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The greatest — or at least most publicly accessible — victory lap in all of sports picked up Tuesday where it left off three years ago, with the Blackhawks trotting the Stanley Cup around the city in celebration of their improbable come-from-behind victory just hours earlier.
And this time the fans were ready.
Using social media, traditional news sources and the old-fashioned rumor mill, the Blackhawks faithful tracked the storied trophy from O'Hare International Airport to Michigan Avenue, with stops at a suburban restaurant, a South Side bar and the United Center in between. Read more
Blackhawks fans wear hockey sweaters to work, hang huge banners at their offices — and more than 9,000 drive around with specialty Blackhawks license plates on their vehicles.
While Chicago sports fans can buy Bears,
Next stop for the Stanley Cup was Rockit Bar on Hubbard, where throngs awaited the Windy City Limousine buses that transported the cup and players around the city.
The players unloaded and went straight into the bar, and up to the second floor. "Cup, cup, cup, cup!" the crowd chanted from the street down below, prompting the players to take turns holding the cup near an open window for the crowd to see.
Later, players began spraying beer on the crowd below.
-- Kim Geiger
Raw video from WGN: The Stanley Cup and Hawks players arrive at Market Bar in Chicago.
Fans gathered outside Market Bar, 1113 W. Randolph St., cheering and high-fiving players as they strolled in the West Town eatery.
"These guys are like our celebrities," said Jennifer Nowakowski, 27, of River West, after Brent Seabrook and
"He just walked right in," she said.
--Kim Geiger
The parade to celebrate the 2013 Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks scheduled for Friday will start at the United Center and end with a rally in
The parade will kick off at the United Center and will end at Hutchinson Field in Grant Park, where a rally will be held at 11 a.m., city officials said. The city would not say what time the parade begins.
The route of the parade has not been released but officials said they expect to release more details at a news conference on Thursday.
City officials are asking fans to take public transportation, refrain from bringing restricted items such as alcohol and backpacks and to prepare for warm weather.
Raw video of the Stanley Cup trophy being hoisted in front of Blackhawks fans outside of 437 Rush restaurant.
Audio from
Blackhawks President and CEO John McDonough wields the Stanley Cup outside of the United Center on Tuesday.
ChicagoBlackhawks.com reports: Blackhawks President John McDonough made sure this time to secure the puck that was in play when his team won its second Stanley Cup in four seasons.
Homewood bar owner Chris Rieckermann and a handful of customers at Lassen’s Tavern will never forget the sights and sounds of the Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup on Monday night.
Thanks to a storm that knocked out power to the south suburban bar about 30 minutes before the start of the game, the sights were of a dozen patrons huddled by candlelight, and the sounds were provided by a battery-powered radio. It is, Rieckermann admits, a memory of the Stanley Cup Final only a few loyal patrons will share. Read more
#Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane will be in "Late Show with
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) June 25, 2013" on Wednesday night. David Letterman
The Stanley Cup continues its tour as it passes through Tribune Tower.
The Stanley Cup is in Roger Park. In pizza form. #cuptracker http://t.co/eJzw2zUw8J
— Brian Moore (@BriTheWebGuy) June 25, 2013
Inside @WGNRadio studio with #StanleyCup @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/QVmZ7l1Pw7
— Sean Lewis (@seanlewiswgn) June 25, 2013
Cup is at Tribune Tower at WGN radio #cuptracker pic.twitter.com/uEssh29GaV
— Leonor Vivanco (@lvivanco) June 25, 2013
After a brief appearance with Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz at Phil Stefani's restaurant on Rush Street, the Stanley Cup was whisked to WGN-AM studios in the Tribune Tower around 3 p.m.
Moments after the Hawks hoisted the Stanley Cup, the toilet paper began streaming at Coach
Fans covered the coach's trees and shrubbery with toilet paper, repeating the celebratory homage offered after the Blackhawks won the 2010 championship.
And as he did three years ago, Quenneville took the tribute in stride.
When the coach's limousine arrived at his Hinsdale home, he got out to greet the small group gathered at the end of his driveway. He shook hands and posed for pictures, seemingly unbothered by the Charmin-inspired welcome.
