It's good to be Rocky these days

The reactions are similar to someone unexpectedly running into a long-lost friend.

Eyes widen, smiles broaden and arms move almost involuntarily, raising up and to the side.

And the first word uttered invariably is shouted, not said.

"Rocky!"

That's the typical reaction Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz gets these days, whether he's walking the United Center concourse, at his seat in the lower bowl or hosting a select group of who's who gathered in his private office for a pregame party.

It simply doesn't matter one's economic or social status.

Everyone wants a piece of Rocky.

"It was lovely, Rocky."

"Hey, Rocky."

"Thanks again, Rocky."

"I'll probably shake 50, 100 hands when I'm at my seat," Wirtz said as a line of guests, including former Hawks general manager Bob Pulford, trickles out of his office minutes before puck drop, each with a kind word and, yes, a handshake. "I love it."

It wasn't like this for his grandfather Arthur or his dad, Bill.

"There was never a cheer for any Wirtz," Rocky said with a laugh. "Now it's unbelievable. And pictures and postings on Facebook. But it doesn't wear me out because these are customers. I never want to promote myself; I just want to promote the Blackhawks."

He's doing a heck of a job. Saturday's opener of the Stanley Cup Finals was the organization's 100th consecutive sellout. In their last home game, the Hawks surpassed 1 million fans for the second straight season.

"This shows if you embrace the fans, they might not like you, but as long as they respect you, (and) that's all you want," he said.

That they do. As the pregame party winds down, a group of famous friends gathers a few feet away, just waiting for a chance to get to Rocky.

But he's too busy right now spending time with a reporter who only wanted to talk with him in the concourse for a minute before the game but now finds himself in the throes of celebrity wondering what in the world he was doing there.

Jim Belushi in his sportcoat and cap, Vince Vaughn in his No. 9 Hawks jersey and even the dashing Ali Larter of "Heroes" fame are going to have to wait because Wirtz is speaking the gospel of the Blackhawks.

"We have a single-minded determination to win," he says. "That has to be a winning culture from the locker room to John (McDonough) and Jay (Blunk). Everyone has to sign on."

After a few kind words for his guests, it's time for Wirtz to head to his seats and for the reporter to say thank you and good luck. But this is Wirtz, and before you know it the pair are walking through the concourse toward Wirtz's seats.

Three backslaps and a "thanks, Rocky" later and we're at his seats, greeted by smiles, points and camera phones aimed in Rocky's direction.

"I don't sit," Wirtz said as the reporter immediately rises off his chair. "Because if I do I'll just have to get back up."

Soon the line starts to form behind Rocky. They come from all directions. Some just want to shake his hand, others want to get a picture with him.

Whatever they ask for, Wirtz gladly obliges.

"Was I about right?" he says with a smile after shaking about his 50th hand of the night.

As the pregame ceremonies kick in, Wirtz looks around a packed UC and shakes his head.

"Everyone's standing," he beams, "this is great."

Soon the conversation turns to the players.

He thinks Marian Hossa is going to have a big series.

He says he doesn't know which looks worse, Jonathan Toews' mutton chops or Patrick Kane's mullet, rating each a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Then the chants of "Let's go, Hawks" kick in, and Wirtz is right there among the masses clapping along.

Can you imagine it any other way?