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Wirtz's Death: My Thoughts
Fan Commentary, by Mr. Miller
September 26, 2007
With the death of longtime Blackhawk owner Bill Wirtz this morning, I've been inundated with calls, emails, text messages and voice mails asking me about my opinions on the matter. A newspaper reporter even called me for an interview. I guess being the owner of a domain like "WirtzSucks.com", my opinion must mean something to someone. So here it goes.
I was shocked when I read the news this morning. There were those who were truly saddened, those who were happy and others who simply wanted to know what it meant for the future of the Chicago Blackhawks organization. But for me, despite bragging over the years how much I looked forward to this day, I was just shocked.
We're all taught to respect the dead. Despite what our 'real' feelings might be about someone who recently died, we were always told to say something nice or don't say anything at all. After all, it's only right.
However. By the nature of his position in life, Bill Wirtz had both a public and a private persona.
Privately, from those who have met him, Wirtz was nothing but a gentleman. He was as loyal of a friend as one could have. His family meant everything to him. His employees had nothing but praise for the man. If only the same could one day be said about me when I go.
But he was also the same man that seemed to do everything in his power to ruin the Chicago Blackhawks. He single handedly put hockey on life-support in Chicago. And that, my friends, seemed to trump all today.
The WirtzSucks.com message boards were sprinkled with a few nice thoughts and condolences. But much more time than not, fans were taking the opportunity to bash him even more so than when he was living. People seemed to come out of the proverbial woodwork just to say something hateful which I feel is wrong. Hating the man as an owner is one thing. Bashing the man as a person, especially on the day of his death, is another.
I'm not happy that he's gone. But I'm also not sad.
The future of "WirtzSucks.com"
It's now been suggested by numerous people that the website name "WirtzSucks.com" should be discontinued. And to be honest, I can fully appreciate the reasons why that should be. My wife mentioned it, several members of the message boards hinted at it and a pair of newspaper reporters questioned it as well.
But this site is so much more than anything surrounding Bill Wirtz. Oh sure. I started it almost seven years ago as a way to sell t-shirts at the man's expense with the hope of making some serious money. But as many of you know, that most certainly didn't pan out.
Instead, the site has carved a nice little niche in the hockey world for Blackhawk fans to come and check out the latest news, links and post their thoughts from the team, last night's game, the lazy Russians and just about every other topic under the sun. Wirtz, the man, really has nothing more to do with the site than simply being responsible for the name. He plays a minor role, at best.
Will I change it? I might. Perhaps "Blackhawkzone.com" will rise from the ashes and take its place. But it's too soon to make that decision. Let's allow the events of today to work themselves out. Who knows? Maybe Peter or Rocky Wirtz will be nothing more than a chip off the ol' block.
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