Ever since Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz died last year there have been some vast differences in the way the organization has been run, and I think we can all agree they've been for the better. Most importantly the team is actually pretty good now thanks to a couple of young stars in Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and the new rookie phenom Kris Versteeg. There's also the fact that Blackhawks fans can actually watch the team on television these days, something I know I'm extremely grateful for.
A big reason for these changes is the philosophy of Bill Wirtz' son Rocky -- that philosophy being that the team's fans actually matter -- who has taken over the ownership reins, and Team President John McDonough who came over from the Cubs and started implementing all of these changes in hopes of bringing the fan base back. Of course, the piece de resistance of McDonough's transformation of the franchise is the Winter Classic. On New Years Day the Blackhawks will be taking on the rival Detroit Red Wings on an outdoor rink at Wrigley Field.
It was a pretty nice coup for McDonough to pull off, but apparently landing the game isn't enough. John has some ideas up his sleeve, and one of those would be to invite a pretty important guest to the game, and that guest would be some guy named Barack Obama. Maybe you've heard of him?
If he's successful in his quest, landing Obama would be a huge boost to not only the Blackhawks but the NHL as a whole. There's no denying that Obamania has swept the country, and an appearance at a hockey game only 19 days before he's inaugurated would bring in a lot of new viewers for the sport. I mean, having Presidents attend sporting events is nothing new, but having them attend hockey games when it's not just a last ditch effort to grab votes in a swing state is another matter entirely.
Given Barack's well-publicized fondness for sports -- he's an avid White Sox fan, wants college football to implement a playoff system, wants the Bears to fire Bob Babich* -- it's entirely possible he'll accept the invitation, which would mean that he would not only be the man chosen to save the country, but the sport of hockey as well.
I'm not sure which task would be tougher.
*Okay so this is more my opinion but Barack is a pretty smart guy so I have to assume he feels the same way
