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Cool Vids, Minty's "Good Side of Blackhawks Fandom"

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 3:28 am
by Minstrel
They've really upped the quality/content of the video section at the Official Hawks Site. It reminded me about how great the game is, how cool the heritage of my home town Original Six team is and reminded me of my father and grandmother who were fans and are no longer with us. I hope you like them too:

http://www.chicagoblackhawks.com/multim ... rchive.asp

One of the really amazing things about hockey is how rich the game's history is. I find that to be really important to appreciating current players to know who came before them. Pardon the double linkage/going slightly off topic here; but while on the subject check out this site if you haven't it's one of my favorites. Here's is Stan Mikita's Bio Page.

I'd especially like to share with people the 'Stan Mikita Highlight Montage' and the hilarious '1998 Television Spots featuring Jeremy Piven'. It's a combination of personal memories and really entertaining stuff too.

The Mikita video is worth watching because he was a guy that with 541 goals and nearly 1,500 points dominated the game and it's awards in the 60s like Gretzky did in the 80s :)

Also amazing of course were Savard and Larmer, two players not from quite as far back as Mikita but if you don't know of them you should! :) Check out their clips too.

The ads were a campaign Chicagoan Jeremy Piven, now known for his role on Entourage did for the 1998 season. They are hilarious!

Now my own personal rambling on the matter:

First off 'Stosh' Mikita is my favorite Hawk player ever (I've been priviledged enough to meet him several times at a charity event I work at each year). His being proud of his Czech heritage reminds of my late grandmother who also looked up to him as a personal hero due to her being z Czech as well. He used to come into the diner she worked at as a waitress and give her easily twice the tip other people would. Her own brother also was Stan but went by Stosh so she thought it was the coolest that he did so as well.

Really I am a Hawks fan because my Dad was a raving mad fan. I was just a little kid but I got to watch the early part of games with him sometimes. There were stories that he'd get so into the games and screaming at the TV he'd wake us kids up and Mom would have to put us back to bed and convince us Dad was okay, just watching the game :-$ We eventually spent a lot of time together when I was older watching and going to games with us both now screaming at the tv or player to SHOOT THE PUCK FOR CRISSAKES!!! It was 'our thing' to do as father and son since all my other siblings are older sisters (though they both know their hockey too!).

My father passed away a few seasons ago now but I always get a bit misty-eyed when hockey season rolls back around because he loved it so much and so do I. So yes it's just a stupid commerical but that first Jeremy Piven spot where he says 'All I need to know about life I learned from my father watching the Blackhawks' really does mean something to me.

Ever since that ad came out you can clearly hear at any home game versus Detroit the crowd chanting those two simple words DETROIT SUCKS! And I think of dad and I screaming our voices raspy in the stands; it's one of those times that I'm actually happy to be a Blackhawks fan :cry: