Chicagoans are always getting the tag of being crooked. With our politicians, it's an understandable label. For once, that voting isn't resulting in Chicago having the highest sales tax in the country, or our governor trying to sell off the vacant Senate seat. At the moment, it's helping the Chicago Blackhawks' young stars reach the All-Star game, as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have surged in the fan poll.
Kane and Toews currently lead the forwards of the NHL's Western Conference. Kane is far and away the most popular, nearly 20,000 votes ahead of the nearest non-Chicagoan competition, Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf. Toews is besting Getzlaf by nearly 10,000 votes. Kane and Toews are not the only popular Blackhawks, as Brian Campbell is in a close race for first place with Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom.
What's behind the Chicagoans' popularity? To start with, the Blackhawks are a young, fun, exciting team that is attracting fans by the boatload. The unprecedented press blitz around the Winter Classic doesn't hurt. Many of the pictures that accompany stories about the game at Wrigley on New Year's Day include pictures of Kane, Toews and Blackhawks legends standing in the middle of Wrigley Field. The negative, and hilarious, campaign ads that the Blackhawks put together also may have convinced a few fans to click on Kane and Toews' names.
Let's put our ballot-box-stuffing prowess to work, Chicago. Instead of bringing us criminal politicians, it could send our hockey players to the All-Star game. Click here to vote early and often, not only because Kane, Toews and Campbell are excellent players and deserve to go, but also because it's the Chicago way.
