Hockey fans welcome Stanley Cup to Northern Nevada

The Stanley Cup – one of the great trophies in all of sports – has been around the world, in the war zone of Afghanistan and the hometowns of hockey’s great champions.

Now it’s been to Spanish Springs.

The 34 1/2 -pound trophy – in the possession of the NHL champion Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz and under the watchful eye of a representative of the Hockey Hall of Fame – arrived at Wirtz Beverage Nevada on Distribution Drive about 11:30 Tuesday morning.

More than 200 hockey fans, Wirtz employees and dignitaries waited in line to pose for photographs with the hallowed cup.

“I’m a lifetime Chicago Blackhawks fan, born and raised in Chicago,” said Greg Vorreyer of Sparks, who, accompanied by his 83-year-old father, Warren, waited in line for more than an hour.  “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.  This is the first time I’ve ever seen the cup. I grew up listening to Lloyd Pettit call Blackhawk games on the radio.”

The trophy is awarded each year to the National Hockey League championship team, which is allotted 100 days during the offseason to pass the cup around from the owner to players and coaches, who can take it where they please.

This is the second time the Stanley Cup has been in Northern Nevada.  It was in Reno in 1996 after the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. Goaltender Patrick Roy was invited to a golf tournament and brought the Stanley Cup with him.

“What we want to do is share it with our employees,” said Rocky Wirtz, president of Wirtz Corporation and the Wirtz Beverage Group, a wholesale distributor of premium beer, wine and spirits.

That quest has taken Wirtz and the Stanley Cup from Springfield, Ill., to Minneapolis to Las Vegas and then to Washoe County.

“We’re going to drop it off in St. Louis to a player, Brandon Bollig, and he’ll have it for a day and then it goes to Toronto,” Wirtz said.

The Cup will then travel back to Chicago, then on to Sweden, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

“We’re just trying to juggle everyone’s schedule,” he said.  “In 2010, we didn’t get to bring it to Nevada, so we just thought it was the right thing to do, to share with our employees.”

Wirtz Beverage Nevada found out about a week ago that the Stanley Cup would be coming, said district manager Jeff Fein.

“Everybody was pretty excited,” he said.  “It’s pretty neat being a part of the family.”

A number of local elected officials and dignitaries turned out for the event, including Sparks council members Ed Lawson, Julia Ratti and Mike Carrigan; Reno councilman Oscar Delgado and city manager Andrew Clinger; Washoe County Commissioner Vaughn Hartung and Assemblyman Randy Kirner, R-Reno.

“This is a special thing for our county and what a rare opportunity to see such a great trophy,” Kirner said.

Lawson said he was looking forward to having his photo taken with the trophy.

“This is one of those opportunities you don’t want to miss,” he said.  “It would be like going to France and not having your picture taken with the Eiffel Tower.”

Chris Saunders, a Blackhawks fan of Reno, wore a team jersey, hat and a pair of tattoos – one of the Blackhawks logo and one of the Stanley Cup.

“It was the thrill of a lifetime, man,” he said.  “There’s nothing like being with the Stanley Cup.  It’s the greatest trophy in sports.  It was phenomenal.  I couldn’t believe they let me touch it.  I got to put my arm around it.  I never thought I’d ever see that thing.

“I’ve been a Blackhawks fan forever.”

Source: Reno-Gazette Journal