Longtime season ticket holder snares seats in Philly

Richard Wagner of Winfield has had Blackhawks season tickets for about 40 years but has only seen his team win a Stanley Cup on TV.

That could change Wednesday night as he watches Game 6 of the finals from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

His son, John, was able to snare tickets through an online broker and is treating his dad to what could be the game of a lifetime.

"For all the years I took him to the games he's taking me to a game," Wagner said Tuesday.

He attended his first Blackhawks game as a teenager in 1955 and was hooked.

"I like the speed, I like the determination," he said. "I like that ... hockey players aren't lazy."

Plus, there's the competitiveness and the sportsmanship of the game, he said.

As a longtime season ticket holder he has been able to pass a love of hockey on to his sons and grandsons. Wagner also has met quite a few players over the years when they came into his family business, York Furrier, in Elmhurst and Deer Park.

Richard and John arrived in Philadelphia Tuesday and spent the day seeing the sights and attending a Phillies baseball game. But it was all just the opening act for the real show they're there to see when the Hawks seek to eliminate the Flyers.

"They're going to win, there's no doubt," he said of the Blackhawks' chances. "They're so determined."