I Can't Quit The Chicago Blackhawks

I was out. I was watching youtube highlights of Kakko, Hughes, Cozens. I was mentally done with the Hawks after that stretch where the Hawks lost 4 of 5. The season was over and I was okay with it. Good run by a bad team. I can always get on board with a team that plays hard. Then…Saturday night happened.

Nothing gets my blood pumping more than 88 feeding 12 for a goal. Nothing makes me believe more than Corey Crawford though. And that game on Saturday night was the first time we really saw him in a LONG time.

Corey Crawford stood tall. He looked alert. He tracked the puck well and was so fundamentally sound that most Dallas shots seemed boring. It was a beautiful thing to see. The Blackhawks held the Stars to NOTHING for the final 40 minutes of the game. They still gave up some quality chances. Too many if we are being honest, but they got the result. Do you know how long it’s been since the Blackhawks had a game hit the under? Well if you had been betting Hawks over you’d literally be a fucking MILLIONAIRE right now.

SIXTEEN STRAIGHT OVERS!?!? I really should be a millionaire now, but every time before the game I tell myself “tonight is the night the Blackhawks figure it all out and lock it down defensively” and then they proceed to give up 7 goals. But that is really the mentality of the JoinOrDie movement. I can’t make myself quit the Blackhawks. As hard as I try this team has me for life. I even tried to be a real person Saturday night. I went to a concert instead of watching the game. I checked the box score throughout and when it was still 2-1 at 930pm I convinced myself that I didn’t have cell service. The score hadn’t updated. The next morning I got up with the dog and then I watched the early AM replay with the people who work third shift. The defense in that game was…actually good. Or at least passible. They battled their ass off, Crawford made enough saves, the elite guys made enough plays, and the Blackhawks won a game on the road against their direct competition and now…I am right back to sweating with every game. Now all of a sudden the game tonight against the Coyotes is a MONSTER game. Better than that…the next two weeks should all feel like monster games as there is truly no room for error now. No more losing streaks. Gotta win like 7 of 8 here and the one loss can only come against an Eastern Conf opponent.

The bottom of the Western Conference straight up sucks this year and for that reason and that reason only…the Blackhawks have an outside chance. It’s not a good chance. They’re gasping for air and grasping for straws, but the door isn’t completely shut yet. I thought it was but now I am back. Back to believing…again. This team has me. JoinOrDie really is a gang. Once you’re in, you’re in. There’s no getting out, no matter how much I try and I wouldn’t want it any other way.