Fuck you, Vancouver.

Fuck you.

That is all.

Also, this needs to be 75 words long, so while I'm at it, Fuck you - Honk and Donk.  Fuck you, 7uonGoal.  Fuck you Alain Vigneault.  Fuck you Kevin Bieksa.  Fuck you Alexandre Burrows - I hope you get all of your hair pulled out during your WC Championship parade.  Fuck you Mike Gillis, quick - hold a press conference complaining about all of the dirty play and diving in the Eastern Conference Finals - don't forget to have the RCMP sweep  the locker room for bugs.  Fuck you Raffi Torres.

Get well, Manny Malhotra.  Good luck getting out of Vancouver, Ginger Jesus.

Oh, yeah...

Fuck you Vancouver.

Some of you are probably aware that GMH put together a package of Blackhawks' goodies to send to me while I was in Afghanistan, before the Finals began.

Sadly, since we were getting ready to leave country within the next month and a half, they began forwarding our mail back to the states (to the unit mailroom, not our houses). 

It turns out that they started prematurely in some cases, and the wonderful package that GMH put together for me was sent towards Ft. Lewis Washington, sometime in late May.

Well, as luck would have it, I was sitting in my cubicle in the "Cubicle Kingdom" that is our "office space" and thinking to myself...  "Self, you really need to liven up the walls of this here cubicle!"

Within an hour of that thought, one of the unit mail clerks walked up to me, and handed me a medium sized padded envelope.  I looked at the return address, and knew immediately what it was.  Finally, the Playoff towel that GMH had volunteered for me had made its way to my hands. 

Fortunately for me, GMH went above and beyond the call of duty, and included a mini-banner from the Maggy tribute night, and a hard-copy of the CI for a game against Cow Town!

Thanks a million GMH.  The towel and banner are now proudly displayed in my cubicle, and believe me, when you walk in there, that bright red immediately draws your attention.  In less than 24 hours on display, I've had no fewer than 7 different people come up to make inquiries about it.

Thanks again.  It really means a lot to me, and I greatly appreciate it.

I'm curious (no, not in that way you gutter-minded asses!) about something.

During the past few months, I have had no fewer than three dreams that have in some way, shape, or form, involved the Blackhawks and/or members of the team (Sigh...  Again, not in that way - I hear some of you out there).

I am not typically one that remembers my dreams so when I do, it is kind of cool and I usually wind up talking about them with whomever I know that has the misfortune of being present when I find my "in" to broach the subject.  Today it's your turn SCH!

It began rather amusingly, with a "History Will be Made" dream that I had which involved none other than Jonathan Toews.  O captain, my captain!  I believe that this was during the Vancouver series.  I shared it with BigC (I'm pretty sure) CNS (Edited, to avoid extortion) via Email (as I would not dare speak publicly of Jonathan Toews lifting the Stanley Cup at the time).

In the dream, I saw JT (wearing home red) lifting the Cup over his head with a huge smile, and jubilation evident at having won it.  Then it paused and started going backwards.  He put it down, and instead of one backwards clip, it went from celebration, to celebration after goals, wins, series clinching wins, etc... All of them taking place during the playoffs.  Finally, the tagline:  What if the Captain wasn't so serious?  History has been made!

The second dream was similar, but less unusual really, as it was just that I was at the UC, and watched them win the Cup in person.  It was again surreal, as I didn't even see the other team or get to see/hear who won the Conn Smythe at all, as it was a blur of motion, excitement, and activity.

The third one...  Happened last night - well, I awoke from it about 5 hours ago which was daytime for most of you, but was 0330 here in Afghanistan.  I will admit that this dream, far more so than the other two, will make all of you snicker, and crack jokes (yes, in that way, finally!) at my expense.  Far be it from me to keep it from you, in the interest of being a fan of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions - YOUR CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS! (I just love saying it) and as a member of SCH, I feel that I owe it to all of you, to share this, just the same.

Let the snide comments, jokes, etc begin to come my way....  NOW:

Okay, so in the dream, I'm in a bar out in the woods of Wisconsin somewhere with Adam Burish.  (Like I said - open the floodgates, dammit)  We're just hanging out, talking shit, and cracking jokes on everyone we see.  Drinking from the Stanley Cup, and having a riotous good time.  This goes on over the course of the evening, and we decide that we need to get some licorice.  Before we leave; I head to the men's room.  The walls are covered with articles, news clippings, etc about Burish.  I get back out to the bar, and we set about trying to find this licorice.  We wander all over town, from store to store, fucking with people, cracking jokes, having a great time - hitting a drive through for some burgers, topped with real Wisconsin cheese - and continue our expedition.  Finally, we find a candy store (which is open at roughly 0300 for some odd reason) and we get the licorice.  We head back to the bar.  When we arrive, I head back to the men's room.  I'm standing at the urinal, taking care of my business when I realize that the walls are blank.  Everything that was there hours ago, is gone.  I kind of panicked about it, and head back out to the bar.  The Stanley Cup is still there, but Burish is gone.

