Even More Fans With Cup Fever Second Time Around
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There's an old song: love is better the second time around. That's how a lot of hawks fans are feeling today about this second championship. It's even sweeter, in part, because it seems, more fans than ever are sharing the excitement.
Hardly anything could dampen the exhilaration of Hawks fans the day after the cup clincher.
"I was over in Bucktown. I'm on two hours of sleep but don't tell my boss that," said Ruben Morua.
When the Hawks touched down at O'Hare, the party was on with the team, the cup, and 2,000 fans converging on Harry Caray's in Rosemont. A very public welcome before their private celebration.
Harray Caray's restaurant CEO Grant Deporter said his lasting memory of last night will be, "One player after the next, after the next, kind of walked all the way up and all the fans were cheering, and when Patrick Kane came up, every fan in unison was screaming, MVP, MVP."
And Kaner only travels now with his MVP hardware. Then, with brown paper keeping out prying eyes, the hawks private party moved to the Scout Sports Bar in the South Loop, and didn't end until after dawn.
But this year's party is different because even more fans have the fever.
Martin Montes has three kids, Marcus, Samuel and Michael.
"Couple of years ago, these boys didn't follow hockey and we were just talking this morning about how when they won when the last championship, we weren't hockey followers per se and we're die hard Blackhawks fans now," said Montes.
That fan, Martin Montes, has so much Blackhawks love, he told CBS 2's Derrick Blakley this is not only a team for all Chicago, it's a team for all America.
Surely, Rocky Wirtz would love it if somehow the Hawks developed into the NHL's version of the old Dallas Cowboys: America's Team.