Season ticket holder Jonathan Stramaglia of Schiller Park was among those met head coach Joel Quenneville outside his home
"It was exhilarating," Stramaglia said. "His shirt was still wet. It smelled like beer and champagne."
Around 2:25 p.m., the Stanley Cup was on the move from the
Dustin Murguia dashed to the
The teacher from Forest Park joined a small group of diehards around the arena, occasionally chanting in hopes of getting team officials to bring out the trophy.
At about 1:40 p.m., their efforts paid off.
The first sign of progress was team officials briefly holding the trophy in front of a second-story window.
"For the cup to be 20 feet from you, even behind a window, is really symbolic," he said.
Minutes later, the team president emerged to offer Murguia and the others a closer view.
By the time the Stanley Cup finally emerged from the
Team president John McDonough hoisted the Cup above his head just outside the arena entrance.
Brian McCarthy was able to touch the trophy and snap a picture of himself next to it. It was lucky timing for McCarthy, an off-duty Chicago police officer who was swinging by the arena to pick up a debit card he had lost during game 5.
He said seeing the fruits of the championship in person was "a relief because it's been a very stressful playoff series."
As the wait for the Cup grew to mid-day, the crowd inside The Pony grew bigger and rowdier.
Fans were still holding out hope that the Cup and the Hawks would make an appearance. After the weather cleared up, the crowd spilled outside.
Many said they were still banking on the fact that the Hawks have shown up at the bar before and that several live nearby.
"Keith lives like a block away, Sharpe lives a block away, said Keith Stewart, 35. "We just don't know when."
Maryanne Mannion, 40, said she thought there was a "50-50" chance they will show up. "I saw it before, but I would love to see it again."
While fans waited, they drank and danced and chatted with new friends.
Debbie Epps, 54, spent the morning hanging out with Kelsey Kehoe, 21, and Jamie Pieta, 21, after meeting them at early this morning at the bar.
"I have young friends," she joked. "I love the Hawks fans, they are just different," she added, looking at Kehoe dance to the Black Eye Peas' "I Gotta Feeling."
Will Caster, 12, of Elmhurst was among hundreds of people who gathered at York Tavern in Oak Brook in vain Tuesday, hoping for a chance to see the Stanley Cup.
Will held a cardboard Cup covered in tin foil that he had made for his dad on
Will said he is a diehard fan. Describing his passion for the Blackhawks, Will said it's "giant crazy. Last night I sent to a bar with my parents to see the game and I was the only kid there."
He said he rarely misses a game on TV. "I only miss a game if I'm at camp," he said.
Even though the cup never made it to York Tavern, Will said he hopes to see it at the citywide celebration on Friday.
Shortly before 2 p.m., officials at the
Some fans had already left by then.
Like Marty Joyce, who was at work during Monday's game but hoped to make up for that by catching a glimpse of the trophy.
Wearing a
"As a fan," he said, "you feel a bond with the team."
But after about 45 minutes, he left without seeing the trophy.
Mayor
"We're going to work through he issues," he said. "That (a parade amid austere times) is one way to look at it. My way of looking at it, think of the alternative, if they had not won."
In fact, Emanuel doubled down on his promise of rollicking celebration, suggesting the event would be something even Cameron Frye would enjoy.
"We will be, in short order, putting out the route," he said. "So everybody will get that, everybody can participate. Everybody can have Friday to feel like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, for the entire city."
Chicago Blackhawks fans are waiting in front of The Pony on West Belmont Avenue to see the Stanley Cup. (Posted on: June 25, 2013)
A security guard at the
Oak Park resident Bill Kennedy is getting the last laugh on all those friends who texted him pictures from Wrigleyville last night.
Shortly after arriving at work this morning, Kennedy -- who skipped the North Side celebrations last night because he had to be at his Hinsdale Bank & Trust job early today -- heard that Coach
He walked over to the diner in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the coach, joining a group of fans who had heard the same rumor.
Quenneville apparently noticed the growing throng and ventured outside during the middle of his meal to shake hands and sign autographs.
"He was holding babies and petting dogs," Kennedy said. "I was shocked at how opened he was."
