Hockey, Hoops, Baseball, The Black Cauldron, & Chelsea Dagger: A Road Diary

“Chelsea Dagger” is, for my money, the greatest goal song in the National Hockey League.

I’m probably a bit biased, having loved the 2009-10 Blackhawks team that made a run to the organization’s first Stanley Cup since 1961. I also get a kick out of the band that performs the tune, The Fratellis, sharing a name with the villians of a favorite childhood film of mine, The Goonies.

However, rankings like this suggest I’m not off-base in my appreciation for “Chelsea Dagger.” And being part of a rousing redention of the song for the first time — at the conclusion of a dismal season for the Blackhawks, no less — only served to further cement “Chelsea Dagger” as the preeminent goal song in my mind.

You’d never know from the United Center’s electric atmosphere on April 14, 2024, that Chicago’s 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes that night would move the Blackhawks one step closer to finishing a bewildering 13 games in the loss column behind the Coyotes.

And yet, on the same day that the inept management of the Coyotes’ existence in Arizona reached a conclusion with news of an impending move to Salt Lake City made official, an audience triple the capacity of the Coyotes’ “home” ice at Arizona State sang along with “Chelsea Dagger.”

This moment encapsulated what loving sports means: Finding joy in even the small victories.

That isn’t to say there’s much fun to be found in consistent mediocrity — or worse. Growing up cheering for the San Antonio Spurs in basketball and the Chicago Cubs in baseball, I can tell you that the former was a helluva lot more fun a good 90 percent of the time.

My friend Adam, with whom I made the trip to the game, sat next to a friendly Blackhawks fan who made the drive down from Grand Rapids who lamented Chicago has not put a competitive team on the ice since the corps responsible for the 2010, 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cups reached its expiration date. It didn’t come from a place of bitterness, selfishness or unrealistic expectations, either, which are all sentiments I feel are more justified in fans of professional teams than those of college programs.

He said, simply, “I just want us to be good.”