For example, when something like this happens: "The Chicago Blackhawks are your 2010 Stanley Cup Champions!"
While the excitement of a Stanley Cup final and the te
mptation of seeing Lord Stanley's Cup in person might make anyone jump on a bandwagon, I proceeded with caution. I felt like rooting for the Blackhawks meant I was cheating on the Bruins. Then I decided the Flyers--who beat the Bruins in an epic playoff comeback blah blah blah--needed to be beaten and I wouldn't want any team other than Chicago to do it.
mptation of seeing Lord Stanley's Cup in person might make anyone jump on a bandwagon, I proceeded with caution. I felt like rooting for the Blackhawks meant I was cheating on the Bruins. Then I decided the Flyers--who beat the Bruins in an epic playoff comeback blah blah blah--needed to be beaten and I wouldn't want any team other than Chicago to do it. And they did! And I was excited. After all, this might be the closest I come to a Stanley Cup Champion for a while (thanks to Jeremy Jacobs), so I decided to enjoy it.
On Friday, I woke up early and staked out a spot along Michigan Ave with my friend Christiana in order to catch the parade. Christiana is a New Orleans native (which has no hockey team) and adopted the Blackhawks as her team when she moved to Chicago.
Even at 8:30 a.m., two hours before the parade 
started, the streets were crowded. We found a giant concrete flower pot to stand on for a better view and so we didn't have to stand shoulder to shoulder with other sweaty fans. By 10 a.m., there was no breathing room. The Chicago Tribune reported that 2 MILLION people came out to the victory parade and rally. Guess that's what happens when Lord Stanley returns to a city after 49 years (it was the longest championship drought in NHL history)!
started, the streets were crowded. We found a giant concrete flower pot to stand on for a better view and so we didn't have to stand shoulder to shoulder with other sweaty fans. By 10 a.m., there was no breathing room. The Chicago Tribune reported that 2 MILLION people came out to the victory parade and rally. Guess that's what happens when Lord Stanley returns to a city after 49 years (it was the longest championship drought in NHL history)!I was nervous about going to the parade, seeing Lissa and I nearly got trampled to death (this is not an exaggeration) at the Celtics 2008 victory-parade-turned-fiasco. However, Chicago was ready. They had hundreds of cops on hand, people passing out free bottles of water and announcements over the loudspeaker reminding anxious fans to hydrate because it was so hot out. There was also a LOT more room for people to stand here than there was for the parade in Boston.
The parade was a lot of fun and Christiana and I took tons of pictures to capture the moment for our friends--die-hard Hawks fans--who couldn't make the parade. After the parade passed, people spilled into the streets and followed the train to the rally, chanting "Let's Go Hawks" as they marched down Michigan. After the crowd died down, I gathered up some confetti from the ground to keep as a souvenir. I also may or may not have thrown it in the air over myself. Just so you know, I pretended it was black and gold confetti raining down on me. Someday it will be. Because someday the Bruins will also be reunited with Lord Stanley.
You were a genius to think of standing on those flower pots! Had a great time with you!
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