It's hard to put into words what this means to me. It's about more than just hockey.
I remember when my dad took me to my first Kings game at The Forum 19 years ago. The Kings, and hockey, has become a big part of my life since then. To this day, every time I walk into an arena, I still get that same feeling of excitement I got as a kid.
After all the struggles this franchise has had, it's been amazing to finally see it all come together. It's proof that in life you should never give up. Hats off to Lombardi, the players, the fans who have stuck with this team through thick & thin, AEG, and everyone that's done work behind the scenes to help make this happen.
And of course an extra special thanks to the only hockey voice I ever knew for my first years as a fan:
Everyone pretty much knows my story by now so no real reason to repeat it, except for the fact that I was the only one in my family that got it.
I remember talking to my dad about ice hockey, and he said "I just don't get it." I persuaded him to watch a game with me (in the mid-1970s), but to no avail. I felt bad because we had communication issues anyway (later resolved as I had kids and therefore his grandkids).
Luckily, I had friends of mine in San Pedro, in high school, who were into hockey and also Los Angeles Kings fans. We suffered together throughout all those years, especially 1975 when the Kings ended the season with 105 points (2 point games, so they had a hell of a season), and then lost a ridiculous 2 out of 3 opening series to a bad Toronto team (stupid NHL playoff setup).
Listening to the radio mostly, since few games were televised, and in particular Bob Miller, with Dan Avey (who passed away a couple of years ago), Rich Marotta, Pete Webber, Nick Nickson, and then finally Jim Fox (TV side), was always special.
This year was the perfect storm for me. I had never had season tickets before, to any professional team. The thought struck all of a sudden one day, when it was rumored that the Sacramento Kings were going to move to Anaheim and become the Royals. I thought to myself "When am I ever going to have this opportunity again to have season tickets to basketball?" (Laker and now Clipper tickets are absolutely unaffordable.)
Then I thought to myself "Why would I want to have season seats to crappy basketball?" (If you know Kings' basketball, you know what I mean.) I thought, of course...if I am going to spend good money, why not on the L.A. Kings? Even though the drive is no fun, and is much farther away, hockey can't be beat as a spectator sport. Up until then, I attended maybe two to three hockey games a year, and always spent big bucks. I was amazed at how low the season tickets were...I snatched up two right away.
I knew we had a contender this year. Was so disappointed at the underachieving this year...kept telling myself, we aren't going anywhere...I would fantasize about the Stanley Cup championship, seeing it in person, told myself it was all a pipe dream...the clinching blow was those two season-ending OT losses to San Jose.
The past two months, I have literally been living in a dream world. I still can't believe it all happened. During the 5-minute major penalty, and goal after goal after goal...I pinched myself. The fans all around me were laughing, crying, high-fiving...it was a great moment in my life, and it brought tears to my eyes.
I have been on cloud 9 all day today.
What a great championship. Thank you Kings for making a long-time suffering fan happy at last.
And that Bob Miller photo is one of the best things I have ever seen. Ever.
I'm a newbie here, I am a disgruntled Flyer fan who decided to follow Richards on June 23rd. A few days later Gagne was added, another player who was kicked to the curb by the Flyers a year before when he was forced to waive his NTC. I live in Toronto and have NHL GameCentre so I figured I could watch both teams even though the 10:30 starts were a killer! I watched a lot of the early games because they were in Europe and then they played a few games on the east coast so they were time zone friendly. I went to Vancouver for a week in October so I was able to watch a few more games without the late nights out there, and I was hooked.
After Carter was added in February it was like everything was fixed. I likened the team to a Rubik's Cube where all the parts were there but they need to be slotted in the right place. Here we are, a few months later and it couldn't have ended better! I prefer the Kings' style of defensive/aggressive hockey to the Flyers' pond hockey so this style of play was a treat for me to watch.
To me, this is basically like watching a really great friend pull off something spectacular.
The Kings have always been there for me. I started watching and listening around 97 or 98...I know the Courtnall incident is one of my earliest memories as a Kings fan. I remember listening to that, barely comprehending what was going on, and being as incensed as my 10 year old self could be. Our goalie got hurt!?? THOSE SCOUNDRELS.
