The Red Wings, part of the Original Six in the National Hockey League (NHL), were made in Detroit 90 years ago in 1926. When first founded, the now known Red Wings were originally called the Detroit Cougars. In 1930, they changed their name to the Detroit Falcons. Then, in 1932, the name changed to the Detroit Red Wings and has not changed since. From then on, the Wings have come to win 11 Stanley Cups. The Red Wings debuted their first win of the Stanley in 1936.
Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, claimed that Chicago will eventually be called "Hockey Town USA." Detroit fans, especially the Detroit Red Wings' Twitter account, found this to be very funny. This is especially funny since the Red Wings had won 11 Stanley Cups before the Blackhawks had even won their fourth.
Yes, Chicago has been doing well these last six years, while the Red Wings have been stuck in a rut. They do get a lot of fans at their games recently, but the Joe has always been filled with people in a sea of red and white, and there are still people standing outside in the parking garage, on the stairs, and on the corner of Steve Yzerman Drive (yes, The Joe Louis Arena is located on a street named after one of our greatest players) and Jefferson Ave. Although they are becoming more popular, we cannot just forget about the past when the players handed out business cards to people offering free tickets to the games because it was just that bad in Chicago.
Yes, Chicago has won three Stanley Cups in the last six years, but let's not forget when the Red Wings were back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions in 1997 and 1998 (1997, the year I was born, is definitely not a coincidence of such greatness being made in Michigan).
Chicago does have a few great players, like Patrick Kane, who is currently leading the NHL in points. The Red Wings not only have great players now, like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, they have also had great players in the past. One of the greatest is Gordie Howe, who has a hat trick named after him (the Gordie Howe Hat Trick consists of a goal, an assist and a fight all in one game), a legend not only in the Wings' eyes, but also in the NHL. When he retired from hockey, he had 786 goals, 1,023 assists and 1,809 points which were all NHL records at the time.
Chicago is an up-and-coming team but the Red Wings have been great from the start. Teams hit a rough patch, but just because Detroit hit a plateau does not mean it should be stripped of the title of "Hockeytown." Detroit has been great from the beginning while making history and fans go crazy in Detroit since the beginning when they were known as the Detroit Cougars. The Red Wings and the city of Detroit deserve the title of "Hockeytown" because of all the history that has been made in Michigan by this team.
