How many of these fans in it for good?

A Chicago sports columnist raised the issue this week of how some longtime Blackhawks fans resent hockey-come-latelies.

Which begs the question of how many there are of either?

Right now, as the Hawks prepare for the Stanley Cup Finals, the impression is that everybody is into them.

Timing is perfect for the Hawks as the Bears hibernate, our baseball teams refrigerate and the Bulls wait for the future.

The United Center has been filled for the Hawks all season. Radio and TV ratings set club records. Fans from supermarkets to classrooms proudly wear the Indianhead.

Most important, bartenders say business booms during Hawks games. Not like for the Bulls in the 1990s, but good by most standards.

Hawks stories spill off newspaper pages, for a change. Sports-talk radio hosts discuss hockey. TV news anchors know a photogenic sport when they see one and hockey is that here and now.

Yes, folks, everybody loves a winner, but it wouldn't be surprising if a lot of Chicago sports fans are tired of hearing about the Hawks already.

So the question remains: In the case of Blackhawks fans, how many is everybody?

Even back in the previous glory days of this franchise, measuring popularity was difficult.

Chicago Stadium was filled for every Hawks game back then, the announced attendance at a predictable 16,666.

Beyond that, fire inspectors ignored the additional 4,000 or more fans cramming into every cranny of the old building.

Yet even if the Hawks attracted a rounded off 20,000 to each game, suspicions snickered that they were the town's only hockey fans.

That wasn't accurate, of course. My friends and I weren't at all games but sure were hockey fans. Certainly others like us sat at home appreciating Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and the old gang.

But how many others did? Where did the Hawks rank among our pro sports teams in those days? Were they closer to first or fifth?

A good guess was that the Hawks were behind the Bears and probably the Cubs, at least even with the White Sox and ahead of the Bulls.

Regardless, the Hawks clearly were among the Big Five in Chicago sports. They resided in the mainstream until a sorry decade dropped hockey down with soccer and horse racing as a niche sport and then a cult sport.

Finally, recently, it took just three seasons to complete the round trip from cult to niche back to mainstream.

"We had a lot of ground to cover," says Jay Blunk, Hawks senior vice president, business operations.

It's easy to imagine that the Hawks are atop the Sears Tower now, but where exactly are they on today's local sports landscape?

Let's see, the Bears remain No. 1 no matter what. A good guess is more still grieve over the Cubs than rejoice over the Hawks. The Bulls can climb back ahead of the Hawks if they sign LeBron James. The White Sox, man, I have no idea what they're doing.

So the Hawks are - exactly where? How many true fans does mainstream hockey translate into around here? How many will remain faithful if the product regresses?

That's the real curiosity, as it was when attendance at Chicago Stadium was announced at 16,666 every night.

mimrem@dailyherald.com