As much as I changed over the years, as much as my life disintegrated at times and then as much as I rebuilt it, there was basically one constant: the Kings.
No matter how mad I was at them, no matter how much they pissed me off, no matter how much they did things that just plain irritated me (I was INCENSED at the O'Sullivan trade of all things), they were there. And when my life did disintegrate? There they were, reaching the playoffs for the first time in years. There they were there, going on inspiring win streaks. There was Jonathan Quick, there was Drew Doughty, there was Anze Kopitar, and there was Dustin Brown. For probably the first time, I had a team that I really...fell for too. Yeah, I always loved the Kings. I always hoped they win. I loved Demitra, I loved Frolov, I loved Conroy before his last year, I loved Lubo...but there was always that disconnect. Before that, I loved Deader and Allison and Palffy and Lappy and Potvin. A team I hoped for, but also a team that I knew at its core was just not as good as Colorado or any of the other elite teams. Not as good, not as healthy, not as well-coached, not as loaded with talent.
Maybe it was just a lack of personality or just a lack of talent or something, but I certainly never connected to those teams like I did this one. I hoped. I hoped Roman Cechmanek would be able to stabilize the position. I hoped Mathieu Garon could be the guy. I really hoped Jason Labarbera wasn't a one month wonder/AHL superstar. I hoped Erik Ersberg would be a diamond in the rough. I hoped Ladislav Nagy would find chemistry with Handzus and we'd have this deeper team...but at my heart I knew it wasn't true.
That all changed with those 4 though. Those 4 instilled the belief. Not just hope any more, but an intrinsic knowledge. It felt like a truth: given enough time, those 4 would be at the core of a Stanley Cup championship. I didn't know who would surround them. I never expected the Justin Williams trade to amount to one of our most skilled wingers. I never expected a 4th round pick out of University of Miami (Ohio) to be an extremely effective PMD. Didn't think a throwaway add-in to a salary dump would become our 4th line center, a great pest, and a great grinder. Didn't think we'd ever have Jeff freakin' Carter and Mike freakin' Richards.
And so, after years that I had invested in the team and after years that the team had really invested in me, been there for me, been my distraction from a frustrating life at times, been my safe haven in a chaotic time...they made me truly proud.
I can't really describe what they meant to me over the past several years. I still remember how excited I was when Kopi scored his first goal, darting around the Ducks defense and showing the patience of a veteran. I remember a game following the lockout in which Dustin Brown completely threw off Chris Pronger, one of the best d-men of a generation, for an entire 60 minutes. I remember Drew responding to getting beat by Ryan Smyth by scoring an elite goal for anyone, let alone a rookie defenseman. And Quick...well...what more needs to be said? Kid's just a hero.
I'm just immensely proud and overjoyed that the team I fell in love with and really believed in, the first time I REALLY believed in a team in my life to be honest, did me right. I'm sure most of this is gibberish but my team gave me a feeling I honestly never expected to experience. I'm a Cubs fan and a Kings fan...winning isn't normal for me. I know that if we go back next year, if we go back again in the near future...it won't be as special. It will always be wonderful, great, and magical. Nothing will ever be this unexpected, this extraordinary, and quite frankly, this cathartic.
My Dad started following after the Gretzky trade (I was 3) and we started going to games then. He knew a guy with season tickets and bought 10-12 games off of him every year so that we could go. He bought me a purple and gold kids jersey for my first jersey, which I had some cool moments wearing. In 1997 at the Forum I got picked to go down to center ice and shoot some pucks at the net during intermission and won a Lapperierre signed stick and some San Jose All Star game stuff. I don't remember what year it was exactly, but at the Forum one time we arrived early, saw Dave Taylor sitting in the lower bowl, and I got his signature on it (although my Mom washed it and you can't see it anymore ). After I outgrew that, I sported a white chevy logo jersey. So many great memories going to games at the Forum (and Staples) with my Dad.
After the move to Staples it was the same, 10-12 games per year, playoff tickets when we could get them, and watching on TV. I remember being amazing at how much nicer Staples was than the Forum, although I think walking up through the columns at the Forum still felt cooler. In 2001 or 2 I got my first personalized jersey being a white shield logo with Norstrom on it. My best friend throughout my childhood was a Wings fan, which was fun in 2001.
