Standing outside the home he shares with his mother in Chicago's Ashburn community, it was hard to not notice Joe Jammer on Tuesday morning.
A delivery man yelled a greeting in Spanish.
A kid playing guitar on a porch down the block gave a big wave.
Passing motorists honked and smiled when they saw the 6-foot-5-inch Jammer, dressed in a bright red Blackhawks jersey and a homemade Indian headdress, standing in the street yelling, "Go Hawks."
"I've got hockey fever now, and Chicago should. I've been watching this renaissance of the Chicago Blackhawks and loving it," Jammer said.
Unlike other fans who may be content wearing a T-shirt, watching the games on TV or taping a sign in a window, Jammer wrote and recorded a song about the Blackhawks.
"Call it one lifelong fan's tribute to his beloved hockey team," he said.
A longtime rocker who said he served as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix, the Who and Led Zeppelin, Jammer wrote "Blackhawk Battle Cry."
It won't win a Grammy, and odds are you won't hear it on local radio stations.
He sent the first copy to team owner Rocky Wirtz and has sent seven copies to the team. He has yet to hear back from anyone in the organization.
"One thing I've learned about pro franchises is that, most of the time, if it's not their idea, they're not interested," he said.
And that's OK with Jammer.
He doesn't care if we hear the song at the United Center during games. He just wants to share his enthusiasm for his favorite Chicago team, which has not been to the Stanley Cup finals since 1992, and hasn't won it since 1961.
Jammer, 58, fondly recalls his late father taking him to games when he was a kid.
"My favorite player was Lou Angotti. I don't know why. He was a little Italian and I'm a giant Lithuanian," Jammer said with a laugh.
Jammer laughs a lot. He's a likeable, easy going South Sider who lives in the house where he grew up.
Jammer, who played hockey at St. Laurence High School - "I fractured my skull twice, and can't remember much before I was 11" - said it took about 10 minutes to write the song.
"I call it a 'hockey rap' because of my funk background. I wanted to have a James Brown-on-the-ice kinda thing," Jammer said.
Jammer, who has written songs about the White Sox, Bears and Montreal Expos, wrote a fight song for the Montreal Canadiens nearly 30 years ago. He performed it in parades after the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1986 and 1993.
Jammer wants to do the same if the Blackhawks have their own victory parade downtown in June.
You can watch Jammer sing the song at SouthtownStar.com. His homemade video is on YouTube.
Be sure to check out the name on the back of his jersey: Wannawindacup.
It took Jammer and his wife, Anne, three weeks to piece together the headdress he wears in the video.
"I supposed some people may find it offensive, but this was done out of respect. It shows pride," Jammer said of the headdress.
Being a longtime Chicago sports fan, Jammer knows heartbreak is usually on the agenda.
Then again, he does plan to film a victory video "if they win the Cup."
Spoken like a true fan.
'BLACKHAWK BATTLE CRY'
Words and Music by Joe Jammer
Let's go, Hawks!
Let's go, Hawks!
Let's go, Hawks!
Let's go, Hawks!
Welcome to the Madhouse on Madison in Chicago
Where hockey rules and the fans are cool
With one thing on their minds
To raise that silver Stanley Cup high above their heads
Scream and shout, let's call it out
So loud we'll raise the dead!
(refrain)
We are the Blackhawks Mighty, Mighty Blackhawks
We wanna win the Cup, yeah We wanna win the Cup!
So keep your sticks on the ice and put the puck in the net
You gotta block their shots, we're gonna stop their shots
Play with all your might, do it for your fans
Skate for those who've come before
Let me hear the rafters roar! Crank it up just a little bit more--
(refrain)
Let's go, Blackhawks!
Let's go, Blackhawks!
Cold steel on the ice. Gotta check him once and check him twice.
Slap shot! Snap shot! Wrist shot! Back hand! Top corner! In the five hole!
Skate and skate and skate and skate!
Keep your heads up, make us proud -- Yell, Chicago, good and loud--
(refrain)
Let's go, Blackhawks!
Let's go, Blackhawks!
(refrain)
Go, Hawks, go!
Go, Hawks, go!
Go, Hawks, go!
Go, Hawks, go!
One goal!
