OT: Canadian/Non-Illinois Hawk Fans

[x Tame Impala]

Let me preface this by saying this isn't a "you're not a real fan" thread. I'm just curious as to how so many people here not born in Illinois ended up being Hawks fans. I really like the Kings, Avs, and Devils but certainly not enough to where i'd be a big enough fan to watch most of their games and post on their team board here on HF.

My sports fandom has always been with Chicago teams because that's where i'm from. I think we can agree that that's how most people end up being fans of their teams. What made you guys jump ship?

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[theaub]

My dad is a Hawk fan, thus I am a Hawk fan (he also apparently threw out any Leaf stuff people bought me when I was younger). Also through his work I was able to meet a ton of the Hawks players from the mid-90's teams. I had lunch with Ed Belfour when I was six which was pretty much the high point of my childhood (albeit I told him to get a shutout and the Leafs scored 18 seconds in, but yeah...).

The only difference between then and now is that when I was a kid I absolutely hated the Leafs. I think from grade two to first year university the Leafs had more points than the Hawks every year. I even used to bandwagon the hell out of Ottawa in the playoffs (which was even worse since the Leafs always beat them), but now I'm pretty indifferent; the atmosphere in this city is far better when the Leafs are in the playoffs tbh. Winning a couple Cups probably didn't hurt either.

Also usually whenever I start to somewhat like the Leafs I meet some guy who gets all offended when I say I'm a Hawk fan and I go back to hoping the Leafs lose every year like they did last year.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

I'm not one of those people, but I'll go ahead and chime in based on what I've learned on the subject over many years:

Basically, there's a ton of history of Original Six fandom across Canada, (primarily eastern Canada). When there were only 6 teams, there's going to be a lot of people who don't automatically become Leafs or Habs fans. People wanted to root for an underdog, for a player they liked because they were from their home town/region, because they liked the uniform, etc etc. There are a variety of different factors why someone would've become a Hawks/Wings/Bruins/(seldom Rangers, for whatever reason) fan in the 40s-60s era. Obviously, those people would be very old, so the posters here are the 2nd or even 3rd generation of those people. It's their fathers or grandfathers who became Hawks fans eons ago, and it stuck in the family.

Also, just to nitpick, but Northwest Indiana is part of the Chicago area and not in Illinois. So "non-Illinois" is a bit of a misnomer, when the reach of Chicago extends past state lines.

 

[Gurth]

I'm a Hawks fan living in Wisconsin, but I grew up in the Chicago area.

Why post here? Coz I grew up in the Chicago area as a Packers fan. My first game was at Soldier Field in about 1980 or so. First hawks game was in 1983 or so against the Isles.

Same situation as the poster above... my dad is a Packers fan, grew up in Milwaukee etc. No way in hell was there going to be a Bears fan in his house.

I've always hated the Bears. Didn't even waver in the mid eighties in fact hated them the most then coz they always kicked the Pack's butts.


I can understand where the questions come from and I even get that up here about both the Hawks and Pack. You're from Chicago and you're a Packers fan? Did you switch when you moved up here? Uh... no. You're in Madison but a Hawks fan? Did you just jump on in 2010? Uh... no.

Whatever. Been a fan of both through good times and bad and never chose a second team to root for.


EDIT: And staying a loyal fan of both certainly paid off in the end.

 

[Gurth]

Also, just to nitpick, but Northwest Indiana is part of the Chicago area and not in Illinois. So "non-Illinois" is a bit of a misnomer, when the reach of Chicago extends past state lines.

Same with Southern Wisconsin and especially SE like Racine and Kenosha.

We get Hawks radio broadcasts loud and clear here in Madison and Comcast Chicago's territory for hockey goes right up to the border of Madison.

A friend of mine who lives just outside of Madison doesn't have to get Center Ice (wouldn't do him any good as Hawks games would be blacked out) and I live like 3 miles from him and have to pay for it... Center Ice, that is.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Well... I'm about 50/50 here, as I actually started paying attention to hockey when I was legally an Indiana resident. I'm from Central Illinois, but was raised there at a time when the team was obviously not on TV and my dad had long since sworn off the team as long as Bill Wirtz was running the show. So, I had literally zero hockey upbringing or attachment to the Hawks, despite being a diehard Cubs fan and a mild Bears fan.