I joined the Air Force and was stationed in Oklahoma in 2004 and then I deployed from October 2005 to April 2006, so I didn't get to actually see a Kings game the year after the lockout. We didn't have AFN where I was either, so I had to keep up solely through getting streamed radio feeds when I could, reading recaps, and that's when I started browsing LGK and HF. The next season I started getting Center Ice and started watching every single game. Whenever the Kings played in Dallas, I'd buy tickets and make the 7+ hour roundtrip drive down there to see the games, although I had to miss a couple including once after having already bought tickets. After Matti got traded in 07 and Visnovsky signed a nice long contract, I bought a Lubo crown logo jersey. After I got burned on that trade, I've bought a blank crown logo and blank shield logo purple thrid. Even with all the dissapointing years, I think the lowest point as a Kings fan was the Ducks winning the Cup in 07. I had to turn the TV off in disgust before that Cup got presented. I deployed again in late 2008, but to a place with AFN so I made sure to watch every single Kings game they showed, which was actually a surprisingly high percentage of the NHL games they showed. Other than that it was more radio feeds, recaps, and HF.
I got stationed to Europe in March of 2010, and bought ESPN 360's online stuff to replace Center Ice. Since then, I've watched all the non-afternoon regular season games after I get home from work that day (on Gamecenter Live now), but got up at 2-4 in the morning to watch playoff games live.
Finally seeing them win the Cup just feels... amazing. I don't even know how to describe it, but you all know anyway. After Lewis scored the empty netter to really seal it and then Greene, I just stood in front of my coffee table with my hands on my head until the buzzer went off. Even now, 36 hours later and having watched the Cup get passed around a ton of times, it's almost hard to believe it's finally happened. I'm finally going to buy a new logo jersey and my first personalized since my Lubo jersey, the player being Kopitar this time.
Last edited by FootKnight: 06-13-2012 at 10:10 AM.
“I am lost for words. What a win. Went to the locker room with my son Tom after the game. Had a bottle of Bud with me that I have saved since the 1993 final in Montreal. When it was my turn, I poured it into the Stanley Cup and the players poured it down the hatch (and on my suit) while they chanted Pete-Pete-Pete. How bout that! And that old rotten beer tasted great. For me, also special was when Tom drank from the Cup. Thats what life is all about it. To see my son drink from the Stanley Cup brought me to my knees. I cried when I hoisted the Cup over my head.
“I am so grateful to have had such a wonderful hockey career with so many highlights and great memories. We all know the game is about the players not about the trainers but tonight, so many of the players and staff said `Pete, enjoy it as you are a big part of this moment,’ which was kind of all of them.
“After being behind the bench for 34 years here in L.A, 3 years down on the farm with the Springfield Kings, (Calder Cup 1971) plus 6 years Kings Alumni Community Service since my retirement, it was well worth the wait since my first Kings Training Camp in 1969.
“I am so proud to remain part of the greatest organization in the greatest game in the world. You can bet my 2,632 consecutive Kings games that I will be at the parade. Daughter Aimee will be watching from Toyko. Thanks to our loyal fans for hanging in there all these years.
“I am so thankful to be a King for life and will never forget this special night when the Kings won the Stanley Cup.’’
I think one of the best moments I've had with this cup win was my daughter. She was very interested in the cup. Hockey less so, but the cup enticed her for whatever reason. "Is tonight the cup, dad?" Maybe. "Tonight?" Hopefully? "Tonight?" Possibly. They're winning at home.
It was in game 6 that she started actually getting interested in hockey itself. It seemed like it was more to see the cup than anything but she watched a fair bit of the 3rd period after dinner.
Then last night, she says she wants to see a hockey game while we're talking about sports (she's starting to get into basketball and wants to see the Sparks play since it's girls playing basketball). I start talking about the Ontario Reign so we can test the waters. "No, dad, I want to see the Kings!" My wife laughs a bit and I smile.
I don't think I'll need much arm twisting to grab a pair of Kings tickets for the next season
2012 Championship Stories from Kings Fans - What it Means to You [Merged]
Sexy's thoughts:
1. Still walking on freakin' air. I was a Minnesota North Stars fan from childhood in the early '70s through the move in 1993. Of course they never won a cup. I was 'homeless' from 1993-2001 and became a die-hard Kings fan with the Deadmarsh goal. (Or was it Stumpel?)
