Fan boycotting Blackhawks despite undefeated streak

Chicago Blackhawks fan Steven Schucker has given up hockey for the 2013 season, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

Yes, this form of protest is because of the lockout. And yes, it’s despite the fact the Chicago Blackhawks are on a historical run to begin the season, going undefeated in regulation through the first 24 games.

“You have an NHL commissioner who doesn’t care about his sport and it got to the point it just turned me off hockey,” Schucker told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday.

“I can’t support watching a sport run by someone like that. I love the Hawks. My issue is with the principle of what’s going on with the sport. It would be easy for me to drop my gloves and say, ‘OK, I’ll go back and watch.’ But I’m a man who believes in standing by my principle, tough as it is to do this year.”

The lockout clearly had fans outraged, however it seems most have forgiven those involved with the work stoppage.

As per the NHL’s public relations department, attendance is on the rise, as are television ratings.

The Blackhawks’ current run – they came into Friday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche needing just five games short of the all-time record of 35 games without a regulation loss, held by the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers – has only helped drive television ratings.

“I picked the wrong year not to watch the Hawks,” Schucker told the Tribune.