Blackhawk Up: Thank You And Farewell, Chicago Blackhawks Fans

After six-plus years and 4,000 posts about the Chicago Blackhawks, and after thinking about this long and hard, the time has come to say goodbye to Blackhawk Up.

I was just looking for a hobby at the end of 2011, and I had this app on my new iPhone called Blackhawk Up that gave me all the news I needed in Florida about my favorite childhood hockey team, the Chicago Blackhawks.  On one of the posts it said writers were needed, and it seemed like something I would enjoy doing.

After applying twice, I finally got the call that I was joining the Blackhawk Up team, and it’s been a super fun ride ever since.  I became the editor a few months later, and made the decision that I was going to try and get as many writers as possible to write for the site, so that we could put out as much content as possible about the Chicago Blackhawks.

Of course, there have been some very memorable nights in the past six years, like knocking over furniture when Niklas Hjalmarsson’s third-period goal against the Red Wings in Game 7 was overturned, and then the celebration when Brent Seabrook scored the game-winner in overtime.

The most nerve-wracking game had to be Game 4 in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, when the ‘Hawks kept scoring, and the Bruins kept getting a crazy bounce here or there to keep tying the game until, of course, Mr. Overtime Seabrook won it again.

There have been two Stanley Cup wins for the Blackhawks while I’ve been writing for Blackhawk Up, with 17 seconds being just a crazy-filled five minutes in real time.  Jumping up and down cheering while trying to tweet out information will always be a fun memory.  Watching the ‘Hawks win at the United Center in 2015 was also very cool since of course none of us had seen the Cup won on home ice … ever!

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My commitment to the site is something that I will never forget, whether it was posting, Twitter or Facebook.  The goal was simply to give Blackhawks fans the most content while having a good time day in and day out 365 days out of the year.

The past six years haven’t come without huge heartache on a personal level.  If you have followed the site than you know that my 15-year-old son committed suicide on Jan. 12, 2017.  This is something that will change a parent forever.  Like the site, I put a lot of passion into suicide awareness since the worst day in my life, and if it helps just one kid it will have been worth it all.

Since the passing of my son, I truly felt that writing for the site was a form of therapy as I was grieving.  The thing is the past two months writing and running the site hasn’t felt like a fun hobby anymore, and now I want to use my efforts in other things beyond running home from work and writing a post on the latest trade rumor, trade, prospect or Chicago Blackhawks update.

This is why I’m so thankful for everyone that ever wrote for Blackhawk Up in the past six years or who has stopped by our site to see what we had to say about our favorite team.  The thing is, it just feels like it is the right time to step away and let others bring you their best effort on the site.

Next: Blackhawks' Unlikely Blockbuster Trades

It was a great run, and I had so much fun bringing you Blackhawks news!

Thank you for listening, as always!

Keith Schultz