NHL Blackhawks' New Rallying Cry: "Commit To The Indian!"

Needing a pep talk/spark to get them fired up, Chicago Blackhawks have adopted, albeit inadvertently, a new rallying cry. Was not surprised they were looking to get the fans and the players fired up, but wonder why we have not heard the PC advocates screaming bloody murder about the slogan.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-28-nhlbitsjan28,0,7399795.story

All comments and votes welcome.

 

The Blackhawks have never had problems with the Native American community, because they've always treated the logo as a symbol of respect. I don't see any bad developments because of this.

 

Their coach said this after a loss the other night. Says something about how bad the marketing department is that they use it in place of whatever this year's slogan is. A few years ago, they used "Let's Go." Let's go?

 

The marketing department is undergoing a complete overhaul since John McDonough came over from the Cubs. And the slogan is already catching on with fans.

 

Although a Hawks fanboy, I'll not vote as long as every option contains the weary "PC" meme. After a couple of decades of abuse, this term has become meaningless and is merely a rhetorical device to be used in baiting and irrational argument. So fuck "PC."

As a warrior, Black Hawk's legacy is one of fierce resistance to US expansion, so that's kind of interesting that he would be so celebrated in our history (he sided with the Brits in the war of 1812.) But he is, and his name's all over the Midwest. The hockey team picked up the name from the first owner's WWI infantry division, which bore the Black Hawk name. Not sure what Black Hawk would think of being so celebrated by a country and a military that he fought (of course we have the helicopters today.)

The logo itself is dignified- not a leering Chief Wahoo. The logo's commonly called "The Indian Head" among the Hawks and their fans, so that's where the "Indian" reference in the new slogan comes from. To the Hawks and their fans, it symbolizes the club's glory days (however brief- basically the 1930s and then the 1960s-early 70s) and a hard-working, team-first attitude.

I don't feel that the logo is racist, but I'm an almost entirely "white" guy, so my sensibilities are influenced by that. I feel that the opinion of Sauks and other Native Americans should be respected on the issue. So far as I know, the Sauk leadership is ok and has always been ok with both the nickname and the logo, though I'm sure there are some dissenting opinions. I feel comfortable wearing Hawks gear.

 

Judging by the newly enthusiastic local reaction to the Hawks this year, I think the fans' rallying cry is "Bill Wirtz is dead!"

Disrespectful, yes. But true.

 

Chicago is the great untapped hockey market of North America. For 40+ years, Wirtz did everything possible to strangle the fan base.

 

I thought they changed it to "Our home games are finally on TV!"

 

"Here come the Hawks- just moved past the Wolves and Fire- now Chicagoland's fifth-favorite sports team!"

 

Don't know if this is still true, but the Blackhawks used to be the answer to the trivia question: Name the only professional sports team named for an actual person.

Or something like that.

Maybe.

 

The Cleveland Browns.

 

Wasn't Bucco Bruce a famous gay porn star?