Life Lessons for Loving a Losing Team

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Stef
April 6, 2022 (4:29 PM)

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After the Hawks' 5-2 loss to Tampa on the 1st of the month, which, honestly, was expected by most, part of Coach King's statement was, «that's the kind of team we want to be. Obviously, we're not there». «Obviously, we're not there.» Obviously. No one expected the Hawks to do well against the back-to-back champs, but you know what?

We tied them in the first period, and had a brand new hockey game going in to the second. But just like we've seen in so many games before, and since, nothing happened for us in the second, or the third, and we lost. So how do you continually root for a team that so continually lets you down?

Full disclosure, I've only been a low-key Blackhawks fan since 2009, when I moved to Milwaukee for a year. Milwaukee (of all places) has the AHL Admirals, but no NHL team. It's Wisconsin, and they don't have a team in the National Hockey League. Sorry. Anyway, because of that oversight, the city mostly roots for Chicago. So I did, too.

In fact, I was living there when the Hawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup, and I actually had to drive back to Michigan that night. So I slept during the day, waited till the game was over, then left. I was driving through Chicago around 2am, and saw the buildings lit up with window light designs of the Stanley Cup, the Hawks' logo, and «Go Hawks». And it was beautiful.

I also fell in love with their goal song, which helped me cheer for them, as I just really wanted to rock out to Chelsea Dagger. But after I moved back to Michigan, even though I still wanted them to win, especially when they were playing my personal rivals like the Flyers, Capitals, Rangers, or Devils, I wasn't following them that closely, anymore. And of course, living in Michigan, I was mocked, mercilessly, by my friends for adopting a rival team. Honestly, though, I didn't really have a choice. I love hockey, and I was living in Milwaukee. So just like the Red Wings became my Second Hometown Team when I moved to Michigan, the Blackhawks became my Third Hometown Team, and I stand by that system to this day.
Coincidentally, rivals though they are, I feel like few understand what Hawks fans are going through as well as Red Wings fans. Imagine being in the playoffs for 25 years in a row - and then watching your team just crumble in front of your eyes.

They know. And I feel like it takes a certain kind of fan to be able to badmouth your own team, but if anyone else does it - look out! However, the Blackhawks have definitely had more trouble off the ice than on, and that has to factor in, as well.

How do you root for a team that was complicit in causing extreme trauma to multiple people? I'm not going to pretend to have all the information or correct opinions. I will tell you, though, if you want the full story and best reporting on what happened, I found Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times to be extremely thorough, fair, and a champion for those who needed it. For now, I'll say that I do think the club is moving in the right direction, though I wish they could get there a little sooner. So you take that into account.

That they're working on it. And they're cleaning house. And when they say «rebuild», boy do they mean it.
I only started following the Hawks more closely when they acquired my goalie, last year. But in those 8 months, I got to know the players a little better, because I wanted to. I learned their history, their skills, their struggles, and I felt connected to them.

So even when Fleury left, as much as I was prepared to let them go back to being my low-key Third Hometown Team, they stuck with me. And I think that's how you know you're a true fan. When it doesn't make sense for you to root for them. When there's statistically nothing to root for.

When it doesn't seem possible or plausible for them to do anything good. You wait. You watch. You celebrate the 1000th game of your captain. You get excited when a prospect gets called up. You support those who are actively trying to make you proud to be a fan, again. And you hope. Four years is a perfect amount of time for a rebuild. And I for one will be thrilled when our Centennial team shows the rest of the league what it means to be an Original Six.