The Smashing Pumpkins, the alternative rock band formed in Chicago, played three songs. The last was “Tonight, Tonight.” The lyrics fit perfectly.
“And the embers never fade
“In your city by the lake.”
Soon after Billy Corgan sang those words, the teams emerged from the dugouts, and fireworks exploded into the sky. The fans roared as Jim Cornelison belted out the U.S. national anthem like he does at United Center. Military planes flew overhead. More fireworks exploded.
“Let’s go, Hawks!” the Chicago fans chanted.
“Blues!” the St. Louis fans shouted.
Blackhawks legends Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick and Denis Savard came out for the ceremonial puck drop. When Bedard faced Blues center Robert Thomas for the opening face-off, Wrigley was rocking.
After the Blues took a 2-0 lead, forward Taylor Hall put the Blackhawks on the board on the power play at 15:26 of the first period. The fans sang along to “Chelsea Dagger.”
“Do-do-do-do …”
SECOND PERIOD: Scoreboard and bleachers
The second-best seats in the house might have been the office chairs flanked by space heaters inside the old, iconic hand-operated scoreboard in center field.
“It’s a cool atmosphere,” said Kyle Jakowitsch, a member of the Cubs grounds crew, which runs the scoreboard. “It kind of feels like a playoff game here today.”
The crew members set up the scoreboard for NHL games like they do for Major League Baseball games, updating the out-of-town scores as soon as the gates opened, treating periods like innings. They even used yellow numbers during a period, switching to white numbers after the period.
Jakowitsch peered through an open space in the scoreboard as Chicago’s Chance the Rapper performed during the first intermission. He held up his phone to snap a photo of the lights below.
