The noise from a third-floor apartment along North Elaine Place in Chicago's Boystown neighborhood on Monday night, June 15, could be heard sporadically, but was quite loud each time, after each and every agonizing moment, and certainly after each and every enjoyable Chicago Blackhawks moment.
Every strong Hawks' shot drew cheers, as did every Hawks' save by goalie Corey Crawford, as well as every bone-crunching check delivered at the United Center where the Blackhawks played host to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Inside the small apartment along Elaine Place, 10-plus members of the Chicago Gay Hockey Association ( CGHA ) watched the game on a big-screen TV, with pizza, chips and other snacks within arm's-length, as well as beer and more.
Tony Tiet, a talented forward for the CGHA, sported a red t-shirt for the game, while others at the Elaine Place get-together were sporting other Blackhawks' wear.
This was a special Monday night—with tornado warnings throughout the city, a deluge of rain all around, flooded streets and more. But it must have seemed like bright sunshine inside the United Center, where the Hawks slipped past the Lightning, 2-0, to capture the team's third Stanley Cup championship in six years.
They roared and celebrated at Elaine Place—and throughout the city and suburbs.
The Hawks spent 62 days in the NHL playoffs, and it had been 28,189 days—since April 12, 1938—when Chicago last won the Stanley Cup at home. The 2010 title was claimed in Philadelphia, while the 2013 Stanley Cup was won in Boston.
Chicago's main celebration was in and around Wrigley Field, as the streets near Clark and Addison were flooded, literally, with a sea of red minutes after the game ended—and they stayed on the streets for hours afterward. Cars driving down North Halsted Street inched forward, many sounding their horns in support of the hockey heroes known as the Blackhawks.
Nearby Boystown also was a hotbed for hockey action. The North End was filled with jersey-wearing Hawks fans, way more than chose the North Halsted Street bar for their viewing destination of what was the deciding game in 2013.
Next door at Bobby Love's, well, that wasn't too hockey-happening.
DS Tequila was rocking, especially among female fans, many sporting Hawks jerseys or t-shirts. Late in the first period, the doorman at DS told newcomers to the restaurant-bar, after checking IDs, that there was nowhere to sit.
Sidetrack-The Video Bar was a cool cove for Hawks fans, packed away in the back bar, with the TVs fixed to the game—not Game of Thrones, or Showtunes, which played in the glass bar later Monday evening. And at least one Showtunes' viewer sported a red Hawks jersey.
"Back bar is a great room for folks to watch together," said Sidetrack general manager Bradley Balof. "Even though we aren't a traditional sports bar, we have amazing viewing capabilities for all the major events for Chicago and for the community."
About 40 Hawks' fans cheered for Duncan Keith's first goal and Patrick Kane's game-clinching goal at Sidetrack, which, fittingly, is skating with the theme Team Sidetrack for 2015 Pride—and the bar now features giant logos of the five major male team sports: the Blackhawks, Bears, Bulls, White Sox and Cubs on the walls of one of the bars.
Sidetrack co-owner Jose "Pepe" Pena posed for a picture Monday night during a break in the Cup action, and before he started his DJ duties for Showtunes, along with members of Team Sidetrack in front of the Hawks' logo, naturally.
"The Blackhawks' Stanley Cup win means so much," said Mark Sakalares, who is a vice president for the predominantly gay Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association ( CMSA ). "It not only brings the LGBT community together to cheer on our team, but it unites the entire city and truly shows why we are called the City of Big Shoulders. I think it's fair to say our Chicago Blackhawks can now be called a dynasty."
Hawks' fans also flooded Crew Bar & Grill, where they cheered wildly from the opening faceoff through the moment when team captain Jonathan Toews was the first player to hoist the Stanley Cup, and then when he handed it off to 40-year-old teammate Kimmo Timonen, who has played 15 years in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and now is a first-time Stanley Cup champion.
Five Hawks fans—three of whom wore jerseys—watched the Cup action at Touche, the gay leather bar in Rogers Park.
Chuck Jacobson, meanwhile, watched Game Six wearing his black Blackhawks jersey some 1,800 miles away from where he founded the CGHA. Now living in San Diego, Jacobson watched every slapshot with fellow former Chicagoan Chris Barna—and about 300 other Hawks' fans, many wearing team uniforms—at 710 Beach Club in Southern California. After their initial celebration, Jacobson and Barna posed for a photo together, Jacobson holding up three fingers.
Jacobson posted that photo on Facebook and tagged it, "A perfect day!! Holding on to this moment for a lifetime!!!"
Kevin Boyer watched the Cup-clinching game at Crew in Uptown, which was "packed to the rafters, standing room only," he said. "As the game ended, the crowd counted down the seconds and erupted into cheers and dancing to [the song] Chelsey Dagger," the team's theme song.
Former college football Eric Leushen, who is openly gay and lives in Chicago, said after the Cup victory that he is "thrilled" that the Blackhawks once again brought the Stanley Cup back to Chicago. "Three times in six years is quite a feat," he said. "To win this one at home for the first time in 77 years makes it extra special. This dynasty Blackhawks team has made Chicago proud."
Luis Nieves watched the game at home in Chicago, feet propped up on a table in front of his couch—and he naturally posted a picture of his view on Facebook. After the game, Nieves said, "Life is a game; true love is the trophy."
During the game, and of course after, many in the gay community wondered if the Cup would make a return appearance at the Pride Parade in late June, as it did in 2010, riding on the CGHA float along with former player Brent Sopel.
Time will tell on that, but several from the gay community were very curious how to make it happen again, or have a prominent team member in the parade.
But what impact did the Cup have on the LGBT community through its Pride Parade appearance? Frankly, "it didn't mean much," said Cyd Zeigler, the co-founder of Outsports.com .
"There's still no current or former NHL player who is openly gay. No coach is publicly out. No front-office executive. No one. So it's hard to say the appearance of the Stanley Cup at a parade means anything when, in five years, nothing has changed in the NHL in regards to people feeling comfortable coming out. We're still where we were in 2010."
