Bill Wirtz memorial/moment of silence booed by Blackhawk fans

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

[Flip-check 6]

I think Wirtz doesn't deserve that kind of response, but on the same hand:

If that guy was at the mic talking about how much of a true fan the guy was, then really you're just calling those boos down on your own head. It's difficult to make out what the speaker is saying--if they didn't, they should have stuck to talking about Bill WIrtz the man though.

[Rob the Badger 0]

Sad. Truly sad. But it doesn't surprise me considering the kind of 'fans' that Chicago has. They ran Steve Bartman out of town with thousands of death threats because it was 'his fault' that the Cubs lost the series to Florida. They get high on Meth and gang up on senior citizen baseball managers from Kansas City. They howl and scream during the national anthem, a time that every other sports fan base takes for quiet reflection. They have fan sites like BillWirtzSux revelling in the fact that the man past on... nothing the fans in Chicago do will ever surprise me.

[stactum 4]

I was on that game. I was quite surprised myself about that kind of reception. I heard somebody screamed behind me: "Bring Blackhawks back to TV"

I asked one Blackhawk fan, why are they booing him, he said that WWW was not a popular person in Chi.

[Flip-check 6]

Sad. Truly sad. But it doesn't surprise me considering the kind of 'fans' that Chicago has.

They have fan sites like BillWirtzSux revelling in the fact that the man past on... nothing the fans in Chicago do will ever surprise me.

No offense Rob, but seriously, Chicago isn't alone in having any "naughty" fans. They are everywhere.

And just for the record, WIrtzSucks.com has been around since 2000. It wasn't made to rip on a dead man: it was made to rip on a live man who was (and still is) running a team into the ground and pissing off Chicago fans.

Also... tell me this: Let's say Ilitch were on the level of Ford here, had a decent hockey club, and then utterly skeletonized the Detroit Red Wings after years of respectability. Blacked out home games on television for years, THEN at the game that they give him a send-off speech, they start spewing lies about "how great" and "loyal" he was in terms of the franchise, instead of he, himself, in his personal life.

Would that not get your goat? The higher road, obviously, would be to suck it up and give the man's spirit some respect anyway, but I do not blame Chicago Blackhawk fans much at alll.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Wirtz was a terrible owner. But booing his memorial?

That's truly terrible.

Edited October 10, 2007 by haroldsnepsts

[Rob the Badger 0]

No offense Rob, but seriously, Chicago isn't alone in having any "naughty" fans. They are everywhere.

And just for the record, WIrtzSucks.com has been around since 2000. It wasn't made to rip on a dead man: it was made to rip on a live man who was (and still is) running a team into the ground and pissing off Chicago fans.

Also... tell me this: Let's say Ilitch were on the level of Ford here, had a decent hockey club, and then utterly skeletonized the Detroit Red Wings after years of respectability. Blacked out home games on television for years, THEN at the game that they give him a send-off speech, they start spewing lies about "how great" and "loyal" he was in terms of the franchise, instead of he, himself, in his personal life.

Would that not get your goat? The higher road, obviously, would be to suck it up and give the man's spirit some respect anyway, but I do not blame Chicago Blackhawk fans much at alll.

I know that the website wasn't made for the purpose of ripping him because he died. It's been around for a long time. But when he did die, the people who posted on there were absolutely vicious.

Look, I hated the "Darkness with Harkness" era in Red Wings history. Yes, I am getting old. I was hoping he'd get fired and move on somewhere else to spread his knee jerk, quick fix, disease. I never wished he would die. There is a difference between being a passionate fan, and being a horrible person... for most people.

I know that Chicago isn't the only fan base that thinks that poor sportsmanship and criminal behavior is a way of showing how 'passionate' you are about your teams, but they are one of them. Just because Phillie and Oakland think that stabbing visiting fans is a sign of loyalty, doesn't give Chicago a free pass.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Poor owner or not, that isn't the time to be classless.

Vintage Chicago fans.

Sidenote: You should've heard what they were screaming when the Ice Girls (who shovel the ice) skated into the rink. Real classy.

[auxlepli 17]

It's a free country. They had every right to boo IMO.

[Flip-check 6]

I know that the website wasn't made for the purpose of ripping him because he died. It's been around for a long time. But when he did die, the people who posted on there were absolutely vicious.

Just because Phillie and Oakland think that stabbing visiting fans is a sign of loyalty, doesn't give Chicago a free pass.

It doesn't, I agree.

However, if you take a regular fan base (and by regular I mean, your average resident) in a city that actually cares about hockey (i.e., not Anaheim/Phoenix/Nashville), execute the same owner conduct and fan treatment over a period of years, I believe you'll find the same reaction whether it's Chicago, Montreal, or Detroit.

It doesn't have any place to boo the guy's Blackhawk memorial, but Chicagoan fan tendencies aside, I could see this playing itself out in a number of cities. Not because everyone is as good or as bad as eachother (because's that's a sack), but I don't expect much out of your typical fan.

