Blackhawks Convention Review, Part Deux
Friday Night kicked off the Blackhawk’s Convention Weekend at Hilton Chicago. As the opening ceremonies started, there were no surprises. Alumni, current heroes and Rocky were welcomed with open arm and much applause. The same could not be said for Mr. McDonough, who was booed by the crowd. Just one year ago, McDonough could do no wrong. With the recent demotion of Dale Tallon earlier in the week, this reception was somewhat expected.
I was interested to see how they event organizers would adapt to the issues experienced with last years event. The biggest complaint was the autograph sessions. Last year, there was little organization within scheduled sessions. By little, I mean absolutely none. At times, the players were disgruntled with the handlers that were running the tables. You could wait in line for 3 hours and then, with no warning, the line gets shutdown, leaving the fan walking away empty handed (missing out on the opportunity to experience other events or signings during this time). At times, there were multiple lines formed for one player. Last years convention, on 2 occasions, I watched Toews argue with the staff as they were trying to kick him off the stage. A debacle. It’s not the only aspect of the weekend, but let’s face it, with the wait times for those lines, a majority of attendants are there for the autographs.
Upon checking in and receiving the weekend’s schedule, it was apparent that the Blackhawks did address the autograph issues. Anyone who packed up their treasured memorabilia to have signed by their favorite Blackhawks were going to be disappointed if the player was a fan favorite. Missing from the scheduled autograph appearances were Toews, Kane, Hossa, Mikita, Hull, and Esposito. These studs were only accessible through VIP packages or a scratch ‘n win card (winning scratch card results in a time slot with a signer they designate for your assigned time – information on your signer is not released until your assigned time). The thought was to take those big line attractions out of the mix, and the lines would be manageable. But through various conversations, wait times were still outrageous at times, upward of 3 hours for one appearance. Throughout the majority of the day, the autograph area (since all autograph tables are located in the basement) was at capacity, and there was a waiting line just to get into the room. The organizers published “RULES” for the autograph appearances:
Lines for each autograph will not be allowed to form until 20 minutes prior to each signing. Fans who line up prior to this time or line jump will lose ALL autograph privileges. Blah blah blah . . . fans can only get ONE (1) item signed. And so on . . .
So the lines weren’t allowed to officially form in the little bank mazes leading up to the signing stage. Instead, fans started their own “unofficial” lines, a line to get into line, if you will. Still a mess. There was stories about people waiting a couple hours for Sharpie’s auto, only to find out after waiting in that line, that they were cutting off the line ahead of them. People were still coming to the table with 2 or 3 items, and the players don’t say no when put in that position. Not quite sure why they didn’t learn from last years convention. Some viable options may be to put multiple players at a table, maybe 4 or 5 players at a time. Maybe have some sort of reservation system, like the White Sox using a wristband system for their convention. I don’t know the details on that process, but it sounds like a option that could have potential.
With that being said, the players themselves were more than accommodating when it came to signing. Probert’s line was cut off, but Probie stayed until everyone in his line got an autograph, even after the cut off. McDonough was more than accessible, a brave move considering his popularity level over the last week. Handlers for Huet had reportedly pushed a young kid out of the way when he approached Christobal for an autograph. Huet helped the kid up and signed for him. There’s my grips about the lack of organization regarding autographs. The “line ushers” did a better job this year in closing off lines to avoid people waiting if they were not going to make if to the stage. This year, the line control was based on how many autographs a player would sign as opposed to how long he would sign for. Better than last year, but marginal.
The entertainment for the weekend is really in the Events. How often do you get the opportunity to have 5 of the greatest players in Blackhawk’s history (#3, #9, #18, #21 and #35) in one room, to answer fans questions. Or a Q&A with the newest additions to the Hawks in Hossa and Kopecky. Stan Bowman and Hockey Operations was available to answer any questions regarding draft strategies, free agent signing, trades and the salary cap. Scotty Bowman was available to answer questions in a session made up of Cup Winners (Pilote, Bowman, Steve Smith and Ladd). Seminars with the trainers and locker room staff can fill in the blanks to some behind the scenes questions. These sessions are very informative, and you get a look as to some of the players off ice personalities. Most of these guys have a great sense of humor. If you ever get the chance to see Stan or Bobby, don’t pass it up. The long winded Pierre Pilote is also some story teller.
Last event for the evening on Saturday was the “Blackhawks Bash” – “A time to celebrate the weekend with music, dancing and drinks. Unleash your inner rock star with a Live Karaoke Band and look for some surprise singers.” Sounds great, but this event could not have been more disappointing. The band was good, the karaoke was average at times . . . that is all I have got. The players and staff were few and far between: Campbell, Versteeg, Hendry, Beach, Quenneville and Haviland. Of those players, Versteeg and some other dude, both donning cowboy hats, sang a painful rendition of “Sweet Caroline”. This act was followed by Brian Campbell, who sang some song no one recognized, pretty well. Brian looked comfortable on stage and it was impressive to see. After that, all the players slipped out the back door, just 30 minutes into the 3 hour extravaganza. When the players/staff were there, there were roped off from the crowd, so the fans really didn’t have any contact with them anyways. Word is, the majority of the team was not even in the building, as they made their way to Wrigley to see Rascal Flatts put the “Friendly Confines” to good use.
Few notable events from the convention were:
- Probie signed a Hawks jersey with a “Detroit Sux” name plate on it, then stood up and proudly waved it to a spirited “Detroit Sucks” chant.
- The honeymoon period for McDonough was officially over as of Tuesday.
- As Dale Tallon was reassigned to Senior Advisor, he is not the only Senior Advisor in the organization. Dale and Scotty Bowman are both Senior Advisors, but Dale was the only one not in attendance or listed in the “Appearing This Weekend” section of the convention guide.
- Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky are not ready to commit to a “Detroit Sucks” chant. Better send them to detox or start the aversion therapy, Clockwork Orange style.
- Pierre Pilote couldn’t hold a job.
- Stan was going to open a “Stan Mikita’s Donut Shop” in Chicago, but couldn’t come up with the capital.
- Bobby Hull really doesn’t care much for Bryan “Bugsy” Watson.
- None of the Hawks defensemen like anyone on Vancouver.
- Seabrook has some artistic talent and Duncan has a future as a hypnotist.
This asshole thinks it’s cool to wander around in the autograph area and bark like a little high pitched lap dog, for hours. There was not one person waiting for autographs did not want to pound the crap out of this tool.
- No idea on this dude . . . wtf? The best part, he was trying to have serious conversations dressed like this. He talked a lot with his hands, yet looked like he had the “Hamburger Helper” on each hand. Please help me out with what this douche is going for?
WTF?
News has broke that Dale Tallon has been fired as the Chicago Blackhawks GM. He has been replaced by Stan Bowman and company. The pieces were in place and it was just a matter of time. Looking over the past few years, Dale has put the Hawks (and himself) in difficult situations. Inflated salaries, cap issues, an inability to move players and the latest grievance filed by the players union all had to be contributing factors. Was the mishandling of the restricted free agent’s qualifying offers the final blow, or was Tallon ever going to survive the summer and see opening day in Europe? When Scotty Bowman was moved in as an advisor of operations, there were questions raised about Tallon’s future.