And I didn't start paying attention to hockey until I was a college student at a small liberal arts college in southern Indiana. Was planning brotherhood events for my fraternity one day, and a bunch of them suggested we go to a USHL Ice game in Indianapolis. I figured, hey... What the hell, why not? Went not expecting much, but to my shock ended up loving the hell out of it and started watching the handful of NHL games we got on campus a week.

So, I was in a conundrum... I wanted to start following hockey, but I wanted to follow a team I could actually watch. Hawks still weren't on TV, and I was loathe to the idea of rooting for a St. Louis team, so I was stuck wondering what to do. Then, literally as this thought process was going on during the offseason after I started following the game, Bill Wirtz died, rumblings about the Hawks being put on TV started immediately, and I figured my problems were solved and decided to be a Hawks fan. Went to my very first NHL game that December of 2007, graduated from college the following May, ended up getting a job in the Chicagoland area that summer, and have been up here ever since.

Almost freaky to imagine that had I started following hockey a year earlier or Bill Wirtz had lived a year later, I might very well be a fan of a different team. Probably not the Blues, but possibly the Wild or Jackets, as I was looking mostly at Midwestern teams, if memory serves.

 

[zytz]

I'm in NWI so still 'Chicagoland' , but by all rights there's no reason I ever should have become a hockey fan. no one else in my family knows anything about the game- I grew up watching the bears and the bulls mostly, and it's not as though there's a lot of hockey available for kids around here either. I just happened to have. friend in elementary school whose family were big Hawks fans, and my friend had my hooked by age 7 or so.

I was always mostly a casual fan because you know, Asa 7 year old kid following a non-televised team you can catch radio broadcasts before bed time and check the scores int he morning paper, but it was rare that I could convince anyone to take me up for a game. I picked up as a fam as soon as I moved back to NWI from college, and I was happy to discover that I could watch Chicago hockey on TV! This was the year before the cup run so I managed to get home at just about the perfect time

 

[Hawks4life]

Growing up near Toronto being a Blackhawk fan runs down my family. Growing up in St.Catharines and the Teepees being around for a while the amount of Hawk fans in this city is quite high. That being said alot of people claim to be now that they are good but my father, my brother and I travel every year to see a couple games and have been doing this for nearly 2 decades. Being in a heavily dominated Leaf population NHL centre ice has certainly filled the void and when the blackouts were happening the radio it was. We went to extremes to follow this team so in my opinion its not about where you come from but how hard you try.

Being from Canada, every time i visit Chicago i must say it is a remarkable city with very friendly people. Love everything about it.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Let me preface this by saying this isn't a "you're not a real fan" thread. I'm just curious as to how so many people here not born in Illinois ended up being Hawks fans. I really like the Kings, Avs, and Devils but certainly not enough to where i'd be a big enough fan to watch most of their games and post on their team board here on HF.

My sports fandom has always been with Chicago teams because that's where i'm from. I think we can agree that that's how most people end up being fans of their teams. What made you guys jump ship?

I've got a bunch of relatives in Chicago and the midwest in general. I actually started following the Hawks because I was trying to get some of my cousins into watching hockey. Also, I've been a London Knights fan for a long time so kept following the Hawks because of Patrick Kane.

 

[BlackhawksHawkey]

Grandfather is a Hawks fan and was born in Chicago. I never watched hockey too much till I visited him in 09, and when I got back home the playoffs were starting. My buddy was a Flames fan so I started to say I liked the Hawks just to bug him. Watching that playoff series with the flames got me hooked, and I've been watching ever since. It wasn't easy being a Blackhawks fan in BC, but it's totally worth it now haha.

 

[Nothingman*]

I grew up in Iowa and my dad was a Hawks fan. And I worked in Chicago for some years after college before moving to MN. Cannot help it. I don't change teams just because my job location does.

 

[Hawkaholic]

For me, I was a huge Jeremy Roenick fan growing up. I was also pretty big on Tony Amonte, Chris Chelios, and Ed Belfour (until 1994). Roenick has the same first name as me and wore the same number I wore in hockey (my birthday day "27") so I guess that's where I became a Hawks fan.

I kind of lost a little interest in watching hockey when I was 16-19 years old (being a teenager/not caring about sports), but got right back into it when I saw Toews light up the Americans in the WJC shootout. I was still a Hawks fan at that point, just didn't have much of an interest in them, as I couldn't even watch them on TV.

