Windy City Rivals: Have the Blackhawks Passed the Chicago Bulls?

Maybe I am completely wrong when I say this but during the winter months, the City of Chicago has become a Blackhawk town.  No longer is it ruled by the Bulls, instead the 2007-08 season has prooven the the Red has Rose again and the Blackhawks are the talk of the town during the winter months.

Listen to sports talk radio in the city of Chicago and you likely will not get this message.  However you look at the big names on the cities two main sports radio stations and what connections do any of them have to the NHL?  Nearly all the big names in sports talk radio are NBA fans, not supporters of the NHL.

A look at the attendance shows what the Blackhawks are able to do in the Windy City.  Just a year ago the Blackhawks were second to last in total attendance in the NHL, outdrawing only the St. Louis Blues in home attendance numbers.  One season into the John McDonough reign the Hawks brought in nearly 170,000 more bodies throughout the season to the United Center.  That's good for nearly a 20% increase, with another increase expected for next years campaign.

The Bulls entered the 2007-08 season as one of the favorites in the NBA's Eastern Conference.  This was a team that was supposed to contend for the Eastern Conference title, not a team that was supposed to miss the playoffs by nearly six games.  The Bulls had a great chance this year to keep the city of Chicago on their side instead of on the Blackhawks side.  The Bulls failed in doing that however...twice.

Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were both supposedly very close to wearing Bulls uniforms during the 2007-08 season.  Instead the Bulls come up empty on having a star and instead field a team that underachieved and missed the NBA Playoffs.  The lack of star power on the Bulls is a major reason in why the Hawks were able to bring back so many fans this season.

Jonathan Toews (19) and Patrick Kane (19), enter stage right.  Two stars to come in the NHL made their NHL debuts this year and showed very quickly why they will be the faces of the franchise for years to come.  Couple them with other youth talent like Patrick Sharp (26) who led the team in goals this season.  Dustin Byfuglien (23) had a productive first full season with the Blackhawks, scoring 36 points in 67 games.

Is there work still to be done?  Obviously, the Blackhawks failed to make the playoffs this year, something the team has done only once in the last ten seasons.  In 08-09 you will see the Blackhawks enter as a team with great youth and great potential.  Time will tell what free agents may come Chicago's way this off season in order to help speed up the quest for the teams first Stanley Cup since 1961.

One thing can however be said for the Blackhawks that could not be said for the Bulls over the past twenty years.  The Blackhawks are a hotter story in the Windy City than the team they share the United Center with, and appear to have a much brighter future than a Bulls team with many questions.

Like hockey or not, there is no doubt to me that the city of Chicago has listened to Denis Savard and decided to commit to the Indian thanks to a much improved showing in 2007-08.