<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="hotkarl840" data-cid="203632" data-time="1372455890">
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Long time lurker, very infrequent poster here. I’d like to say that I cared enough about the Hawks for a sufficient period of time to not be considered a bandwagon fan. Unfortunately, I can’t deny the fact that I never went to a game until November of 2007.</p>
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I’m not sure why that is, exactly. One of the biggest was not having played the game. I might have asked to join a league once but with Little League and Pop Warner already my parents probably didn’t want to commit the time and money for another sport. When I was a little older my brother and a few friends would attempt to play roller hockey in the street but it was never more than screwing around. We only had two sticks for one but the main reason for that dying off was I couldn’t skate worth a damn. I still can’t. </p>
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The biggest was that they simply weren’t on t.v. A lot of people have used that reasoning but it really is a significant one. My parents also refused to get cable so that even shut out the possibility of road games, most of which would’ve been on too late anyway. By the time I was in college and later, got my own apartment, I’d watch parts of games here and there but it never really took. Doubling the amount of games available, seeing a home game, hearing a Wayne Mesmer anthem performance and the roar of the Stadium crowd at an earlier age might have helped.</p>
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I can definitely say that I was never one of those “who cares about hockey?� people. I started reading the sports section of our paper at an early age and would always see how the Blackhawks did regardless of how the season was going. My cousin’s boyfriend at the time had season tickets and he would always give me some of the fan giveaway items at family dinners. I had several team pictures, pennants, cards and a youth-sized sweater that I loved so much I’d sleep in it. Jack O’Callahan lived across the street from one of my other cousins for a few years and meeting a real live Hawk was one of the coolest things ever for a kid!</p>
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I’d always watch Olympic hockey when it was on and I can tell you for certain that I watched pretty much every game during Fox’s brief run with that goofy streaking puck experiment.</p>
I have to unfortunately admit though that there was nothing stopping me in my 20s from picking up some cheap tickets on my own or making an actual point to watch a few away games in my apartment rather than just flipping around. </p>
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Even the game I went to in ’07 was courtesy of free tickets. In fairness to me, my ex was telling me about all the free shit vendors would offer her at her new job. I believe the conversation went something like this: “One guy even asked me if I ever wanted his company’s Blackhawks tickets, but I was like, pfffff.� Me: “What are you, NUTS? Snatch those fuckers up!� She got the tix but she didn’t even go the first time. (Now that I think about it, my ex fits the “Bandwaggoner� label quite perfectly. It wouldn’t have surprised me to see her at the parade today holding up a sign that said, “I want to blow you, Kaner!�)</p>
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Anyway, the point of this diatribe is that one live game was all it took for me to be hooked. I registered for the O-Boards the day after and read the comments during games to get a much better understanding of the sport. A lot of you guys here were some of the more knowledgeable posters over there so I made the jump as well.</p>
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I still don’t feel comfortable commenting on anything concerning the skills or faults of specific players but I’ve definitely learned a lot over the years to come off as pretty damn knowledgeable if a friend or date asks a question or if some jackass says something idiotic at a bar. You guys were the start of that and on this celebration day, I’d just like to say, Thanks!</p>
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…..well, MOST of you at least. Some of you are a buncha jerks <span style="font-family:wingdings;"> :icon-lol:</span><span style="font-family:wingdings;"> </span></p>
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Wow buddy....I could have copied and pasted most of this and called it my story. My parents never had cable either and the Hawks were never on TV. Shit...I didn't have cable until I went to college!! If I wanted to catch a game, I would listen to it on the radio. So it was very convenient for me to be just a casual fan growing up. Especially since the Bulls were doing their thing each winter in the 90s.</p>
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However, I was lucky enough to go to a few games in the old stadium when I was a kid. My dad has always been a big Hawks fan. He would tell me about the old days with Hull, Mikita, Esposito, etc. I've always wanted to see the Hawks succeed in the 90s, but I never really lived and died with each game until about 2008-2009 (after the Hawks got Toews and Kane). Now I can't get enough of the team.</p>
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Does this make me a "bandwagon" fan? Maybe....</p>
