For many in the crowd of 500, this surely was the next best thing to being there.
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On Thursday night, the Blackhawks Roadwatch Party made its annual stop at the Libertyville Sports Complex. And while actually being at the arena in St. Louis to watch the game between the Blues and Blackhawks might have been the ideal for the fans, this was hardly a consolation prize.
Getting 500 Blackhawk fans at the same place at the same time to watch an important game on a big-screen TV was a great start. When all the extras were added in, it indeed was a Roadwatch Party.
“Each year, this keeps growing and growing,” said Connie Kowal, recreation and Sports Complex director for the Village of Libertyville. “We discovered we have a winner. Word is getting out that this is the place to be.”
The Blackhawks hold the Roadwatch Party for many games. Saturday’s event will be held at the Union Ale House in Prospect Heights.
However, few can match the community support and energy in Libertyville.
“This is, without question, our favorite stop and biggest event,” said Chet Coppock, the Roadwatch Party emcee and a Chicago radio sports broadcasting legend. “This is a great place to have this event and the kind of crowd we look forward to.”
The Hawks lost 2-1, not scoring until the closing minutes of the game. That meant the huge red light in the Libertyville Sports Complex only was lit once.
Besides watching the game, there was floor hockey for the kids and plinko for players of all ages. Former Blackhawk Brent Sopel signed autographs and Jim Cornelison sang the national anthem to the cheering crowd.
Even mascot Tommy Hawk was on hand to entertain the youngsters.
“It is a privilege to have the Blackhawks come to the Libertyville Sports Complex,” Kowal said. “It is a great sense of pride to the village and people of Libertyville. It also gives people who come from outside the area to see what a great facility we have here. It showcases the facility and all the amenities we have.”
Kowal noted that the timing was fortunate in that the Hawks-Blues game had major playoff-pairing implications.
“The Hawks are fantastic in customer service and this is something right in our wheelhouse, Kowal said. “Tonight, we got lucky and had a game that meant everything against a rival in the St. Louis Blues.”
For at least one group, the game served as family reunion.
This was the fifth annual Roadwatch Party at the complex, and the Kemp family has been to them all.
Joy, 87, moved from Detroit to Palatine in 1961. She has been a Blackhawks fan ever since, and this event allows her to get together with her son Steve from Grayslake and daughter Laurier from Lombard. They get pizza at Bill’s Pizza & Pub in Mundelein every year before coming over.
“Connie does a great job putting on this event. The whole atmosphere is terrific for us,” Steve Kemp said. “This is the closest we could get to a real game, as it is unrealistic we could make the trip to the United Center (for a Hawks home game). It is so nice that Jim Cornelison came out and sang the national anthem.”
Kowal even added an official scorekeeper a few years back. This year, Trevor Green and his son Caleb of Mundelein were in charge of running the clock.
“I have been coming here for the last couple of years and it has been great, Trevor Green said. “The experience has kept us coming back.”
Even Sopel, a member of the Blackhawks’ 2010 Stanley Cup championship team, was amazed by the turnout for the event.
“This is a great facility to host a Blackhawks Roadwatch event,” he said. “The fans really came out. They are the ones who make the game go. It is always great looking around, and seeing all the kids running around having a great time and smiling.”
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Phillyp Bonato is a freelance contributor