I'm not backing up Chicago fans here, because they are mostly bandwagoners...But, it's widely known that the TV blackouts were infamously orchestrated by Bill Wirtz. He didn't give a sh!t about the team. He kept the Hawks off of tv because he wanted butts in seats, so that he could squeeze more blood out of that turnip.
Clearly he didn't understand the potential for, y'know, TV and advertising revenue. Not to mention putting money into free agents, scouts, coaches, etc. to make the team better so that folks would actually want to watch the games at all. Genius businessman.
I agree, and I've only been a Hawks bandwagoner for 30 some odd years.