When Kennedy approached Quenneville, he noticed that he and the coach were wearing identical red-striped ties.
"But yours is better," Kennedy says Quenneville quipped. "Mine is soaked in champagne."
The coach took a picture with Kennedy, who promptly sent it to several people on his cellphone's contact list.
"I made sure to send it to everyone who texted me last night," he said.
Mayor
The mayor went on to suggest the pivotal 17 seconds of Monday night’s clincher will be known as "the miracle on ice.” That slogan, however, is already taken by the 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team.
Coach Q outside his home just now. Props to my mom for the pic! #hawks #cuptracker #becauseitschicagoscup pic.twitter.com/DwySdDnrZe
— Erin Marie (@ErMcGrath) June 25, 2013
Sorry, Pony people.
The Cup is on the West Side.
Chicago Tribune photographer Antonio Perez got a picture of the trophy being carried in to the United Center around 10:30 a.m. The Blackhawks tweeted a photo of Stanely sitting in an empty lockerroom shortly after.
No word on where it's going next, but there are a few optimists who still hope it comes to Lakeview's Pony Inn.
Around the same time the Cup arrived at the United Center, a moderate, soaking rain began falling outside the tavern, thinning an already dwindling crowd that gathered in hopes of seeing the Stanley Cup. Ten minutes later, thunder started to rumble.
While some headed home, Cesar Gonzalez decided to stay put, even as raindrops built up on his glasses.
Gonzalez, a security guard from the city's West Side, said he came to the bar from work at 7:30. Though he hadn't slept, he said he'd brave the elements until noon.
"To me, this is history," Gonzalez said, "being a part of the city I love, showing the pride you have in the city."
Congrats, @NHLBlackhawks. Thanks for bringing the Stanley Cup back to Chicago.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 25, 2013
The numbers are in from last night's raucous Wrigleyville celebration.
According to the
Another 21 people received citations for minor infractions such as drinking in public and littering, said police news affairs officer John Mirabelli.
Fans ignored barricades that closed Clark Street Monday night, opting instead to dance atop cars and shoot off fireworks in the restricted area.
Officers arrived on horseback shortly after midnight and began pushing the crowd south. Their authority was met with resistance as some fans began throwing bottles and beer cans at the horses. Several people were taken away in handcuffs.
Congrats to 88pkane and the Chicago Blackhawks on winning the Stanley Cup #WhatAFeeling #NothingLikeIt http://t.co/BhnU75LcsA
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 25, 2013
Despite assurances from the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce twitter feed, fans are getting restless at the Pony Inn on the North Side.
Many arrived before sunrise after hearing rumblings that the Cup would make an appearance around 7 a.m. Police on the scene also had expected the trophy to arrive more than two hours ago, but said they did not know the current location.
As they waited for the Cup, fans broke out in an off-key rendition of Queen's "We Are the Champions" and chants of "Let's Go, Hawks!" Reporters also swarmed the bar, joining in the citywide game of "Where in the World is Lord Stanley."
Rob Poynton, decked out in a Hawks hat and shirt, stood across the street with his dog. Poynton said he was outside The Pony Inn during the 2010 celebration.
He caught a quick look at the Cup that year and hoped to best that feat with a picture this time.
"I figured I'd just take my dog for a walk and see if I could catch a glimpse," he said.
As Poynton waited, the crowd began to fill in along Belmont. Tom Hanson, from Vernon Hills, was driving to work when he heard about the Cup's impending trip to The Pony.
Hanson, who had paired a
He hoped to enjoy the crowd's reaction when -- or if -- the motorcade arrived.
"I probably won't get close enough to see it," he said.
Blackhawks players started leaving the Scout after 8 a.m., climbing one by one into limousines.
While most camera crews had left, fans were still lined up by a side entrance on 13th street, cheering.
The team -- and the Cup -- are believed headed to The Pony Inn in Lakeview.
Plainfield's Kevin Michel, 41, was driving in the neighborhood for his job as a sales representative when a coworker texted him that the Hawks were at The Scout. Michel, a lifelong fan, parked a block away and climbed atop the frozen pizza truck he drives, hoping for a glimpse of the Cup.
