CHICAGO (AP)—The Blackhawks have brought the Stanley Cup back to Chicago after
49 years. Sounds like a good reason for a parade in the Windy City.

Fans were gearing up for Friday’s ticker-tape parade, snapping up
championship T-shirts, flags, pins and hats as the city prepared for an
onslaught of happy supporters expected downtown to greet the triumphant team.

Chicago resident Don McCauley said even an afternoon game between the city’s
baseball rivals, the White Sox and the Cubs, couldn’t keep him away from the
celebration.

“It is summertime. It is a beautiful time to be in Chicago. I don’t care if
I had Cubs-Sox tickets, I’m going to be at the parade,” McCauley said. “It’s
just going to be electric.”

Suburban Chicago resident Morgan Mowry hoped to get a glimpse of the Stanley
Cup and see one particular player. “Marian Hossa(notes). I love Marian Hossa,” she
said. “I’m wearing his jersey right now.”

Her boyfriend, Ray Dignan, said he approved of his girlfriend’s love for
Hossa. “He’s a hockey god,” he said.

They were among the giddy fans in Hawks garb wandering Chicago’s streets
Thursday. Many had been up all night following the Blackhawks’ overtime victory
Wednesday over the Flyers in Philadelphia. They lined up at makeshift kiosks to
buy anything with the team logo.

Michael Pigozzi was selling Blackhawks gear along the Chicago River
downtown, from a pin to a 0 jersey.

“We didn’t even have the T-shirts out of boxes and we were selling them
wildly this morning,” Pigozzi said, his pockets stuffed with cash. “I’ve never
seen it like this before.”

John Stibal of Chicago bought T-shirts for his sons, ages 11 and 16.

“They have been following the Blackhawks for a couple of years and they’re
excited about it,” Stibal said. “I told them this hasn’t happened in my
lifetime so they realize it’s a big deal.”

With the Blackhawks winning the National Hockey League championship for the
first time since 1961, Friday’s parade was expected to draw thousands—if not
hundreds of thousands.

City officials hesitated to provide specific projections. “We’re preparing
for very large crowds,” said Will Knight, a spokesman for the Chicago Office of
Emergency Management.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said money for the event was coming from
sponsors, not taxpayers.