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I got this story off another I frequent and the author is a good friend who has just "found" hockey.
"I am a sports fan, not rabid, but enjoy sports. Football, baseball, hockey, and high school basketball the NBA sucks.
I am a Blackhawks fan and it was incredible watching them this season. The Stanley Cup celebration brings me to this post.
The interviews with the players throughout the season and after game 6 really caught my attention. Hockey players seem to get the point that the fans are the reason for the sport. They have a great deal of respect for the person interviewing them, they give them their attention, they look them in the eye and they talk about their team, team mates, etc. Very little about themselves.
A friend of mine is a crazy Blackhawks fan, met the plane at O'Hare, went to the bars that the players went to. He relayed this story to me which I thought was old timey. A group of kids heard the team was drinking in the bar. They went to the back of the bar to try and sneak a peek at the cup. My friend saw bar security trying to get rid of the kids, Jonathan Toews heard what was going, stopped security and brought the Stanley Cup out to the kids, talked to them, let them touch it, and signed autographs and took pictures with them, their parents and then other players joined in.
I may be wrong, but to me that is what it is all about connecting with the fans.
Baseball players don't do it, most football players don't do it, of course the NBA could care less about team mates.
Why our hockey players different? Is it because most come from small towns? Those with the knowledge enlighten me please."

That is an awesome hockey story!!! Hockey fans and players are definitely NOT like other sports, thank goodness!!!

As a Hawks fan it has definitely been refreshing following this team. Have a few of the players done some dumb things in the off-season and early in the season? Yes. Saying that, they definitely care about the fans, the city and eachother as a team. The last few weeks have certainly shown that. Even during the season, players have made a lot of appearances to schools, diners, local businesses, etc. to spread goodwill. Management/players have done a lot the last three years to turn the organization around.

Honestly I think we are witnessing a metamorphosis in sport. I think we are seeing a team sport, a physical team sport, look to and begin to adapt the NASCAR model of "Star/Team" access. It is going to be interesting to watch this develop, as the greater the fan contact with the stars, the stronger the alliance, and the larger the fan base becomes, it really gives something to the fans.

Why our hockey players different? Is it because most come from small towns? Those with the knowledge enlighten me please."

_________________
IMHO
1. Darwin: AHole players die off in the minors

2. When the kids are age 8, 10 or 13 they spend a massive amount of time in a car with Mom and Dad going to 6:00am practices. Then there is the time on the road with coaches and other parents.
Through their formative years they have many parents and older players that provide good counsel and examples.
When you are 16 and a 12 year old asks for your authograph, you have to keep your nose clean.
Wake at 5:00 on ice at 6:00 in class at 8:00 home work 4 -6:00 bed at ? wake at 5:00

It's definitely evident throughout the sport at all levels. I thought it was great that after the last game of the season our seniors came back on to the ice and thanked the fans.

musicman2343 wrote:I thought it was great that after the last game of the season our seniors came back on to the ice and thanked the fans.

I'm sure that Dennis Williams had something to do with that!!

that is the observation of my friend, who did not grow up around hockey and who lives in Chicago...every town is small that is not Chicago...besides how many players are from NYC, I guess the defination of small is up to the definer, and your right, these kids are with family all the time.

Puckhead wrote:Why our hockey players different? Is it because most come from small towns? Those with the knowledge enlighten me please."

_________________
IMHO
1. Darwin: AHole players die off in the minors

2. When the kids are age 8, 10 or 13 they spend a massive amount of time in a car with Mom and Dad going to 6:00am practices. Then there is the time on the road with coaches and other parents.
Through their formative years they have many parents and older players that provide good counsel and examples.
When you are 16 and a 12 year old asks for your authograph, you have to keep your nose clean.
Wake at 5:00 on ice at 6:00 in class at 8:00 home work 4 -6:00 bed at ? wake at 5:00

MACMAN wrote: of course the NBA could care less about team mates.
Why our hockey players different? Is it because most come from small towns? Those with the knowledge enlighten me please."

Saw Doc Rivers on the street in Chicago once- asked how the playoff game against the Bulls went that day as I hadn't heard the score- He was about an hour post game from a big loss and could not have been more gracious- talked to me and the kids, gave me a game synopsis and then went on to meet his party for dinner. I've had similar experiences with a couple other NBA players. My guess is most are like Rivers, some aren't. Kinda like hockey players.

Nice story MAC, thanks for posting it.

I do believe, however, that any hockey fan who can't spell "Stanley" ought to be banned from the hockey forum.... or would that be "band"?