"Just seeing it would be great, you know?" he said.
The Cup was nowhere to be seen, but before climbing down, he snapped a photo to add to his memorabilia collection.
Also hoping to catch a glimpse was Vanessa Moon, 25. Moon lives a block away, and when her fiancé called to say be spotted the crowd on his way to work, she rushed over.
"It has so much history to it," she said of the cup. "It would just be super cool to see it in person."
Mayor Rahm Emmanuel had no problem. He was seen grinning and leaving the bar through a side entrance.
Escorted by security guards as a deep crowd looked on, the mayor walked briskly to a black SUV that then drove off.
Get ready #Lakeview. The #Hawks are headed to The Pony on Belmont. #stanleycupchamps
— Lakeview Chamber (@thisislakeview) June 25, 2013
—(@DaveBolland) June 25, 2013 Dave Bolland
The face of a champ! pic.twitter.com/tn1Al1mf9R
—(@shawz15er) June 25, 2013 Andrew Shaw
The party has now moved to The Scout bar in the South Loop, where the players and the Stanley Cup have gathered for a private celebration.
Crowds swelled outside the tavern around 6:15 a.m., hoping to catch a glimpse of the trophy which was hidden from public view by the brown paper covering the establishment's windows.
Among those hoping for a glimpse of the players inside were brothers Jim and Mike McDonnell, who live nearby.
"Shocking," said Jim, 33, when asked to describe the end of Game 6. "That's pretty much all you can say."
Cars slowed as they drove past the commotion, as a jogger snapped a photo on her smartphone and neighbors peered from balconies.
"Go Blackhawks!" one woman yelled from a second floor balcony. "Let's go Blackhawks!"
The crowd turned toward the woman's balcony and raised their hands in united celebration.
"A lot of guys have been through it before. For me it’s a new experience, something I feel very fortunate to be a part of," defenseman Johnny Oduya said as the team partied at Harry Caray's in Rosemont.
"You think back on everything you’ve done and the people that have been there for you … It’s an unbelievable experience."
The morning celebration reflected the non-stop revelry that overwhelmed Wrigleyville Monday night, as revelers poured into the streets and police officers tried to fight back the enthusiastic (and perhaps over-served) crowds. Dancing atop cars and shooting off fireworks, fans ignored barricades that closed Clark Street.
Officers arrived on horseback shortly after midnight and began pushing the crowd south. Their authority as met with resistance as some fans began throwing bottles and beer cans at the horses. Several people were taken away in handcuffs, but Chicago police would not say how many arrests were made in connection to the celebration.
Fans were decidedly more calm on the West Side, where police officers and squad cars lined Madison, just a few blocks east of the
Third Rail Tavern owner Danny Shapiro looked on unworried.
“The Hawks fans in 2010, they really kept it classy,” he said late in the third period. “We didn't have any problems."
But for the distant boom of fireworks and dozens of fans trickling out of the bars into the street, championship fever indeed seemed fairly orderly in the first minutes after time expired.
For Shapiro it was a bittersweet end to a magical season that saw the Hawks rescue the
“As a businessman, a Game 7 would be great, but as a Hawks fan, I'm sick of the
The mayor's office says Chicago will celebrate the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup victory with a parade Friday morning. Additional details, including the location and route, will be available later today.
This
Game 6 was cruel because this bunch of redoubtable Bruins deserved better than to see their season end and the Stanley Cup be awarded to the Blackhawks on Boston ice thanks to a 17.7-second span that will live in heartbreak, hockey history, and Boston sports infamy. Read more
The greatest -- or at the least the most publicly accessible -- victory lap in all of sports has picked up where it left off three years ago, with the Blackhawks trotting the Stanley Cup around Chicago as the city celebrates its second
Hundreds waited behind fences at
Players mingled briefly with supporters but did not address the media before boarding a team bus. Just as they did three years ago, the players stopped first at Harry Caray's in Rosemont to celebrate with their families. Roughly 1,000 fans dressed in bright-red Hawks gear waited outside the Italian steakhouse hoping to catch a glimpse of the team. Read more