ever, which is even funnier now that I literally work in the game. Thankfully,he didn’t give up on trying to get me hooked. He kept me interested by talking to me about Hawks games and showing me how amazing this game was. He bought me a clock radio so I could listen to the games, and he always turned a blind eye when he would hear me listening to games way past bedtime. He knew the monster he created, and I don’t think he couldn’t have been more proud. Before I tried out for my first team, he took me to an old camp that was held at The Edge in Bensenville that gave all the guests a chance to experience what the Hawks did on a game day. This was a camp for father and son to take part in drills and scrimmaged, and despite not being able to skate, he didn’t hesitate to throw some gear and get on that ice no matter how bad he was going to be. That right there was the moment I knew that this was more than a game, and it was something that was going to keep us connected, no matter what.
Some of my best memories involve hockey and my dad, from my weekly 6 a.m. practice where we would always stop at White Hen for a donut and chocolate milk on the way to the rink to the countless hours in the car driving to tournaments all over the country and Canada. He was laughing his butt off in the stands when we were playing in the Silver Sticks tournament in Canada against Canadians who were beyond better than us. These kids were talking about what seemed like NHL speed slap shots, and I couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. I would look in the stands and see him laughing, telling me to get in front of it and take one for the team, and laughing even harder when I yelled at him to come out there and show me how it was done. He spent countless hours working on my own personal ice rink in our backyard and would always make sure the ice was ready for me the next day, no matter how late I kept him up the night before. He would man the sound system at games and make me the coolest kid on the ice, giving me my own goal song (Wild Thing by The Troggs, after my childhood nickname and thanks to Major League). When my high school was trying to completely separate the hockey program from the school, he fought to change their mind and took on the role of vice president to help keep things where the school wanted them to be. We didn’t have much in life, but my parents always made sure that I was able to keep this game apart from my life.
While it didn’t seem so big at the time, I will forever hold the memory of watching the Hawks win the Cup in 2010 with my dad, despite wanting to go out with friends for the game. That Cup win was so much more than just a championship for my favorite team; being able to watch this team we both loved after so many terrible seasons reach the apex of the hockey world after 49 years with the man who introduced me to this team and sport is a memory that I hope I get to live one day myself with any future kids I might have. Lucky for me, I got to live that memory again when the Cubs won in 2016.
We all fell in love with this game and/or this team thanks to someone close to us, and I would love to hear where your passion came from. Everyone has their own unique story, and with not a lot of hockey news, it could be a nice time to remember where they got their start. Some of you might even be in the process of bringing your own kid into this amazing world of Blackhawks hockey, and if you are, I hope you all cherish every second of it because the memories you are going to make are going to be so important to your kid when they are old enough to really appreciate them.
I apologize for the off-topic blog, but I thank you all for allowing me to remember my dad today. I will be back soon with Hawks blogs as soon as I finish my move to my new house. A quick preview of what is in my plans includes player profiles for the new Hawks, previews for the offense, defense, and goals, and other preseason previews for what should be a fun Hawks season.
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