Home and away, fans flocking to see reborn Hawks

Former Blackhawks goalie Darren Pang remembers it well, roaming the concourse of a half-full United Center while doing radio work for the Hawks and while in town with the ESPN crew, the sadness of a once-proud organization oozing through each step.

Current Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, in just his second year with the team, also has memories of the bad old days, though his didn't last nearly as long.

"Last year, you were just happy to be in the NHL," Kane said. "You start playing a couple of games and you realize the building is kind of empty and you want to do something to try to fill it up.

"I think that was important to guys like myself, Jonathan (Toews) and other players on this team to come back and try to fill up the rink (this season)."

Through a dramatic series of events - the death of Hawks chairman Bill Wirtz, the ascension of his son Rocky, the hiring of marketing maven John McDonough as president, and the play of young stars like Kane and Toews - the rebirth of the Blackhawks began in the final months of last season.

Suddenly the UC was the place to be again as the Hawks made a desperate push for the playoffs, one that ended 3 points short of a postseason berth.

In the off-season, the marketing machine revved up. There was the first-ever Blackhawks convention, the tie-ins with the White Sox and Cubs, the commercials, the personal appearances.

If there was an event that attracted more than 10 people in the city, it seemed there would be a Blackhawks player on hand pumping the publicity machine.

It worked.

Sports talkers were adding hockey to their list of topics, players were starting to get recognized on the street, and most important, fans were returning to the UC - in droves.

Entering this week, the Blackhawks, thanks to a string of 16 straight sellouts, were leading the league in home attendance, averaging 21,552 a game.

"It's amazing how quickly it's happened," Kane said. "It's awesome to be a part of. We're a fun team to watch. We score a lot of goals. We've got a lot of young players who are going to be good players in this league for a long time."

It also hasn't hurt that, under the tutelage of new coach Joel Quenneville, the Hawks have gotten on a roll, having won a franchise-record nine straight games before Tuesday's loss at perennial powerhouse Detroit.

"They're absolutely up-and-coming, and not pretend up-and-coming," said Pang, now a TV analyst for the Phoenix Coyotes. "The marketing of the team has been outstanding, but at the end of the day you have to win games."

And it's not just the folks in Chicago that have sat up to take notice of the red-hot Hawks.

Fans are flocking to see the m on the road as well. They are third in the league in road attendance (17,755), trailing only Detroit and Boston in that category.

"Years ago, the two places players didn't want to go was Chicago and Boston," Pang said. "Now the top two spots are Chicago and Boston. I think that's great."

When was the last time there's been this kind of buzz around the hockey world concerning the Hawks?

"The Stanley Cup Finals in 1992," Pang said. "Everyone knew the Chicago Stadium was closing; that was a team full of characters."

Now it's this team that has hockey people buzzing, Pang included.

"I can't wait, when I'm broadcasting, to get back in Chicago and see all the familiar faces beaming with so much pride," he said. "For all of us alumni who've been in the doldrums, to see the excitement, to see the concourses filled and to see the Hawks playing great hockey is special."

Pang credits part of the rebirth to the Hawks' new policy of televising all their games - including home games - something former chairman Bill Wirtz would have none of when he was running the show.

"This team is different because of Kane and Toews, but it's also different because minor hockey teams - kids' hockey teams - are able to watch the games on TV," Pang said. "I thought they lost a couple of generations of fans."

At noon Thursday on NBC, the whole country will get in on the action as the Hawks host the Red Wings in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. More than 100 media credentials have been issued for what has become the hottest ticket in town.

"If you look at the team, it's been pretty much a total 180 from where we were at the beginning of last year," Kane said. "We're getting a lot of press, the fans are back, we've got the Winter Classic ... it's obviously evident that hockey is back in Chicago if the NHL is going to give us a game like this.

"It's just fun to be a Blackhawk right now."