Chicago hope....

  Why do I feel like I'm in a dream?  The Hawks have won their second cup in four years and there's a numb sense of euphoria flowing within me.  I am in awe, I'm in shock.  The Chicago Blackhawks, once the laughingstock of the NHL, have won their second Stanley Cup in four years.  I'll say it again.  The Chicago Blackhawks have won their second Stanley Cup Championship in four years.  How I do feel? How do I react?  Growing up in Chicago, these sports occurrences simply never happen.  I can remember watching other teams hoisting the holy grail of the NHL and wondering what it would feel like to watch my team and my city hoist the symbol of NHL excellence.  And now it's here for a second time and I find myself swept up in a sea of emotions.  Among them, pride.  Today, I am incredibly proud to be a member of the Chicago sports fandom.  In a dizzying blur of skill and grit and whatever else you call it, the Hawks imposed their will on the Bruins and stole a game that they had no business winning.  Wasn't it fitting to see the Captain, Jonathan Toews, setting up the tying goal with something as simple as a stick lift.  To watch a team reach down and refuse to lose was absolutely romantic in only the way the NHL playoff hockey can be.  And then you hear a member of the Hawks brain trust, John McDonough, talking about "getting better" when he was interviewed by CSN Chicago during the post game.  You should be proud of what you're seeing Chicago.  This isn't the usual lighting in a bottle/pocket full of luck story that usually accompanies a Chicago sports organization.  This isn't the usual the case of a local team stumbling into a magical place in the sports pantheon for one glorious summer or winter.  This isn't a story where the team wins a championship in our city, only to spend the rest of its existence trying to figure out they did it.  This is a REAL organization with a REAL focus on winning.  As McDonough said in his post game remarks "we have young reinforcements coming soon."  Be still my heart, the Hawks get it.  This an organization that understands that you can't buy your way to happiness in the NHL.  For years I envied the Detroit hockey model and now I'm looking it in my own city.  It's a pipeline of guys like Bickell and Saad and Shaw.  Yes, change is coming and not everyone can get paid for their efforts.  Me thinks that we're about to say goodbye to guys like Bolland and Bickell.  But if tonight was any indication; if the last four years have been any indication; the future is bright. If McDonough was right and who can doubt him and his team after what they've done, you will be seeing a pipeline of young talent shuffling in and out of this organization for years to come.  So for all of you who are doubting the Epstoyer plan at Clark and Addison, think about what you've witnessed in Boston.  Heck, think about what you've witnessed the past four years in Hawkland.  The McDonough plan is the same as the Epstoyer plan in theory.  If you draft them and develop them, it will come.  I know, right now you're looking at the house that Theo built in its infancy and you're looking at a shack with no roof and there's paint everywhere and nails and tools and wheelbarrows and Carlos Marmol is trying to read a blueprint.  Think about the McDonough plan and then translate it to Clark and Addison.  Think about how beautiful that Epstoyer renovation project is going to be when it all comes together and there's a bunch of talented young MLB prospects greeting you during the Wrigley open house.  As Ellis Hobbs said in The Shawshank Redemption..... "I hope."   The future is bright Chicago, you can dream now and you can hope.