Charged by the electricity of the guest of honor, the celebration was nearly too much for the Wirtz family matriarch, Alice Wirtz. Such goodwill was on display Friday for the team her husband was accused of mismanaging.
"We wanted it more than anything in life. He loved the fans," she said. "He's looking down, and he's happy."
The sleep-deprived Stanley Cup champions emerged with looks of bemusement and tried to take it all in.
When asked what his father would say about all the Hawks' victory and celebration, Brian Campbell said, "Amazing."
The party's host and the boss had to fend off well-wishers as he explained exclusively to ABC7 his motivation for offering up a big thank you.
"This shows how much they connected over the young team and the organization, and the fans came out and realize this team is special," Rocky Wirtz said.
