Record-breaking crowds celebrate Blackhawks at parade, rally

Welcome back to Chicago, Lord Stanley. We think you'll notice how our Blackhawks have grown up.

Three years after a Champagne-soaked extravaganza on Michigan Avenue, the city hosted a more mature ? but equally, if not more, jubilant ? Grant Park celebration for a crowd estimated at over 2 million people. More mature, that is, if you don't count the expletive-laced anatomy lecture from goalkeeper Corey Crawford.

Chicago feted the club with a massive parade and rally Friday that broke the 2010 attendance record and perhaps will go down as the best-attended celebration in city history. Dressed in hockey sweaters on an 80-degree day, fans transformed Grant Park into a red sea that only a few final celebratory refrains of "Chelsea Dagger" could part.

Heeding Mayor Rahm Emanuel's call for the entire metropolitan area to enjoy a "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," the Blackhawks faithful skipped work, ditched meetings and feigned illness to celebrate the team's victory over the Boston Bruins this week. They lined the streets from the Near West Side to the lakeshore, then filled Grant Park in numbers so big they made the Taste of Chicago look like a cozy street fair.

The beer-guzzling players, drunken dancing and bullhorn speeches from three years ago may have vanished, but the fans' enthusiasm for the team and appreciation of the storied Cup's significance seemed to have increased exponentially.

"For the guys that were here in 2010, we didn't think there was a chance we could outmatch that performance by the fans, but you guys did somehow," captain Jonathan Toews said at the rally. "This shows how unbelievable this city is."

The celebration began early, with fans filling trains and buses before sunrise. At one point, Metra routes became so crowded that the commuter train service began to fall behind schedule and started skipping stops because of capacity concerns.

When rally organizers opened Hutchinson Field about 9 a.m., revelers sprinted toward the stage in the hope of getting an up-close spot. Among the first on the field was Alexander Smith of Naperville, who had covered his naked torso in red body paint and donned a faux-Native American headdress purchased from a Party City store.

"Go all-out," Smith said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing."

With several hours to kill before the rally, fans passed time tossing beach balls and trying to keep hydrated with the free bottled water being passed out. The sun ? and, in some cases, an overindulgence in nonwater beverages ? proved too much for some as the Chicago Fire Department began treating people for heat exhaustion.

The Fire Department responded to 91 calls for medical assistance at the parade and in 42 cases transported people to area hospitals. In addition to the free water, fire officials used mist-generating fans to help cool the crowds.

"It did go well," Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. "There was a lot of water being passed out, and people were in pretty good shape. The Cup survived."

But the overheated crowds proved testy at times, and police reported making six arrests, including one involving a Matteson man who police say was carrying two guns during the rally. The other five were for misdemeanors.

And, for many, seeing the Cup in person Friday was as thrilling as Dave Bolland's game-winning goal Monday night. Dozens flocked to the United Center before the parade in the hope of touching the storied trophy, even though it meant missing most of the other festivities.

Team owner Rocky Wirtz mingled with fans on his way into the building, shaking hands and posing for pictures in front of the Michael Jordan statue, which is currently draped in a Hawks sweater.

Stanley Cup caretaker Phil Pritchard also made it through a gantlet of fans to the administration entrance. He quickly came back out, however, after realizing at least one fan waiting there wanted his autograph, too.

A short time later, the team emerged from the building to the cheers of onlookers. Most wore flip-flops and shorts with their red sweaters. And many had ditched or significantly trimmed their playoff beards for the occasion, while Patrick Kane continued to sport his lucky mullet.

"It's an unbelievable feeling to bring the Cup back here," defenseman Brent Seabrook told reporters. "The city of Chicago did a great job. The fans and everybody coming out is awesome."

After driving through Loop streets that quickly filled with confetti, the team arrived at Grant Park to cheers of "Let's Go Hawks!" Unlike the 2010 rally at which many players spoke, only a few took the microphone at the homecoming party.

Kane, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player, continued a team tradition of awarding a gold-plated professional wrestling belt to the MVP of the last game. He gave it to Crawford, whom he described as the league's best postseason player.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/chicagotribune_julieshealthclub/~3/yoKFe4XpXi0/story01.htm

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