There are a lot of parallels you can draw from the 1961-2007 Blackhawks and the 1991-2010 Bengals. Both owned by men who inherited the teams from their fathers. Both famously tightfisted with money, refusing to invest in the team and look into additional revenue streams (televising home games/stadium naming rights). Teams who are known around the league as underachievers who have not made it to their league's respective title game over this span.
The Blackhawks were able to turn it around when Bill Wirtz died in September 2007 and his son, Rocky Wirtz, took control. Rocky hired business executives who had high level sports management experience (from out side the family) to revamp the business. They brought in the NFL Winter Classic, enhanced the fan's in-game experience and spent on young free agents like Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks now have sold out 101 straight games, have the highest average regular season attendence in the NFL, are now up 2-0 in the Stanley Cup, AND are making more money than ever before.
The Bengals could learn a lot by looking at what Rocky Wirtz has done with a team that was considered the laughing stock of the NHL just 4 years ago.