Once they got Toews and Kane and started being televised again is when my interest level took off.

I still have my little Hawks jersey from when I was 10 years old, and will never forget watching Hawks/Leafs at the Maple Leaf Gardens in 1995/1996. Tie Domi and Bob Probert had one of the best fights I have ever seen in hockey, and boy was it fun to watch live.

Haven't cheered for another team since I was about 8 years old, and won't ever be changing who I cheer for from here on out.

 

[hawksfan50]

The Blackhawks became my favourite NHL team since way back when Hull and Military first came into the league..You become a fan of certain players then naturally of the team they play for..then remain a fan of that team for life.. Most sportsfans who root for teams in cities they do not live in are like that...so while I live in Ottawa, the Senators are not MY team..I will always be A Blackhawks fan though that does not mean I ran ran for every player on the team ignoring poor play..such boosterisism in the face of lethargic or underperforming the talent level display is for the marketing hype dept..not for fans who really care about THEIR team's success.

In truth what drove me to follow the Blackhawks as a kid in 1959/60 season was the fact that I first became a White Sox fan in the summer of '59 as they drove to a pendant as World Series appearance..that led me to other Chicago teams. ..but in baseball I liked the Sox and could care less about the Cubs..I did become a Bears fan for a few years in the 60s but it never remained very strong as with the White So and Blackhawks to this day.. Watching the NHL now,I really have no loyalty to any team...just like good football between 2 top teams. The Blackhawks of course are a passion of my fandom..the White So not so much a passion as just interested to see their status as contenders or also ransom as the years roll by. More of a "pastime" interest..But the Blackhawks from performances to coaching and systems and to pipeline futures and the draft..it is all one big sports passion for me.. The eternal struggle for PERFECTION on the stage of competition...as one l
endures THE DAYS FOUR LIVES in the ongoing soap opera that is THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS.

 

[Honey Bear]

Grew up in Texas. Wasn't a Hawks fan till I moved to Chicago. Sadly, I'm moving back to Texas pretty soon, but I will be buying NHL Center Ice to watch them from Texas. Really going to miss the love the Hawks get around here... the last few years it's been really crazy. When I first moved to Chicago, I wasn't a hockey fan at all. I used to mock hockey fans like a degenerate arrogant *********, but when I went to my first hockey game and I enjoyed every minute of it, that opinion changed really quickly. Adopted the Hawks as my favorite team of a new sport that I was just learning about, and that's really how I became a fan.

Similarly, I also became a Cubs fan in the same way. Didn't have a love for baseball in general, never cared for it. Then I went to a Cubs game (my very first baseball game). Yes, the Cubs sucked, but I still enjoyed the game and I got into baseball even more. I'm still learning things today, and I'm optimistic for the future.

Chicago is arguably the best sports town I've ever spent time in along with Boston. The sports bars, the sports knowledge, and just everyone's passion for sports around here even when things aren't going right for their teams is something that I've come to appreciate.

I'm also a Rockets (NBA), Texans (NFL), and Longhorns (College Bball and Football) fan.

 

[ChiGuySez]

Growing up near Toronto being a Blackhawk fan runs down my family. Growing up in St.Catharines and the Teepees being around for a while the amount of Hawk fans in this city is quite high. That being said alot of people claim to be now that they are good but my father, my brother and I travel every year to see a couple games and have been doing this for nearly 2 decades. Being in a heavily dominated Leaf population NHL centre ice has certainly filled the void and when the blackouts were happening the radio it was. We went to extremes to follow this team so in my opinion its not about where you come from but how hard you try.

Being from Canada, every time i visit Chicago i must say it is a remarkable city with very friendly people. Love everything about it.

Younger fans may or may not know about St. Catherines. Found an old vintage St. Catherines high school yearbook pic

 

[Chelios]

Let me preface this by saying this isn't a "you're not a real fan" thread. I'm just curious as to how so many people here not born in Illinois ended up being Hawks fans. I really like the Kings, Avs, and Devils but certainly not enough to where i'd be a big enough fan to watch most of their games and post on their team board here on HF.

My sports fandom has always been with Chicago teams because that's where i'm from. I think we can agree that that's how most people end up being fans of their teams. What made you guys jump ship?

