Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that “families are always rising and falling in America,” and the same can be said of Chicago sports franchises. If you’ve lasted a quarter century, as the Chicago Wolves have, and you’re still going strong- that’s a true testament to your franchise viability and durability.
The Chicago sports scene is an extremely crowded one, and the competition for attention can often be quite fierce. The task is made even more difficult by the fact that this town very often gets tunnel vision for one team. You see that with the Cubs now, and you just witnessed it with the Blackhawks in the first half of this decade.
Aside from the two teams with very large dysfunctionally obsessed fan bases (Cubs and Bears), no team is guaranteed a large following. And with the Bears it’s an extremely dysfunctional base, as the NFL charter franchise keeps testing the patience and commitment of their supporters even further.
You have to earn your audience, and the best, true way to do that is by winning, which the Chicago Wolves have indeed done, making the playoffs in 19 of their 24 seasons. They have also achieved four championships and six conference titles. The Wolves’ success is even more remarkable when you consider the additional challenges they face.
The Wolves have a deeply committed fan base that sticks with them through thick and thin, and it’s mostly been thick for the club that’s now affiliated with the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights, who shocked the hockey world by reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their very first season of existence.
In previous seasons the Chicago Wolves have been affiliated with St. Louis, Vancouver and Atlanta. The only AHL team with a full television package, the Wolves will play their 25th home-opener at Allstate Arena on Saturday, October 13. To get ready for this approaching milestone, the club kicked off their silver anniversary milestone yesterday with a new art installation featuring 15 larger-than-life (4’ x 9’) goalie masks in launch of the team’s new campaign: #LastTeamStanding.
Last night, the Wolves showcased a custom-designed pyro/laser/light show on Pioneer Court, which will serve as pregame intros this season at AllState Arena.
Video is below:
Here's the first part- pic.twitter.com/0FukaFAsrc
— Paul M. Banks ? (@PaulMBanks) August 14, 2018
The @Chicago_Wolves laser light and pyro Technics show on pioneer court last night. ???? #lastteamstanding pic.twitter.com/b8GEBgRJs1
— Paul M. Banks ? (@PaulMBanks) August 14, 2018
Additionally there was a party at the Chicago Sports Museum/Harry Caray’s restaurant in Water Tower Place.
The goalie masks, which replicate those worn by Wolves players over the past 25 years, will be on display through September.
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Congratulations to the Chicago Wolves!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud and YouTube. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to any and all of his.
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