Our game seats were phenomenal--14th row behind the goal ($180 seats) and even better--The Blackhawks WON 4-0 in a rare SHUTOUT! It was also a momentous occasion marking the 1,000th game for Center, Michal Handzus, and the 700th NHL win for Coach Quenneville!
HAWKS WIN!!!!
We even got an xtra bonus meet up with uber famous Blackhawks alum, Bobby Hull!!!! I have rarely seen my huge hockey fan husband soooo excited. He was like a little kid at Christmas.
Check out our slideshow here for our full set of behind the scenes & game shots. We've included our favorites at the bottom of this feature as well. You may have already seen our live Tweets/FB updates/Instagram shots during the game. If not, click the links & check it out.
We were sooooooo stoked to win the tickets. My husband is a huge, lifelong Blackhawks fan and I've dug them since I moved to Chicago in 1990. Our 10 & 13 year olds have grown up loving The Blackhawks too. "Back in the day" before we were double Stanley Cup Champs and everyone and their mothers wanted Hawks tickets, we'd get $10 day of game seat all the time.
Don't get me wrong... We're thrilled to have an excellent hockey team now and never thought they'd bring home the cup TWICE in our lifetimes after such a loooooong dry spell. But the downside is, now we're pretty muchly priced out of the games and tickets are impossible to get, so we were extra happy to win 4.
Even when the Blackhawks lost all the time, we were diehard fans and loved to come to live games. Now we watch as many as possible on TV and are still huge fans, but we're mostly relegated to loudly cheering them on from the comforts of our couch. After the first goal the kids were so funny. They cheered wildly then commented that being at the LIVE game was like hearing Dad amplified 21,000+ times... every cheer, groan, and player directive they usually just hear yelled at the TV by 1, was echoed by an excited United Center FULL of fans. Powerful stuff!
Our Park Points ticket win was an even sweeter victory, since we thought we'd lost. I bid all 900 of my Park Points on the game and was watching it till nearly 1am, when I was still winning with 15 minutes to go. With nothing left to bid, I went to bed with my fingers crossed & awoke to find we'd been outbid by 75 points and lost it. We were bummed out, but accepting. Then we got an awesome e-mail:
Congratulations! Due to an ineligible bid for the Park Points™ Meet the VP/GM of the Blackhawks Experience we have disqualified the highest bid. As the second highest bidder for this experience, you have been declared the winner.
Everyone at The United Center was incredibly friendly and great to us! We all got goodie bags with bobble heads, programs, and hats. And Stan Bowman signed photos for us and gave us a grand tour of the box where he watches the games.
As a location sound engineer, my husband works loads of the Bulls & Bears games interviews for all the major sports networks, which is cool, but he hasn't gotten called yet for what he'd really love to work... The Blackhawks.
Sage (10) told Stan Bowman that one of her favorite players is Swede, Johnny Oduya, but she got shy and wussed out on doing her announcer voice for Stan. She has this hilarious way of belting out "JOHNNY ODUUUUUUU YAH." that just kills us. Stan said Oduyah is one of his 8 year old son's favorites too! Sage also wishes he didn't trade "Buff Dude" (Dustin Bufuglein), another of her favs.
It was sweet to see behind the scenes and get to shoot some photos in the VP/GM lair. We felt pretty VIP. When we first meet Stan Bowman, Bobby Hull just happened to be passing by and my husband did a 180 spin and said "Excuse me sir, can I just shake your hand." He grinned, in his charismatic way, and not only shook Dug's hand, but offered to stop and pose for a few family photos with us and Stan, too!! Ah the memories.
We also got to hold and try on one of the championship rings and check out the diamonds up close. I never realized the main staff got them too, and could personalize them. Our escort, Annie, Director of Youth Hockey, got her young daughter's name on hers. Super cool!
LIVE TWEET: Tradition! Ice cream during 2nd intermission. #ChicagoBlackhawks#atthawks #ImAtTheGame Thanks a zillion for the ticket win Chicago Park District. We're huge, lifelong fans of the park district & The Blackhawks!
We're more than happy to spread the word about the Park Points Program and encourage everyone to check it out and sign up here. So many times, special experiences like this are only available to the rich, connected or media. But The Park Points Program makes it possible for ANYONE to WIN. This program is incredible and it's easy to join up. Like we need more incentive to get out and enjoy the Chicago Park District!
We're already huge fans of the parks, with a daughter on the Chicago Comets competitive gymnastics team via Avondale Park Gymnastics Center. Our son went to pre-school at CPD Brands Park and our kids have grown up taking numerous classes like pottery, soccer, hockey, ice skating, nature camp, swimming and more. They've also grown up enjoying special events through the parks since birth.
LIVE Tweet/Instagram/FB:
WIN BLACKHAWKS TICKETS & EXPERIENCES: Thanks again Chicago Park District! We WON 4 tickets to the Chicago Blackhawks game tonight and a meet n greet with their GM. Woo hoo! Can't wait. Sooooo stoked!
Meet n greet with Stan Bowman-- Chicago Blackhawks VP/GM. Thanks ChicagoBlackhawks 1MFans & Chicago Park District!!! The Park Points program rocks!
We're happy humans indeed! Thanks for the rockstar seats and the ticket win Chicago Park District. We're waaaaay beyond stoked to be here! #atthawks #ChicagoBlackhawks #ImAtTheShow
#Blackhawks #atthawks #ImAtTheGame "Keep your head on a swivel & get the puck to the net." Can you tell we listen to a lotta Eddie O?!
#GOAL 2 to 0 @Blackhawks !! #ImAtTheGame #ChicagoBlackhawks#ChicagoParkdistrict #atthawks
My husband and I have had a running bit for the last 18 years, where he vocally ogles the Ice Crew, just to mess with me, and I say "Get the girls some pants before they freeze." Then I counter with feminist rants about why the girls should make more than $50 a game and comp tickets to be drooled over by a gazillion drunk hockey fans. I also tell him we should get Magic Mike lookin' Ice Boys in G-strings to go with the "Shovel Girls", instead of the full jumpsuit wearin' shovel guys. Who's with me, women?! Am I right or what? DH tells me the players are all the hot guys on ice action we girls get, and he's got a point. They are pretty hot... but all that padding... Doesn't seem like a fair deal to me on the eye candy front!
When my daughter Sage was 5, some of The Shovel Girl Barbies signed a photo for her and excitedly chirped about her being a future Ice Crew Girl. She told them she'd rather be a goalie. That's my girl!! Check it out here.
Best Game of the Season!
We back you #Blackhawks #atthawks #ImAtTheGame. You made our day ChicagoPark District! Thanks for the ticket win for one of the best games of the season!!
4 to nothin' #Blackhawks shutout??!! #ImAtTheGame#ChicagoBlackhawks #atthawks
Our Favorite Shots From The Night:
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