Although this city is famous for sports teams that inflict more than healthy amount of suffering upon their supporters, right now, it is a great time to be a Chicago sports fan. The United Center saw the Hawks return from Calgary to take the playoff series lead 3-2 on Saturday and then on Sunday witnessed the Bulls fight their way through two overtimes to defeat the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics to tie up their first round series 2-2. The excess of the Bulls’ “Jordan Years” are more than a decade old now and the Hawks won their last division title 16 years ago in 1993. However, right now it is hard for any pessimist to argue that these two Chicago teams are anything but on the up swing. Blackhawk Nation Rises Once Again

At one time Chicago was considered a hockey town. The Blackhawks were one of the hottest tickets in the city, but that changed when the club stopped winning. Over the past two decades Hawks fans have had very little to cheer about. In 2004 the Blackhawks were called the worst franchise in sports history by ESPN. Frustration grew with the club’s refusal to televise games and to lower ticket prices despite dismal year after dismal year. With long time owner Bill Wirtz’s passing, his son Rocky Wirtz took over the Hawks in September 2007 bringing new ideas and policies to the team.

Rocky Wirtz brokered a deal to televise games, hired former Cubs team president, John McDonough, to reconfigure the club’s marketing strategy, and raised club awareness by participating in the 2009 NHL Winter Classic against the Detroit Red Wings all while General Manager Dale Tallon put together a talented, young team. After a promising 2007 season, excitement took off in 2008 finishing fourth in the Western Conference and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in seven year. The Hawks lead the NHL in home game fan attendance this year. One win in the next two games will send the Blackhawks to the second round of the playoffs: a huge step forward for a sports team trying to shake a reputation of mediocrity.

The Bulls Done Rebuilding?

To say the city was spoiled during the Bulls’ six championships in the 90’s is a significant understatement. The rebuilding has hit a few speed bumps to say the least. The Bulls went from being a dynasty to a five year stretch wallowing at the bottom of the league. Coaches Tim Floyd and Bill Cartwright failed to cultivate wins out of young team featuring Elton Brand, Eddy Curry, and Tyson Chandler. In the following years Scott Skiles was able to develop a young core of Kurt Hinrich, Ben Gordon, and Luol Deng and made the playoffs in 2005, 2006, and in 2007 never making it past the second round.

The team possessed a gritty, team-first attitude, but lacked the individual talent to really compete for a title. Skiles was surprisingly fired the next year

Chicago sports fans have finally had something to "high-five" and "hug" about.

after a poor start and replaced by Vinny Del Negro. The first half of this season wasn’t pretty, but the Bulls stayed in the playoff hunt due the weak Eastern Conference. Many pundits were unsure if Del Negro and General Manager John Paxson would make it through the year. In a last ditch effort by Paxson to save the year and perhaps his own job he traded for center Brad Miller and shooting guard John Salmons. Both Miller and Salmons have made great contributions to the team, but the entire team seemed to be invigorated by the trade and the team finished the year as one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

Since the dismantling after the last title in 1998 the Bulls have never come close to reentering the upper echelon of the NBA and lacked a star player that could take over games. After Sunday’s Game 4 in Chicago it appeared that the Bulls have two solid candidates for the leading man role in guard Ben Gordon and in the 2009 Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose. Gordon has always had one of the best jump shots in the NBA, but his ability to find more ways to score has proved invaluable to the Bulls late-season run. Rose can get to the hoop at will and will only get better in the years to come.

The team still may need another top player to compete for a title, but Rose and Gordon are two players you can build a franchise around. Will the Bulls take home the title again this year? No, probably not. Would they even have a chance of getting past the Celtics if Kevin Garnett was playing? No, probably not. But that doesn’t discredit the fact that Bulls fans have something to cheer about again and should continue to have something to cheer about in the future.

Today, let’s just be thankful that the Bulls and Hawks are battling in the playoffs, the Bears might have a franchise quarterback for once, the Cubs and Sox are favored to win their divisions again this year, the Fire are a first place MLS club, and we even have an undefeated arena football team in the Chicago Slaughter. History teaches us that we should not expect our teams to win every year. So therefore we should be grateful in the good times because sports’ good fortune can change about as fast as the weather in this city. So let’s enjoy the positive waves that are rolling in from Lake Michigan at the present moment and not worry about when everything goes to hell.

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