Fans at Wrigley relish chance to watch Blackhawks

Nobody likes a rain delay. But having a Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final game shown on two state-of-the-art video boards makes the wait a bit easier.

“It’s a great bonus that they’re doing it,” said Darin Kaiser of Glendale Heights, who was wearing a 2013 Hawks championship cap and 2015 Western Conference champions t-shirt. “It’s the Stanley Cup. I’d be shocked if they didn’t do it, but I think it’s a Chicago team, this is a Chicago city so I think it’s fantastic they’re doing it.”

Installed before the season after some wrangling and controversy, the two video boards are a break from Wrigley tradition and undoubtedly have taken some getting used to. Though some probably still aren’t totally accustomed to the massive screens, they helped pass the time during the rain delay after the fifth inning of Saturday night’s Cubs-Reds game.

Oh, they also allowed fans to watch the biggest game of the Hawks’ season, one they eventually won 2-1.

“Honestly, I’m not going to lie to you. I love the Cubs and I love baseball but I was a little upset that the games were at the same time,” said Haley Craig of Naperville, who was decked out in her red Jonathan Toews jersey. “The rain delay, it does (stink) but it’s nice that it’s all Chicago. Everyone supports everybody and even though we’re in Wrigley Field we’re able to watch the Hawks game and support Chicago, really.”

Kaiser, Craig and numerous other fans had to make a similar choice – stay home and watch the Hawks or go to Wrigley and check out the Cubs while following hockey on their mobile devices.

Save for some time during the second period when the game wasn’t shown because of lightning, the fans were able to watch the Hawks at Wrigley.

Whether they wanted the delay to last until the end of the Hawks was a tricky question.

“You want to watch the Cubs but you want to see the Hawks win Game 5,” Craig said. “I’m going to say, until the end of the third period. Hopefully it doesn’t go into overtime, hopefully the Hawks win (before) that.”