Hawks' resurgence began with a sizable To-Do list

The Blackhawks are on the doorstep of history.

A pretty big deal, because, as team historian and low-key legend Bob Verdi noted recently, "Most of the highlights around here are in black and white."

That would include the last time the Hawks won the Stanley Cup in 1961, the same year "West Side Story" won the Academy Award for best picture, and Michael J. Fox and George Clooney were born.

Seems about the perfect time to update the history book, doesn't it?

With 4 wins over the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals, which open Saturday at the United Center, the Blackhawks can do just that.

But how did this franchise, which just a handful of years ago was rated as the worst in all sports, reach this point? How did it go from laughingstock to the hottest ticket in town?

By putting together a heck of a to-do list and gradually checking each item off one by one.

TV, TV, TVRemember watching all those great Hawks home games from the glory years?Nobody does.That's because former owner Bill Wirtz refused to televise them. Nope. Wouldn't budge. While every other team in the city was televising home games and reaping the benefits of advertising revenue and an expanded fan base, Wirtz never saw the (red) light. In the process he probably lost a generation or two of potential Blackhawks fans, as his son Rocky Wirtz has admitted.But when Bill Wirtz died and Rocky took over and brought in John McDonough as team president, things changed in a heartbeat. "Rocky definitely did the right things when he came in," said former Hawks great Cliff Koroll said. "No. 1 was putting the games on TV. I think he won back a lot of fans that had been disgruntled over the years whose biggest gripe was not seeing the home games - not seeing all the games - on TV."That was probably the greatest move he could have made to help turn this thing around."Remember the RoarWant to hear the United Center erupt during a game?Just watch when they show Stan Mikita or Bobby Hull on the Jumbotron over center ice. Just watch what it means to the fans. Just watch what the fans' reaction means to Hull, Mikita and the other legends the Hawks have welcomed back to the family.Just watch what it means to all the Hawks alumni."It's pretty neat," said Koroll, president of the Blackhawks Alumni Association. "The door was always open for our alumni. Bill Wirtz was good about it; he's the one who got us started. He kicked it off by providing a check for us to start our coffers."The door was always open, but it wasn't open as wide as it is today. They've greeted us with open arms, and because of the success of our current team our alumni have become more successful."The opportunities are better for the guys, and we're kind of riding the roller coaster along with them."Forget the PurrIf you didn't make it out to the United Center during the pre-Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews era, imagine crickets, sitting-room only crowds of about 5,000 and the ability to hear on-ice conversations from the 300 level.The place and the team generated about as much buzz as the Cubs got for signing Neifi Perez."It was pretty painful," Koroll said. "The organization, to get to that level from what it was in the late 1960s, early '70s -"In that time period we owned this town. We had a couple of roller-coaster rides there after with some good years and some bad years, but never an extended period like that."To see the size of the crowds dwindle year after year, the bad press, the (bad) publicity the team was getting - it was pretty painful."Patrick Sharp witnessed it all firsthand from ice level."I remember playing my first game here coming from a first-place team (in Philadelphia) to an Original Six matchup against the Rangers with 9,000 people in the stands," he said. "I could have never predicted five years later we'd be playing like this."Recapture the cityIn the late 1960s and early '70s the Blackhawks were the hottest ticket in town.Even during the good times at the United Center, though, the common perception about the team has been there were about 20,000-30,000 die-hard Hawks fans and the rest of the city couldn't care less.Koroll has been hearing that nonsense for years."They used to say back in our era there were 100,000 hard-core fans but only 16,666 (capacity at Chicago Stadium) got to see the home games," he said."I think it's been rejuvenated again here in the city because, No. 1, Rocky putting the games on TV. They've put a good, quality product on the ice, and they've marketed the heck out of good, talented players."The recognition of these players out in the city is getting back to where it was back in the old days," Koroll added. "I think they (own this town) now."Sharp and Co. sure have been reaping the benefits."I challenge anyone to find a better place to play in the league than Chicago right now," Sharp said. "It's so fun; the atmosphere is unbelievable, and we're playing great."The former players are digging the scene as well."My son manages the Alumni Suite, and the other day he had 75 phone calls," Koroll said. "It's been pretty crazy. We had to put in some policies and procedures so we can accommodate as many people as we can. So it's kind of fun that way."Win the CupAfter just missing out qualifying for the playoffs the previous year and advancing to the Western Conference finals before losing to Detroit last year, the Blackhawks have taken that next step.But there's a big one left to take.And they know it.That's why it was so refreshing to see Hawks captain Jonathan Toews decline to celebrate with the Clarence Campbell Bowl, presented to the Western Conference champs after the Hawks finished off San Jose on Sunday."That's not the one we want to win," Toews said. "They gave us hats, so we'll go home with those and be happy about that. We're after something bigger and better, but we still have to win four more games to get that.""They've finally reached that final step, which is the most important one," Koroll said.In about two weeks time we'll find out if they can make that one last check mark.