Its no secret here that I have the man crush going on for Adam Burish, so the dream honestly disturbs me a little bit myself.  In the aftermath of the dream however, it reminds me that this Championship team was just so much fun to watch, and enjoy.  They were this great group of guys that really did welcome their fans into the inner circle in whatever ways they could, and I think that I'm just afraid that next year's team won't feel the same.

Has anyone else had any dreams involving the team in some way?  I'm going to ask to keep this somewhat SFW - so KtG and all you ladies...  Please keep the Patrick Sharp stuff for another thread. 

Oh no... I'm getting all verklempt.  Talk amongst yourselves.

I have a bone to pick with the world.

Perhaps it isn't the entire world - merely North America - but I've got a serious bone to pick, nonetheless.

As a born and raised Chicagoan, and therefore a fan of all things Chicago sports, I'm kind of irritated with fans of all other teams (and in particular, NHL teams) - NOT based in Chicago.

During this playoff season, we've been accused, ad nausea, of being "bandwagon" fans.  We have heard from no less than Sharks fans, and Canucks fans (and the occasional Red Wings fan) that we have not faithfully supported our team.  They imply, insinuate, and outright declare that we are only now coming "out of the woodwork" as a result of our teams' recent spate of success.

Well, to the rest of the world I say:  GO TO HELL, and COME GET SOME!

We are Blackhawks Nation!  We've been fans of the Men of Four Feathers for generations.  Literally.

If you want to talk about band wagon fans, let's look at our Playoff opponents this season alone; The Nashville Predators, the Vancouver Canucks, and the San Jose Sharks.  They have existed (collectively) for a total of 71 years (a number distinctive to the San Jose Sharks, holders of the NHL record for number of losses in a single season, you guessed it - 71).  We are Original Six.  These three teams have combined for a total of 39 playoff appearances.  The Chicago Blackhawks have more players enshrined in the Hall of Fame, than that (45 - and we have made 55 trips to the postseason ourselves). 

Our team is one of The Original Six.  We have weathered more storms than your franchises can imagine, and have existed long enough to go through ups and downs as a franchise.  We've enjoyed seasons of tremendous success, endured seasons of tremendously poor performances, and survived a love/hate relationship with an owner that seemingly tried to kill the loyalty of the Blackhawks fans for decades.

None of these things are the fault of these other teams, or their fans.  We hold no malice towards them (certainly not towards the good-natured fans of the Nashville Predators), we harbor no ill will.  We simply have the passion, understanding, and history that only fans of an Original Six team can have.

Were there many seasons where the Blackhawks were insignificant in the NHL, and even in Chicago?  Yes, most certainly there were.  During much of this time in recent history, the Blackhawks were not even televised locally.  We have had to endure stretches that lasted longer than the Predators or Sharks have existed, where we made a token playoff appearance here or there, but were nothing more than a doormat for the league.  We have been the welcomed guest in opposing arenas, a road-trip destination that was a welcomed respite from the difficulty encountered in other cities.  We have been an insignificant team during the lowest lows that the franchise has known.

Several things have transpired within the last three to four seasons that have helped to right the ship.  Blackhawks fans know exactly where this began, and out of respect for the current ownership, I won't mention the particular instance that sparked it.  WE all know of exactly what I speak though - We are Blackhawks fans.  Since that time, OUR team is back on television locally.  OUR team is a consistent contender.  OUR team is no longer a welcomed guest on the road, and OUR team is definitely not one that any other team wants to have to come and visit (and WE are a big part of that).  The ROAR is back, hockey fans.  The New Madhouse on Madison is an imposing sight on a road-trip schedule, much like the original was.

Where were you, Shark fan, during the National Anthem of the 1991 All-Star game?  Every last one of us can tell you where WE were.  We have a history, a proud tradition of supporting the men in the Indian Head sweaters, and we are back in full-effect. 

So go ahead, North American NHL cities.  Delude yourself into believing that we are "Bandwagon" fans.  Tell yourself this, and sleep softly in your beds at night believing it.  One day, you too will have a history rich with tradition, worth speaking of, worth taking pride in.  Until that time, bank on this:

We are Blackhawks Nation.  Hear the National Anthem begin in the United Center, and enjoy the roar!