Bill Wirtz’s television policy, albeit misguided, wasn’t the main reason for all the empty seats at Blackhawks games. Airing a Hawks home game against Washington isn’t going to suddenly lead to full houses at the United Center.
It still is all about winning. Wirtz didn’t allow home television during the Bobby Hull, Denis Savard and Jeremy Roenick eras, and you couldn’t get a ticket at the old Chicago Stadium.
Yet having said that, if the Hawks win again, fans being able to watch home games on TV will fast-forward the revival of the franchise. Expect Monday’s announcement that the Hawks have engaged in talks with Comcast SportsNet about televising games from the United Center soon will be followed by a definitive schedule for this season.
Perhaps Rocky Wirtz had his great epiphany last Friday when 19-year-old Hawks rookie Jonathan Toews scored an amazing goal in a home game against Colorado. It was the kind of did-you-see-that? moment that gets fans thinking they have to check out this guy in person. If only we had gotten to see the game.
Rocky had to know that, and probably knew it for a long time. Now that he is in control of the team, he quickly acted to remove an antiquated notion from a bygone era. Remember, the seventh game of the 1971 Stanley Cup finals, which the Hawks lost in a heartbreaker to Montreal at the Stadium, wasn’t shown on local television in Chicago.
If the Hawks are indeed about to turn a corner, airing road games won’t be enough to capture the excitement. The atmosphere at the United Center is much different. The crowd’s roar will come through loud and clear on television.
More Top Picks Best Portable Air Conditioners
I remember when CSN aired a Hawks home game featuring Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby. My son, 10 at the time, happened to stumble upon the telecast. He wasn’t a hockey fan, but he got completely wrapped up in hearing the crowd go crazy for a rare strong performance by the Hawks. He immediately started to badger me to take him to a game.
That’s the power of good old-fashioned marketing. The Cubs became a cultural phenomenon in the 1980s when viewers at home saw how much fun the fans were having at Wrigley Field. Airing home games created a fan base that helped sustain the Bulls long after Michael Jordan retired.
Soon the Hawks will try to take advantage of the same concept by jumping into the 21st Century.
Hockey fans haven’t disappeared in Chicago. We’ve just gone into a hole under the ice, waiting for a reason to come out again. The Hawks’ start has made many of us curious.
For the Hawks, this is a two-step process. Step 1 is about to be accomplished by finally (hallelujah!) putting at least some of the home games on television. Now all that remains is for the Hawks to win those games.