My Town, My Team: Blackhawks fan CM Punk recalls Chicago Stadium

UFC fighter and ex-WWE wrestler CM Punk shares his love of the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Stadium and Duncan Keith.

Author:
CM Punk
Publish date:
May 16, 2015

This is the second of a four-part series written by fans of the four conference finalists. SI.com's executive editor Ryan Hunt provided insight into how much the Lightning mean to his life. Boomer Esiason discussed his lifelong obsession with the Rangers, and Tennis Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport revealed her personal connection to the Ducks.

To be a Blackhawks fan now, it’s about more than what happens on the ice. Of course, the team has had a lot of success in recent years, and it’s easy to be a fan now. Much easier than it had been, back when the team struggled, when it was more or less handcuffed its their owner, the late Bill Wirtz. Back then, games were blacked out locally. Ticket prices were pretty ridiculous. They made it hard within the city of Chicago to be a fan. There was a time when wearing a Blackhawks shirt around town would prompt random strangers to yell nasty things about Wirtz at you. Thankfully, we’ve come out of that tunnel. The team is thriving, accessible, and what’s most impressive to me, they’re involved in the community.

Take their What’s Your Goal campaign for example. They reach out to less fortunate fans, and give them an unforgettable experience. But there’s one with defenseman Duncan Keith, where he takes a young fan out for a skate. Cammy, born unable to walk or speak but fully capable of smiling, was strapped to his legs. He skated with her and helped her score a goal. And it’s not just because he’s a friend and my favorite player—and OK, my wife thinks maybe I have a problem with how much I like Keith—but watching that video, I burst out into tears. They’re not just great hockey players, these guys are wonderful human beings.

I’m very fortunate to be able to call some of them, like Keith, friends. We’ll text each other all the time, and it’s not just talk about hockey. We talk about training philosophy. I’m getting ready to fight in the UFC, and so he’ll ask me about that. It kind of blows my mind because when I was a little kid, I looked up to guys like former Blackhawks winger Steve Larmer. In some ways, I like to think of Keith as a new age Larmer, the old iron man who once played 884 consecutive games for the Hawks. Though they play different positions, they share a similar blue-collar attitude and work ethic. Keith’s quiet, reserved, down to earth and a nice guy, but he really busts his ass. It’s a quintessential Chicago point of view. He’d fit right in with some of those teams that played in the old Chicago Stadium.

My Town, My Team: Tampa Bay Lightning fan is nuts about Bolts

That place, I remember, was just bonkers. I was fortunate enough to see a couple of games there when I was young—maybe around 10 years old. Being young and impressionable, not really knowing all the rules of hockey or anything like that, Blackhawks games were just an event to go to. The first time, I’m sure they were a friend’s tickets or were won somehow. But I just remember being taken back by the energy in the building. I just remember it being chaotic. The building was visibly old, but there was just something about it. As a kid, I just remember it being a lawless place, kind of a wild, wild west. I saw a lot of fights—mostly in the crowd, in fact.

I couldn’t tell you the Blackhawks played or who won the games I went to growing up. The things that have stuck with me are the smells, the sounds of the people around me. I’ll never forget once, we went to a game and were in some pretty nose-bleedy seats, but there was still another balcony section above ours. I remember seeing a guy a few rows ahead of us, dressed neatly in a suit, get a beer shower from someone in that section above. He obviously had some colorful words for the person who accidentally or purposefully dumped this beer, and then he did what anybody else would’ve done. He marched his way up the stairs and got into a fistfight over it.

The best part, though: he then came back down and watched the rest of the game. Busted up with a fat lip and everything, this guy dressed in a business suit sat back down—covered in beer and bloody—and he watched the rest of the hockey game.

Celebrities at NHL Playoff Games

Jimmy Fallon

May 18, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Jon Bon Jovi

May 18, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Jewel

May 18, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Susan Sarandon

May 18, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Chace Crawford

May 16, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1

Adam Driver

May 16, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1

Sting and wife Trudie Styler

May 13, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 7

Liam Neeson

May 13, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 7

Matthew Modine and wife Caridad

May 13, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 7

Marcus Mumford

May 13, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 7

Will Arnett, Melania and Donald Trump

May 13, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 7

Theo Rossi and Ansel Elgort

May 13, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 7

Michael J. Fox

May 8, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 5

Jonny Lee Miller

May 8, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 5

Alan Thicke and wife Tanya Callau

May 8, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 5

Jennifer Ohlsson

May 8, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 5

Bryce Harper with Capitals mascot Slapshot

2015-0506-Bryce-Harper-Washington-Capitals-mascot-Slapshot.jpg — Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire

May 6, 2015: Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 4

Justin Long, his brother Christian, and Chazz Palminteri

2015-0502-Justin-Long-brother-Christian-Chazz-Palminteri.jpg — James Devaney/GC Images

May 2, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 2

Matt Harvey

May 2, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 2

Christian Slater and wife Brittany

April 30, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 1

Bryant Gumbel and Matt Lauer

April 30, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 1

Uzo Aduba

April 30, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 1

Tom Cavanagh

April 30, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 1

Diego Klattenhoff

April 30, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 1

Michael Che

April 30, 2015: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City — Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 1

Marcin Gortat, Rasual Butler, Paul Pierce and John Wall

2015-0427-Marcin-Gortat-Rasual-Butler-Paul-Pierce-John-Wall.jpg — Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images

April 27, 2015: Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. — Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 7