The Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup win in 2010 brought a massive amount of "new" hockey fans to Chicago. When they won again in 2013, an even more seemed to hop on the bandwagon.

When this new and unfamiliar winning culture started spreading through the city and its surrounding areas, Instagram blew up with thousands of teenage girls wearing $130 Jonathan Toews jerseys, Chelsea Dagger became a household anthem, and suddenly hockey started to matter.

And now, the Blackhawks find themselves in the Stanley Cup Final again, this time against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Fans around the country – including many on our wonderful Marquette campus – grew ecstatic, as the possibility to win three cups in only six years became a reality. At the same time, many remote Detroit, Minnesota, and St. Louis fans ground their teeth at the thought of their “FIB” counterparts posting excited playoff posts on social media. Even some of the most intense Blackhawks fans grimace and attempt to offend fellow Chicagoans by calling them one of the most derogatory insults used in fandom: “a bandwagon fan.”

This is what I don’t understand. Besides a few promising – but still disappointing – moments from the Bulls and the Bears, the only other impressive win from a Chicago team (that our generation witnessed) was in 2005 when the White Sox won the World Series. The Blackhawks are the first team in Chicago that are genuinely just so good, since we have reached an age where we actually care about and enjoy sports. It’s sheer madness to scold any Illinois (or even Midwestern) citizen for cheering on this unreal group of guys playing a great game of hockey.

I already know what half of you are thinking: “Where were they when the Blackhawks weren’t good?” Okay, fair. But here’s what I have to say to that:

Before current owner Rocky Wirtz took over in 2008, his dad – Bill Wirtz – was in charge. He believed in playing hockey “the old fashioned way” and absolutely refused to televise home games out of fear of “disloyalty to season ticket holders.” This tactic failed miserably, as the Blackhawks had the second lowest home attendance in the NHL by the time Rocky took over. Even worse, the Blackhawks were named the worst franchise in sports by ESPN in 2004. When Bill died in 2008, his son Rocky set out to make huge changes. One of the first moves he made? Televising home games.

(Read Bryan Smith’s whole article explaining this here.)

Do you realize what this means? Chicago fans could not watch their NHL team’s home games on TV until two years before they won the Stanley Cup in 2010. After this change, they became the NHL team with the best attendance in the 2008-2009 season (before the recent cups were won, might I add) and have stayed that way for every consecutive season since (Check out more stats similar to this here).

What’s important here is that an unpopular team in an unpopular sport is generating more and more appreciation every year thanks to these changes. The moment Blackhawks fans were able to watch the sport on TV, their love for their team increased dramatically. This hockey culture has grown immensely and everyone is looking for a slice of the excitement. Lucky for us, our generation joined into this fanbase at the perfect time – right when they turned into one of the best franchises in sports.

So let’s quit it with pulling out harsh words to put down those Chicagoans who only watch the playoffs or those who think the goalie is Cindy Crawford. These “bandwagon” fans are what is growing this sport into the insanely fun experience that it is. Without new fans to learn about and appreciate the sport, it’d be impossible to fill the United Center with so much black, red and white.

So if you were wondering how to tell if you’re just a Blackhawks bandwagon fan, don't worry.

You’re not.