CHICAGO — Colton Parayko could hear all of them as he came out onto the confines of Wrigley Field from the visiting dugout prior to the 2025 Discover NHL Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.
“It was a lot of fun just coming out, the ‘Let’s Go Blues,’ and ‘Let’s Go Hawks’ chants was exciting,” Parayko said. “Everyone was into the game. A lot of fun. Walking out of the dugout, that was such a cool experience. Everything the NHL and everybody that kind of came together to put this on did a fantastic job. I couldn’t have been more happy and proud to be a part of it. It was such a good experience with family and friends and everybody.”
From the ‘Let’s Go Blues!’ chants to counting the goals along with ‘Towel Man,’ and the coup de grâce, singing “when the Blues go marching in” with the end result well in hand:
And don’t think for a second the players didn’t notice Blues fans.
“Right from the start, they were strong, which is exciting and then going on, but better and better as the game went along,” Parayko said. “We have tremendous fans in St. Louis. Great hockey fans, very passionate, great sports fans. We’re fortunate.”
But getting under the skin Blackhawks fans’ was part of the fun.
“Hearing our St. Louis Blues fans at the end of the game, counting our goals we had,” Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said. “It was a lot of fun. Even the Blackhawks fans were real loud too. It made for good fun.”
Maybe someone ought to tell this guy above that the two fanbases actually do get along to a certain degree.
Blues coach Jim Montgomery couldn’t have been more proud.
“It’s awesome, it’s awesome,” Montgomery said. “Blues fans are awesome. It’s a special place for me, it’s a special place for my family. I know how much this organization loves playing for Blues fans. For them to come travel down four and a half-, five-hour trip (or) whatever it is, whether they came by plane, it’s just awesome how much they support us.”
