Five Minutes with Bill Wirtz

Five Minutes with…. Bill Wirtz
by: Pat Griffin
04/17/2002

When I took on the challenge of writing the “Five Minutes With” columns, never in my wildest dreams did I think I could score the top man of the Chicago Blackhawks, owner William Wirtz. So here, in another exclusive for blackhawkzone.com, I present my conversation with Chicago’s most well known sports entrepreneur, five minutes with…..Bill Wirtz!

(I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing this conversation between two hockey fans, but I simply found him fascinating and wanted to share.)

Charming.

I looked up the word “charming” in the dictionary Sunday evening and found “to affect by or as if by a magic spell”. That is exactly how I felt that afternoon when I had the distinguished pleasure of discussing the future of the Chicago Blackhawks with Mr. William Wirtz after the game.

As the Blackhawks were handing out their jerseys to fans after defeating the Blue Jackets to assure the fifth spot in the playoffs, I noticed Bill Wirtz standing a few rows behind us. Frank had invited Amanda and I down to his section to watch the postgame festivities and I just had to take this rare opportunity and approach Mr. Wirtz. The conversation went something like this:

PG: Mr. Wirtz, can I ask you to take a photograph with my daughter?

BW: Certainly. I always have time for any Blackhawk fan, especially one this beautiful. (He removes his glasses.)

Suddenly, an attractive woman that accompanied him said:

“No. This won’t do.”

I immediately thought, “here we go again”, but was pleasantly surprised when she said, with a big smile: “We want YOU in the picture, too. I’ll take it.” She did!

BW: How long have you been a fan, son?

PG: Thirty-three years and counting, sir.

BW: That’s wonderful. What do you think of having the opportunity to get behind a REAL team again, my friend?

PG: It’s been a terrific season, sir. Brian Sutter has restored the pride of the Indianhead. What a tremendous decision you made in bringing him here.

BW: Yes, he has. It made perfect sense. We couldn’t have another season like last year. It hurt very badly. Did you say thirty-three years? You don’t look thirty three years old! (He extends his firm hand.)

PG: Thank you. It’s been three years as a fan for my daughter. She lives and breathes for your team like I did when I was her age.

BW: So do I. (He looked down patting Amanda on the head, gently, and shook her hand with a big smile, as she beamed. He then he shook Patsy’s hand.)

I thanked him for his time, as I could see several security people wanting to hurry him along. He was not done!

BW: How do you think we will do in the playoffs? We are playing St. Louis now, for sure. Looks like Thursday and Saturday there and Monday and Wednesday here. (Turned out to be Sunday and Tuesday, but he wasn’t aware at the time.)

PG: I think we match up very well with them, sir, but I believe it all comes down to the goaltending. Neither team has much playoff goaltending experience.

BW: Interesting. You may be right. I think we are going to advance. We are not done yet! We’re just getting started. (He shook my hand again.)

I wished him luck, but HE was not done yet, either! He wanted to keep talking. I didn’t want to intrude on his time, but if he was willing…..

BW: Mr. Sutter has done a fantastic job, you agree?

PG: Yes sir, I do, but I’m troubled by the Tony Amonte matter for next season. Is there any chance he will come back? I would hate to see all the positives turned to negatives next year.

BW: What is your name again?

PG: Pat, sir.

BW: (He grabbed my hand a third time and looked down at the floor and paused, very pensive, for a moment.) Pat, I don’t think he will be back. It hurts me very deeply. Tony is a super kid and I love him as a person and a player. This is the part of sports that bothers me. We can’t have them all, you know? Zhamnov, Daze, Sullivan….they all cost a lot of money and are wrapped up for awhile. (I swear…it looked like tears were forming in his eyes. He is clearly bothered by this situation.) I wish he and I could just sit down with no one else around and straighten this out.

PG: Can’t you meet half way? You know, Tony is the reason that Amanda is a hockey fan. You can’t lose people like that and not replace them in a successful organization.

BW: It’s possible, anything is possible, but I don’t see it. Wait until you see what we have on the farm, though (his eyes widening). Young Ruutu could be a star right now. He’ll be here next year. We have others, too. Lots of young talent on the way. The young center….(he appeared to be searching a bit.)

PG: Yakoubov?

BW: (Big smile.) Yes, Yakoubov and Vorobiev, too. You are gonna love these kids. We have a kid in Spokane named Matt Keith. What a player!

PG: He looked impressive at the Prospects Camp this year.

BW: You saw that? I knew I knew you from somewhere. I remember you and your daughter! You people are great fans. We need more like you.

(We made some serious eye contact. I knew he didn’t remember me and he knew it too, but we both smiled, like we were on to one another. I respected the overture, though.)

BW: The other night, one NHL general manager approached me and said, “Mr. Wirtz, I just returned from a scouting trip and saw several of your young players. I can guarantee you that the Blackhawks won’t be finishing in the bottom half of the league for at least ten years.”

PG: Wow, that’s great to hear!

BW: Please give us a chance next year. You will be happy with the results.

PG: I wish you the best of luck in the playoffs. I think we can win this series.

BW: Oh, we are not done yet! This coach is terrific. He doesn’t care about going to dinner (big laugh), only about hockey. We got the right guy this time.

PG: Yes, you did. I appreciate you sharing all of this with us.

BW: We need people like you and your daughter. (Winks at her.) Stick with us and give us a chance. (Laughs) It’s tough managing millionaires!

Charming.