Blackhawks storm Wrigley Field
The horn sounded and “Chelsea Dagger” blared from the new Wrigley Field speakers.
At that moment, the door in the right-field corner swung open, and the Blackhawks' Brad Richards made a grand entrance with the Stanley Cup.
As Cubs and Blackhawks fans — many decked out in red — cheered, the Hawks made a victory lap around the ballpark, passing in front of the bleachers in right and left fields before making their way to the Cubs dugout on the third-base side.
The Hawks' Patrick Sharp handed the Cup to Cubs manager Joe Maddon, and then both the Hawks and Cubs players gathered at the pitcher's mound.
Hawks captain Jonathan Toews fired a strike to Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo before the Hawks made their exit, but not before some of the visiting Cleveland Indians players got a close-up glimpse of the Cup.
“I'm excited,” said Cubs catcher David Ross. “I'm excited to hold that thing. I hope they bring it in here (the clubhouse) and let us do some crazy stuff with it. I'm happy for those guys.”
The Hawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to win the Stanley Cup. Maddon had been playing it neutral because he managed the Tampa Bay Rays for nine seasons.
“I watched the game,” Maddon said. “Great game. They definitely deserved to win. It was interesting to be among people from the city and how much they were really into it.”
The Stanley Cup had wasted no time starting its summer rounds through the Chicago area Tuesday.
The United Center remained Lord Stanley's home base, where fans went for the best chance to see it between its comings and goings. But it also visited a Rush Street steakhouse and Patrick Sharp's deck party on its way to the parade around the inside of Wrigley Field before the Cubs game.
Frank Klimala of New Lenox and his three children — ages 14, 17 and 20 — fulfilled what has become a family tradition of going to the United Center for a peek at the trophy. They did it in 2010 and 2013, too.
They weren't disappointed, catching the Cup leaving in the afternoon on its way to the party at Sharp's house.
The small gathering outside the United Center feared they were going to see only the wheeled case, but the Cup's indulgent handlers happily allowed the fans a couple of minutes to snap photos and touch the trophy with the case lid open.
Other stops throughout the day, confined to Chicago itself, included a lunchtime visit to Paul Stefani's 437 Rush Chicago Steakhouse.