[Viperar 16]

it is their right as being free to be able to do that

But it is also our right to deem them classless idiots who are booing the death of a human being, who did not commit genocide or anything to that extent

[WingsZR2 1]

Sidenote: You should've heard what they were screaming when the Ice Girls (who shovel the ice) skated into the rink. Real classy.

I was there, the guy behind me was going off during the moment of silence and when the ice girls came out, lets just say the family of 4 to my left go up and left.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

It's a free country. They had every right to boo IMO.

of course they have a right to boo.

But that doesn't make them any less a-holes for doing it.

The man's dead and they boo because he was bad at running a hockey team.

[Gizmo 21]

What's with all of the whistling and clapping throughout the singing of the National Anthem???

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

The man's dead and they boo because he was bad at running a hockey team.

That's a good way to put it.

For the fan's sake, hopefully his son Rocky does a better job.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

I was there, the guy behind me was going off during the moment of silence and when the ice girls came out, lets just say the family of 4 to my left go up and left.

My wife and I went with another couple, and let's just say I was thankful their nearly 2-year old didn't understand what the Chicago fans were screaming.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Wow. That almost made me laugh. Not because it's funny, but because how ridiculous it sounds hearing fans boo during a moment of silence when a guy just died.

Honestly though, I expect nothing less from Chicago sports fans. These are the same people who were holding up posters last year saying "Finishing off what Katrina started" when the Bears played the Saints in the NFL playoffs. These are the same guys that threatened to kill Steve Bartman because of what happened in the Cubs game, even though there were still innings left to be played.

These people are ridiculous. While I'll say that nobody is as bad as a Philadelphia sports fan, Chicago sports fans are a close second.

[HomeNugget 2]

i'm kinda torn on this. on one hand the fans shoulda been more respectful, but on the other, if they didn't want him to get booed they shouldn't have had a memorial at a blackhawks game. it wasn't really a secret how much the fans hated him.

lets say claude lemieux died. how do you think the crowd would react if they held a memorial service for him at a red wings home game?

[A.T.Hun 0]

i'm kinda torn on this. on one hand the fans shoulda been more respectful, but on the other, if they didn't want him to get booed they shouldn't have had a memorial at a blackhawks game. it wasn't really a secret how much the fans hated him.

I think you summed up my thoughts too. I was very surprised watching the video. He is generally loathed by 'Hawks fans. I posted some very sharp words in another thread about "Dollar" Bill Wirtz. You can't spend your life doing everything not to win a Cup (they're too expensive!) and kicking the average fan in the teeth and then expect them not to sing "Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead" when you croak. Nevertheless, I was still amazed at how loud the booing was. I felt sorry for the guy who had to read the speech. Mayhaps Rocky was listening and he'll run the ship differently.

Edited October 11, 2007 by A.T.Hun

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Wirtz was a terrible owner. But booing his memorial?

That's truly terrible.

Agreed.

[Shockwave180 0]

I've felt for a long time that Hawks fans are the most bitter, poisoned-sounding fans in the NHL. It's hard to blame them at times, but as Harold said, booing a dead man because he ran a sports team poorly is a horribly skewed perspective.

Edited October 11, 2007 by Shockwave180

[Avalanche Warning 0]

Blackhawk management knew this could happen, they should have payed tribute some other way.But I really don't blame them for booing. That franchise has been a joke ever since they left Chcago Stadium. Blacking out home games is kicking the team, fans and the game of hockey while they were down.

[Barrie 900]

I can't say I blame Black Hawks fans.

[55fan 5,133]

Having the right to do something does not make that something the right thing to do. Free speech is a useful tool for weeding out the idiots in society.

I was a pre-natal Lions fan, but I wouldn't think of booing Millen. I wouldn't boo Bettman, or even Pronger if circumstances were such that he had a few words spoken about him at a place where I was at the time.

If nothing else, the deceased had family and, presumably, friends who will miss them for reasons outside the sport. If for no more than respect for their feelings and their loss, the very least fans could have done was sat and doodled on their programs or played rock, paper, scissors or something so that those who were in mourning would not be further hurt.

Common decency: the infallible benchmark for making the right decision.

[viking58 0]

Well looks like things are beginning to look up in Chicago. I lived there for a few years and wrote Wirtz a few nasty letters regarding not having the games on tv.

Blackhawks, Comcast SportsNet Discussing Televised Home Games

Representatives of the Chicago Blackhawks met with Comcast SportsNet executives today to begin discussions about televising some home games this hockey season.

-- Memo from Rocky Wirtz to Blackhawks employees (.pdf) --

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/ext/rockywirtzmemo.pdf

It's important to understand that Comcast SportsNet's current schedule was developed well over a year ago, so fitting the Blackhawks into that schedule cannot be done overnight. No definitive agreement has been reached at this time, however, we are convinced that it is the appropriate next step to re-energize Chicago hockey fans and create new fans. We are also working on a long term strategy for televising additional home games in the future.

As we have already shown, we will continue to embrace positive changes and remain committed to a bright future. We hope to be able to provide additional information on this effort in the very near future.

Edited October 22, 2007 by viking58