2. First thought is full credit to Lombardi/Hextall/Futa and Sutter. The patience was well worth it.
3. It's awesome that our homegrown guys led the way. From time to time over the years I doubted Brown and Kopitar but I'm thrilled they came to play when it counted most. I hope they are Kings for life.
4. It's fine with me if Quick gets a contract like Kopi's.
5. I love our role players. Especially AMart: NO GOALS AGAINST in the finals AND the Phoenix series.
6. Glad there were no riots.
7. I wish Nick Nickson got a fraction of the love Bob Miller gets.
8. I guess Loktionov should be traded.
9. REALLY on the fence about Penner. Leaning to the opinion that King brings more without the risk.
10. I wonder if Bernier is willing to ride the pine for another year. I imagine that he will be traded if he asks, but kept otherwise.
11. I wonder what Toronto would give for Bernier, Lokti & rights to Penner.
12. I think we will be busy on draft day & I bet it will be pretty exciting.
13. Honestly I thought Rich Hammond's 'performance' during the run was utterly weak. Other blogs too. We need better bloggers.
14. Still totally devastated about the Deadmarsh news. Is there anything we can do?
I was looking over the cup hoisting moments with plenty of goosebumps, then went from the GDT area to the main Kings boards to see 'Congrats from Sabreland!' 'Oil nation says congratulations!' 'Congratulations from New York!!!!' and new threads from every fanbase on the board, ALLLLL the way down our page. That's what gave me a knee jerk, and off I went crying. I wasn't hit from our own playing, the 16-4 record, the emotional ups and downs of the playoffs...it was this forum, and how we collectively reach out to others; that sunk in the most.
I was looking over the cup hoisting moments with plenty of goosebumps, then went from the GDT area to the main Kings boards to see 'Congrats from Sabreland!' 'Oil nation says congratulations!' 'Congratulations from New York!!!!' and new threads from every fanbase on the board, ALLLLL the way down our page. That's what gave me a knee jerk, and off I went crying. I wasn't hit from our own playing, the 16-4 record, the emotional ups and downs of the playoffs...it was this forum, and how we collectively reach out to others; that sunk in the most.
My random thought is no matter what else happens with the Kings the rest of my life, they will never be Top 5 in the Cupless lists anymore. That always made me slightly sad to see that or to have people say to me you mean they've never won the Cup?
Another random thought I wondered is do the other Monarchs who weren't Black Aces upset they weren't invited to the party or will this make them work harder?
Another one that crossed my mind is will this mean that the Kings will get more respect from the LA Media? Is this the end of Jonathan Swift, Anze Kopidor and Brad Doty? Will they finally realize the Kings play at Staples Center, not the Arco Arena in Sacramento? Will they realize Bailey is the Kings' mascot?
Another thing I wonder is has anyone spoken to Ryan Smyth about this? I'd be interested to hear his comments regarding this. Same with Jack Johnson. Will either of them use this as a reason to play harder against the Kings?
Another thing that I wonder is when is next year's schedule coming out? I want to be there for the Home Opener when they raise the banner. I just hope they open at home on a Saturday evening.
Lastly, has Brownie gone to bed yet? In the pics from the Dodgers game, he still kinda looks like he did on Leno.
What the cup meant to me has a similar story as many others. That of frustration leading to over whelming joy leading to June 11th, 2012. The happiest day of my life!!
It was always a bucket list item for me to attended a Stanley Cup final game with the LA Kings in it. On June 6th that became a reality, but it ended in disappointment. On June 10th I was able to land a ticket another Kings game. Game 6.
It's at this point this story needs to go back in time to September 25th, 2009. The saddest day of my life. The day my mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 61 (leaving me motherless at only 25). The last Christmas gift my mother ever got me was a ticket package to then struggling Los Angeles Kings!
