Dear Rocky Wirtz,
You have never met me but you have spent a lot of my money. I have gladly spent more than I can afford on season tickets, playoff games, jerseys, hats, convention tickets, DVDs, car stickers and anything else that shows my pride in my favorite team, the Chicago Blackhawks, over the years. I am part of the group that is losing the most in this CBA squabble, your fans. I am writing you because you will travel to New York tomorrow for the annual Board of Governors meeting with your fellow NHL owners. I am asking, no begging you to make a stand and end this labor dispute that is doing so much damage to the greatest sport on Earth.
You have done so much to help the Blackhawks regain their spot as one of the elite franchises in all of sports, not just hockey. You have made the Hawks a destination for top players. You have made the Hawks matter again in a city that had long forgotten that there was professional hockey in this town. You helped end a Stanley Cup drought and made generations of Chicago hockey fans come together as one. Remember when over 2 million fans lined the streets of the city for your championship parade and rally? None of this will matter if this lockout continues much longer. Your team and this sport will be pushed to the back pages of the newspaper and will line bird cages everywhere. You will lose many of those fans you fought so hard to get back into the seats at the United Center.
Back in 2008, the first year I had my season tickets, I took my now late father to a game in my seats for the first time. My dad wrote checks to your grandfather, Arthur, for his season tickets and it was a special day for me. During the game they showed you on the big screen and the place went nuts. The chants of “Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!” rang down from the rafters of the Madhouse on Madison. My dad was flabbergasted. He told me that he never though that he would live to see the day where a Wirtz would be cheered by Blackhawks fans. Well he did, and if this season is lost those days will be over. You will just be another Wirtz that Hawks fans love to hate. Do the right thing, rally your troops and put an end to this madness!
Yours truly,
Greg Boysen