Fever Pitch

Alison True
c/o Chicago Reader, Inc.
11 East Illinois Street
Chicago, IL 60611


Dear Mrs. True:

With the current lockout of the National Hockey League, it appears that there will be no Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 85 years. Of course, in this town - would anyone really care? The Chicago Blackhawks haven't won a playoff series since 1996, and have made only one playoff appearance in the last six years.

Winning hockey in Chicago seems all but a distant memory. Unless you talk to some of the people around Rosemont, Illinois.

The Chicago Wolves debuted in 1994 as part of the International Hockey League. In 1998 and 2000, they were the Turner Cup Champions. After switching over to the American Hockey League in 2002, the Wolves captured the Calder Cup in a dramatic 4-3 double-overtime victory in front of the second-largest crowd in AHL playoff history.

Jumping on the bandwagon of a winning team is nothing new, but could hockey-deprived Blackhawk fans suddenly begin gravitating to Rosemont to fullfill their need to see the puck this season?

While local businesses still cite travelers and concert attendance as a bulk of their business, some Wolves fans are already seeing changes. There's more season ticketholders this year. Some people who weren't always around in years past are claiming to have been there since the beginning. There seems to be an increase in the number of people who - as one fan put it - "come to enjoy the concessions rather than the game."

How has the attitude at the Allstate Arena changed this year? Is the NHL's work stoppage going to spill over to the AHL? Fans seem to be waiting for January, the time of season they say usually sees an increased following as the push for the playoffs begins. If there is indeed no Stanley Cup in a town not recently accustomed to post-season hockey at the United Center, could this be the year that the Chicago Wolves become a household name?

I've talked to residents, Wolves' season ticketholders, and some local businesses in the Rosemont area. The reaction is mixed. While some would enjoy the thought of becoming Chicago's premeir hockey team, others are growing to question the loyalty of these supposed "newfound" Wolves fans. Should the AHL playoffs go through Rosemont again this season, how intense could the feeling in the crowd be this year?

I intend to talk with more residents, season ticketholders, businesses, and even some of the Wolves' front office staff all the way up to the January rush for the playoffs. I think the thoughts of Rosemont-area Wolves' fans on their team's season and their town's heightened profile would fit well in your publication's tradition of bringing a more intimate view to Chicago's suburban communities.

I look forward to continuing my research and interviews for this piece, as well as hearing any thought you may have on possible publication.

Thank you for your time,

Derek Strum
1203 South 6th Street
St. Charles, Illinois 60174