So here I am on June 11th, 2012 walking back into Staple Center with another shot to to witness my wildest dreams come true....June 11th is my mother's birthday she would've turned 64 on monday. From now on till I have kids and get married (and maybe even still...lol) June 11th will be the best day of my life! The same day the greatest women in my life was born! Long after the final buzzer sounded I looked down at the scoreboard on the sides. The final score was 6-1. 61 the age of my mom when she died. The final goal scored by Greene (Green was her favorite color) It was at that moment I looked up at the rafters. to the heavens and just whispered "Thank You". My mother had one more amazing gift left for me!
What the cup meant to me has a similar story as many others. That of frustration leading to over whelming joy leading to June 11th, 2012. The happiest day of my life!!
It was always a bucket list item for me to attended a Stanley Cup final game with the LA Kings in it. On June 6th that became a reality, but it ended in disappointment. On June 10th I was able to land a ticket another Kings game. Game 6.
It's at this point this story needs to go back in time to September 25th, 2009. The saddest day of my life. The day my mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 61 (leaving me motherless at only 25). The last Christmas gift my mother ever got me was a ticket package to then struggling Los Angeles Kings!
So here I am on June 11th, 2012 walking back into Staple Center with another shot to to witness my wildest dreams come true....June 11th is my mother's birthday she would've turned 64 on monday. From now on till I have kids and get married (and maybe even still...lol) June 11th will be the best day of my life! The same day the greatest women in my life was born! Long after the final buzzer sounded I looked down at the scoreboard on the sides. The final score was 6-1. 61 the age of my mom when she died. The final goal scored by Greene (Green was her favorite color) It was at that moment I looked up at the rafters. to the heavens and just whispered "Thank You". My mother had one more amazing gift left for me!
Sorry for your loss and thanks for the beautiful story, I have teared up again
Before the season, really right after they got Richards, people started picking the Kings to maybe do something this year. Then the season starts to play out, and we all know how that looked. 10 weeks ago, Penner and Stoll should have been thrown-in's to get Carter, or just released for the sake of it.
Then the playoffs started. Richards has a great Game 1 against Vancouver. They go up 3-0 in the series before anyone knows what happened. Stoll gets the series winner in OT. They go up 3-0 again against St. Louis. Even though there's no way it can happen, they go up 3-0 yet again against Phoenix. Penner gets to series winner in OT. Everyone knows it can't happen again, because it's already been ridiculous and happened 3 times, but they go up 3-0 again against New Jersey. 10-0 on the road before their first loss.
Healthy enough that everyone but Clifford(and Gagne sort of) didn't miss a game due to injury. You can pick out a moment for almost every player. Richardson had only 1 point, but it was a goal that tied the game in the 3rd period of Game 5 against Vancouver. Kopitar, Brown, Doughty, and Quick all had so many moments that any of the 4 could have easily won the Conn Smythe.
The Kings had a chance to win the Cup in less than 20 games. That's crazy. The pre-season expectations, combined with the regular season they had, combined with the history the Kings made in the playoffs, makes for a weird Cup(don't know what a normal one feels like though). It was predicted that it could happen, but a total surprise how it happened.
I have been a Kings "fan" since 93. Back then it was really because my brother was a Kings superfan. Being an impressionable 9-yr-old with a 19-yr-old brother, I really looked up him and wanted to emulate him. His favorite teams were my favorite teams. His favorite music was my favorite music and so on. It really wasn't until I got to go to my first Kings game that I developed a true love for the sport and the Kings. IIRC I got to watch the Kings beat the Stars 4-2 in the Staples Center's first home closer. While the game was interesting itself, I got particularly drawn into the crowd banter. They were ruthless. Ed Belfour had recently had some trouble with the law and a bit of a drinking problem. I smiled as a young teenager while listening to such things as "Hey Eddie! Three minutes to Happy Hour!" "Eddie! Wanna beer?" and of course my favorite(which I still use today) "Hit him with your purse!" whenever a fight would break out. So delved into the blackhole that was the Kings. Perennial losers. But hey, they weren't the Mighty Ducks. The 2000-2001 playoffs where the Kings won their first series since 93 against the heavily favored Red Wings turned me into a fanatic. I turned on a radio to listen to games(who listens to the radio, right?) and I sought hockey conversations wherever I could. Of course, then the injuries happened. Then the trades happened. Then the Kings drifted back into the blackhole of obscurity. While I did not experience the heartbreak my brother had over the Kings losing in 93, I got to experience the despair when watching a team fall apart and become a shell of has beens and wash outs. I still clung to the team though because they were my team. Every losing season. Every really super crappy player that put on the uniform was still a King and I either cheered them on or affectionately jeered them on at least to the TV. It wasn't until my brother got season seats that I began hoarding my cash to go to Kings games whenever I could so that I could yell at Modry(my favorite bad player for the Kings) from the 300s where he couldn't hear me. This was also roughly around the time I discovered HFBoards.
