So this is how the cliche “they’re dancing in the streets”originated. Or perhaps you prefer the even more shopworn “with thousands of your closest friends.”
I told my friends watching the game with me Wednesday night, ever see “Gangs of New York?” Remember when Leo DiCaprio tells Cameron Diaz, the night before the riot: “get ready, this town’s gonna burn.” I had that feeling after Patrick Kane scored a goal that no one realized was a goal, to clinch the Stanley Cup for the Blackhawks and the city of Chicago.
As much as I enjoyed this Blackhawks season, and the fact that they took care of business tonight, the most profound lesson I took away from this is…I’m definitely not a kid anymore.
By Paul M. Banks
Don’t get me wrong, I always enjoy a great night of watching thousands of other people have a “I’ve got a great excuse to get really drunk, yell a lot, and incessantly honk my car horn on behalf of the group of athletic mercenaries affiliated with my region/school/school within my region being the most dominant group of mercenaries” night. It’s just that once you’ve had a few of these nights, they’re not as special anymore.
I’ll rank all of mine in a future blog. Not once tonight did I get the urge to mosh in the streets, sing, or make bizarre friendly overtures to complete strangers. This is what happens when you no longer drink like you once did in college.
And if I sound like a stick in the mud then please check out “Blackhawks screaming/wife-beater shirt wearing guy.” I don’t know who he is, but he leads off the video, and I’m hoping to get him going viral. Let’s get this vid viral to the point that someday Tosh.O will want to have him on his show for a web redemption.
So tonight the streets near Wrigley Field saw a championship celebration. Enjoy that previous sentence Cub fans, you’ll never read it again. And hopefully, I don’t see a bunch of drunk Caucasian weirdoes chanting U-S-A U-S-A!!!! (hey moron, both teams playing tonight were American, this wasn’t the Miracle on Ice, and the sport you’re celebrating is Canadian, as are most oft the players you love) in my neighborhood again soon. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the night did not end well for them.
On the flipside, I can’t remember the last time I smiled and laughed as wholeheartedly as I did when my friend West, who sometimes covers the Hawks for ESPN Chicago texted me with “LAWRYS!!! PB, LAWRYS!!” We reference the line from fellow Chicagoan Kanye West: “cuz I’m seasoned, haters give me them that salty looks- LAWRYS!!” in his song “Welcome to the Good Life.”
Indeed Chicago, we are living the good life tonight. “Summertime Chi..Ahhhhhh”