It’s 106 outside my window today, so it seems like a good time to talk about hockey. Specifically, about the Stanley Cup finals. They are going on right now…in fact, game 4 of the series is tonight.
Two things make this one special for me…first the finals are between two of the original six NHL teams…Chicago and Boston…and I am old enough to remember when there were only six teams. Second, I was in Chicago a couple of years ago when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. So, I guess they are kind of my adopted team.
I watched some of the games inside Harry Carey’s Tavern, right across from Wrigley Field. I may have been the only one in the place not wearing a Blackhawk shirt or jersey. But they let me stay anyway.
Harry Carey’s Tavern is my favorite sports bar in Chicago. Of course every bar around Wrigley Field on Chicago’s North Side is about sports. But Harry’s place is the best of the bunch. I’ve been in there for baseball, football, and hockey. When I first arrived in Chicago, I asked a local what was the best sports bar in Chicago. He laughed and said they are all sports bars! You see, Chicago is a drinking town with a sports problem.
Anyway, back to hockey. When I was there, and I think it was my very first trip, the whole town was revved up for the Stanley Cup. They put large Blackhawk hockey helmets on the two landmark lions outside the Chicago Institute of Art. A famous statue near City Hall was draped with a Blackhawk Jersey. I even saw a large dinosaur statue draped in a Blackhawk jersey...and this year, the statue of Michael Jordan has a Hawks jersey on it. As I said, its a city with a sports problem. You gotta love it!
Hockey is a very fast, intense sport, especially during the playoffs. The hitting is harder, the shots on goal are faster (or so it seems), and the goaltending has to be superb, or you will not win. Having your name engraved on the cup is the goal of every kid who ever strapped on a pair of hockey skates.
Many years ago, I went to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and got to see the cup. I will always remember that day. What’s fun is to see is the winning team skating around the arena with the cup, each player getting a chance to carry it once around the arena.
Even better, each player gets to have the cup for a day during the off-season. There are many stories to be told here. One player once lost the cup after an excessive drinking binge. It showed up again a couple of days later. Stories about the cup would fill up many a blog.
I took the above photo during that trip to Chicago. The store is on Michigan Avenue in the heart of the Magnificent Mile. I love shooting store windows as you get to see not only what is in the store, but what is reflected in the windows. They sort of blend together to create a different reality. Almost as fun as watching a hockey game. Go Hawks!
(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)
To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com
No comments:
Post a Comment