For me, the Kings winning the Stanley Cup was a great premise for a bet I knew I'd lose or making a promise I couldn't keep. It was the "and monkeys might fly out of my butt" response to seemingly impossible situations.
Even this season when barreling down on the trade deadline and being uncertain of who would even remain on the team I had the all too familiar "here we go again" feeling. Then the trade happened and the Kings took off. They didn't just win the Cup. They won it so dominantly that I don't know if they could ever top it. That's pretty damn good for a first time.
This year I had actually promised myself if the Kings won the Cup, I'd get in shape and stop being a general fat ass knowing there was no way that could happen. Here's to becoming a skinnier me.
This doesn't mean as much to me as it does to most of you as this was my first season of even watching ice hockey. I was fortunate to ride the highs and lows of the regular season, which made the run in the playoffs that much sweeter. This isn't something I will forget, and I have a lot of love for this team and in such a short period of time.
“I am lost for words. What a win. Went to the locker room with my son Tom after the game. Had a bottle of Bud with me that I have saved since the 1993 final in Montreal. When it was my turn, I poured it into the Stanley Cup and the players poured it down the hatch (and on my suit) while they chanted Pete-Pete-Pete. How bout that! And that old rotten beer tasted great. For me, also special was when Tom drank from the Cup. Thats what life is all about it. To see my son drink from the Stanley Cup brought me to my knees. I cried when I hoisted the Cup over my head.
“I am so grateful to have had such a wonderful hockey career with so many highlights and great memories. We all know the game is about the players not about the trainers but tonight, so many of the players and staff said `Pete, enjoy it as you are a big part of this moment,’ which was kind of all of them.
“After being behind the bench for 34 years here in L.A, 3 years down on the farm with the Springfield Kings, (Calder Cup 1971) plus 6 years Kings Alumni Community Service since my retirement, it was well worth the wait since my first Kings Training Camp in 1969.
“I am so proud to remain part of the greatest organization in the greatest game in the world. You can bet my 2,632 consecutive Kings games that I will be at the parade. Daughter Aimee will be watching from Toyko. Thanks to our loyal fans for hanging in there all these years.
“I am so thankful to be a King for life and will never forget this special night when the Kings won the Stanley Cup.’’
- Pete Demers
Glad to see him get a chance to drink from the Cup. IIRC during the 93 run didnt they say he had a bottle of some sort of alcohol that he was keeping for when the Kings won the Cup and how he had had it for years?
Been a fan since 83,84. Went to my first game in Luc's rookie season. I remember the Dodgers winning, I remember when the Bears went to the SB a few years back and how excited I was about that. But neither of those came close to what I felt when game 6 was over. The anticipation, butterflies and chills just kept getting stronger and stronger. When that final horn went off I felt like it was a dream that I never wanted to wake up from. More than a few tears of happiness were shed in this household. Only thing that would have made it better was for my dad, who had introduced me to this sport when I was a wee little lad, could have been on the West Coast for it.
To all my fellow fans, Herby in particular, that Ive had different viewpoints on differing issues with I apologize. Even though we have differing views on some things, this is the ultimate goal as fans we have wanted together for all our times as fans. This one is for you guys as I know youve all been fans longer than I have. Hopefully this is just the first time we can all come together and say screw the differences as our team are the champs.
This doesn't mean as much to me as it does to most of you as this was my first season of even watching ice hockey. I was fortunate to ride the highs and lows of the regular season, which made the run in the playoffs that much sweeter. This isn't something I will forget, and I have a lot of love for this team and in such a short period of time.
Certainly must've been an odd season for you, but also a memorable one. Congrats!
). After I outgrew that, I sported a white chevy logo jersey. So many great memories going to games at the Forum (and Staples) with my Dad. 