Doesn't seem that "jumping ship" is the appropriate description for most posting here. As for me, growing up in Nova Scotia you don't really have a "home team", there are a lot of Habs/Leafs/Bruins/Sens fans (probably in that order) and more recently Pens fans since Sid has come into the league (it will be interesting to see if the same happens with MacKinnon and the Avs). I have been a Hawks fan basically since birth (I have an infant size Blackhawks jersey from childhood), mainly because my mom and my aunts were huge Hawks fans back in the Hull/Makita days. I have followed them religiously for as long as I can remember (which was surprisingly hard when they were never on TV and often played late at night). I remember listening to the games on NHL.com on dial-up internet in highschool. Chelios was (and still is) my favourite player, and the reason that I still where #7 whenever I can.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

Fiddy is a SOX fan? Oh my...

 

[Duke33]

So if I'm reading this right, if you weren't born in Chicago or the area, you're....jumping ship from some other team?

How bout born in New Jersey, moved to Chicago area when I was a 6-month old baby with the family. Lived here for many years and was introduced to hockey and the Hawks at an early age. Got my first Hawks shirt (Magnuson) as a gift when I was 3 and saw my first Hawks game at the Stadium in 1979.

Moved away in the 80s but stayed loyal to the Bears, Hawks, Bulls and Sox despite living in Texas and the DC area. Went to school in western Pa and would drive into the middle of nowhere to listen to the Hawk playoff games in the early 90s on WMVP, could barely get the bandwith but since I was in the mountains on clear nights I got it fine. Got my first "real" Hawks sweater in 92, a Dirk Graham #33, with the Captain C and the 75-year Stanley Cup anniversary patch.

Even though it's more snug I still wear the Graham sweater when I come back to visit family or for work and get to games. I get to mingle my sweater with the 18,000No. 88 and 19 jerseys in attendance, and am frequently asked "Who the hell is Graham" or "Is that your name on the back, etc" or "Don't you know Toews is the captain?" or other nonsense from the legion of fans who only started following the team five years ago.

I realize that there are probably tons of bandwagon fans or fans that have jumped ship from someone, given the numbers of Hawk fans I see at road games, etc. But I'm sure tons of those people are people who have lived in Chicago like me, for many years, but have moved away for whatever reason.

 

[Blue Liner]

Interesting seeing some posters in this thread that don't post here in this thread much, if at all. Come aboard, friends!

 

[theaub]

Even though it's more snug I still wear the Graham sweater when I come back to visit family or for work and get to games. I get to mingle my sweater with the 18,000No. 88 and 19 jerseys in attendance, and am frequently asked "Who the hell is Graham" or "Is that your name on the back, etc" or "Don't you know Toews is the captain?" or other nonsense from the legion of fans who only started following the team five years ago.

Haha, when I was at the Leaf/Hawk game this year cry, these people behind us were claiming their 'true Hawk fandom' amongst the general populace of Hawk fans there since they were from Chicago.

They then started taunting some guy wearing an Al Secord jersey about not knowing how to spell 'Saad.' Fantastic times.

One thing I will say is that for some reason I try to justify my fandom a lot more now that the Hawks are good. Like there's this girl from Vancouver who's here on a transfer and she gave me the soulless look when I said I was a Hawk fan so I'm like 'well I was at the game in Buffalo last night!' Don't know why I care...

 

[No Fun Shogun]

They then started taunting some guy wearing an Al Secord jersey about not knowing how to spell 'Saad.' Fantastic times.

Jesus... there's being a bandwagoner who's never heard of Secord and then there's a special level of idiocy for somehow thinking that anybody would misspell "Saad" that badly.

I mean.... I can't even imagine the thought process that would lead someone to assume that Saad's the only #20 in team history, which I assume is what they were thinking...

 

[pvr]

The Blackhawks became my favourite NHL team since way back when Hull and Military first came into the league..You become a fan of certain players then naturally of the team they play for..then remain a fan of that team for life.. Most sportsfans who root for teams in cities they do not live in are like that...so while I live in Ottawa, the Senators are not MY team..I will always be A Blackhawks fan though that does not mean I ran ran for every player on the team ignoring poor play..such boosterisism in the face of lethargic or underperforming the talent level display is for the marketing hype dept..not for fans who really care about THEIR team's success.

