Chicago's new generation of celebrity fans - SFGate
CHICAGO — A few days after Rise Against performed at the House of Blues in Chicago in December, Tim McIlrath, lead singer of the punk rock band, was at his hotel in Dallas watching ESPN on a muted TV when his band’s name appeared on the scroll at... Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford had injured his foot at the band’s Chicago show and was expected to be sidelined two to three weeks. “Everybody had these wild ideas that he was crowd surfing or in the mosh pit throwing elbows,” McIlrath said. I realized either the Hawks would go into a tailspin and everyone would blame us or they would find a successor at goalie and Crawford would blame us. Either way, it was a bad scenario. The Blackhawks went 7-1 during Crawford’s absence, but he regained his starting spot. McIlrath avoided the wrath of Crawford and Chicago sports fans, which was a relief because he’s a lifelong Chicago sports fan himself. McIlrath doesn’t get as much attention for his love of Chicago sports as some of the city’s more high-profile fans, including President Obama, Vince Vaughn, Bill Murray, John Cusack, Eddie Vedder, Billy Corgan and Jim Belushi. There is, however, a new generation of famous Chicago sports fans younger than 40, including McIlrath, waiting in the wings. But for the most part, they are just as passionate and are fully capable of carrying the Chicago celebrity sports fan torch when the time comes. Source: www.sfgate.com