In truth what drove me to follow the Blackhawks as a kid in 1959/60 season was the fact that I first became a White Sox fan in the summer of '59 as they drove to a pendant as World Series appearance..that led me to other Chicago teams. ..but in baseball I liked the Sox and could care less about the Cubs..I did become a Bears fan for a few years in the 60s but it never remained very strong as with the White So and Blackhawks to this day.. Watching the NHL now,I really have no loyalty to any team...just like good football between 2 top teams. The Blackhawks of course are a passion of my fandom..the White So not so much a passion as just interested to see their status as contenders or also ransom as the years roll by. More of a "pastime" interest..But the Blackhawks from performances to coaching and systems and to pipeline futures and the draft..it is all one big sports passion for me.. The eternal struggle for PERFECTION on the stage of competition...as one l
endures THE DAYS FOUR LIVES in the ongoing soap opera that is THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS.

HF50, you have to turn off spell check and auto-completion.

Back to the OP's question, I think that it's even more perplexing regarding the Europeans choosing the Hawks as their team.

I became a Hawks fan when I moved to the Chicago area in 1968. Before that I guess I liked the Bruins, and though I was quite young, I still knew about Orr.

The Hawks practiced nearby in Northbrook in the late 60's/early 70's. Have a bunch of autographs from those days. Hawks and Cubs for me, then Bears and lastly Bulls back in those days.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

Even though it's more snug I still wear the Graham sweater when I come back to visit family or for work and get to games. I get to mingle my sweater with the 18,000No. 88 and 19 jerseys in attendance, and am frequently asked "Who the hell is Graham" or "Is that your name on the back, etc" or "Don't you know Toews is the captain?" or other nonsense from the legion of fans who only started following the team five years ago.

They then started taunting some guy wearing an Al Secord jersey about not knowing how to spell 'Saad.' Fantastic times.

Oh god, that's terrible

Reminds me of a story from last year. I was out with some friends for 1 of the WCF games, think it was game 2. I'm in my Roenick jersey, and my buddy, who's not really a hockey fan but was rooting for the Hawks 'for the party' as I like to put it, asks me "how come your jersey has a name different that everybody else's.

He's a big Yankees fan, from NJ originally. I told him "That'd be like someone asking you who Bernie Williams is."

 

[theaub]

Jesus... there's being a bandwagoner who's never heard of Secord and then there's a special level of idiocy for somehow thinking that anybody would misspell "Saad" that badly.

I mean.... I can't even imagine the thought process that would lead someone to assume that Saad's the only #20 in team history, which I assume is what they were thinking...

Yeah I don't know any explanation for it.

Thankfully someone called them out on it by asking which Blackhawks have scored 50 goals in a season, to which they answered 'Hull, Mikita, Savard' in this mock sarcastic tone. Obviously they weren't getting Secord, but I don't know what the worst part is there: going 1/3 overall or missing JR.

 

[Oh_so_saad]

I am born and raised Seattle, WA and have played hockey my entire life. I first saw hockey at the age of 4 and knew i needed to play it. Growing up my favorite teams were chicago, detroit, and the canucks. I went to many hockey schools in Alberta and British columbia and met alot of pros that played for these 3 teams so that was i loved them back then. The Blackhawks always had my favorite jerserys and were who i chose to root for from my early teens on. I quickly begin to hate the red wings around my bantam years. I still liked vancouver because of how many pros played for them that i got to meet at camps.

I never played midgets as i opted straight for juniors, however i quickly got burnt out on hockey and would only play from time to time from the age of 18-21. I stopped following hockey for quite a bit with the lockout and such. it wasnt until 2008 when i was in great mistakes attending navy A school that i got bored and picked up some skates, stick, and gloves and started playing again at the base's outdoor rink. i fell in love all over again, not too mention this was the first time the blackhawks had made the playoffs in awhile. I remember the city just being off the wall for blackhawks game s and reminded me of our fans in seattle with the seahawks. I was always a hawks fan but being in chicago really solidified my view. I really grew to depsise the canucks over the next few years and have strong hatred for them now even with them being so close.

Needless to say i am hawks fan for life Seahawks and Blackhawks!

Im pretty pumped as i am headed to Chicago this weekend for the Nashville game friday and the redwings on sunday for my 27th birthday. This will be my first game actually at the Mad house on madison and i am so beyond amped