The Passion Of The Los Angeles Kings Fan-Base

(Via @RaeCroteau)

The stories of bonding over the Kings with friends and family, a comforting touch after losing a loved one, making new friends and meeting your future husband or wife or facing head on some tough life obstacles and overcoming them were direct results due to becoming a Kings fan.  How a hockey team in Los Angeles of a certain cold sport that was born out of the hellish environments of a brutal Canadian winter could end up inspiring and connecting fans is truly uplifting and touching to me.  Winning the Stanley Cup without a doubt helps as well but what about during the time when the Kings were not as successful and things did not go as hoped on the ice?

Augie from Sherman Oaks, CA, a fan since the 1976-77 season,

“I couldn’t believe it when Wayne Gretzky was coming to LA in 1988.  I was excited about it. I thought the new look of the Kings was amazing. The aggressive & intimidating look of the silver & black Los Angeles (at the time) Raiders color scheme combination on the new jerseys was hypnotic to my teenage eyes. We were finally going to be “great,” at least that’s what I thought. We were good but we also learned that having Gretzky play for your team didn’t guarantee the Stanley Cup was going to come with him. The winning in the regular season was refreshing but the disappointing playoff exits were even more crushing now because we were falling short of meeting the lofty expectations that came with having Wayne Gretzky on your team. That didn’t change until 1993 when the Kings got past a tough Toronto Maple Leafs team in an incredible 7 game series to finally get the chance at a Stanley Cup! We all know what happened though. The Finals loss to the Montreal Canadiens would leave a bad taste in the mouths of fans and we saw the beginning of a downward spiral that left us fans dazed and confused.”

Oh yes, the 1993 Stanley Cup final loss to Montreal. A bitter feeling that is still felt by Kings’ fans that witnessed it to this day but even in losing, the Kings were providing its fan base with some more valuable life lessons.

Rosie continues,

“The ’93 playoff run was literally, in every way my first real sports heartbreak. Actually in general it was my real first heartbreak period! To this day when I talk about the ’93 season, I turn back to that 14/15-year-old girl whose heart was broken. The girl who cried so much that night, she refused to go to school the next day because her eyes were so puffy. The years we didn’t make the playoffs were very hard years as a fan but honestly those years are the ones that taught me what it truly meant to be a fan. It taught me that you can’t only be a fan when your team is winning and then turn your back on them when they are losing.”

TJ (who I proudly called “Teej”), adds

“A friend took me to my first game in 1990 and I wanted to go more afterwards. I was immediately hooked so when the Kings went to the final in ’93 I was clueless to just how difficult it was to get there.  I was thinking, “2 years as a fan and boom, a Stanley Cup final!”  When the Kings got back to the finals in 2012 it had become so clear to me that I had not realized in all these years just what a tough accomplishment it truly was.”

Olivia continues,

“I wasn’t alive for it but I’ve heard about the 1993 Stanley Cup final run and it irritates me that we lost. The Kings not making the playoffs after getting so far must have been a huge disappointment to the whole organization and fan base?”

It was.  Losing the chance of finally winning the Stanley Cup was one thing, but the dark ages that followed by not making the playoffs (until 1998) only made the loss hurt more.

Brett from Canoga Park, CA, a fan since 1983 (or so),

“It was frustrating. Before Gretzky arrived, it was like, “can we just get to the playoffs please!?”  I loved Hockey so just watching it was still better than nothing and a glimmer of light is better than nothing at all.  Then in getting so far in the playoffs [in 1993] and getting so close to winning it all, you just want to do it again and again.”

Doug from Los Angeles, who became a fan in that very 1993 season,

“I became totally engrossed during that season, mostly because Luc Robitaille scored 63 goals! I still have and wear (because they are still in great shape) shirts from 1993.  They still fit me! Got to go to a few playoff games where I bought the said t-shirts and got totally into hockey. We bought tix in the Forum/Hollywood Park parking lot for $60 each.  Wow! I had to wait in line for tickets of my other fave, the Los Angeles Lakers.  The dark years of not winning were horrible but I still wore my Kings gear, enjoyed the games and preached about the boys.”

Renee from Edmonton, AB, who became a fan during in 1996 remembers the dark ages with nostalgia,

“The dark era was … fun? It was a time where I was just becoming a Kings fan and it was definitely challenging but it helped to strengthen my loyalty to the team. As a fan now, there isn’t much that I’m afraid of after going through that.”

Augie continues,

“Prior to the arrival of Gretzky, the Kings management was notorious for trading away young talent to acquire veterans that were either past their prime or near their expiration date. This led to (Kings owner at the time) Bruce McNall’s thirst for spare parts of the 80’s Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup machine. Eventually McNall ended up in trouble and couldn’t meet payroll while the Bank of America tried to force the Kings into bankruptcy, which led to the team being bought by Sudikoff & Cohen! WHO?! What a mess from 1993-95. The playoff drought of 2002-03 to 2008-09… what can be said? I still loved my LA Kings and each year brought new hope but watching the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim make the Stanley Cup finals twice (in 2003 and 2007) and eventually becoming the first west coast team to win the Stanley Cup (in 2007) was crushing. Talk about Cup envy!”

It was crushing indeed but as crushing as it was, the true LA King’s fans held firm in their belief and was rewarded in the end for doing so. Kevin continues,

“I AM VERY PROUD TO BE A KINGS FAN SINCE I WAS A KID IN THE ‘80S! PROUD BECAUSE THE DUCK AND SHARK FANS MAY NOT HAVE EVER HAD A TEAM IF NOT FOR GRETZKY BECOMING AN LA KING! I’M EVEN MORE PROUD BECAUSE THE KINGS ARE THE ONLY TEAM FROM HERE [IN LOS ANGELES ORIGINALLY]! EVERY OTHER TEAM HERE FROM EACH SPORT MIGRATED FROM ELSEWHERE! I AM A FAN OF THE RAIDERS, LAKERS AND DODGERS BUT THEY ALL MOVED HERE AND THAT’S FINE! IT WAS THE WEST THAT WAS SETTLED LAST RIGHT? BUT TO HAVE A TEAM [LIKE THE KINGS] BE BORN HERE AND FINALLY HAVING THIS SUCCESS MAKES ME VERY PROUD!”

This pride and passion isn’t just held or was celebrated for the native California Kings fans but spread out worldwide to what I like to call “Kings family International.”

Tyler from Nanaimo, BC,

“I became a Kings fan around 1988-89. Collecting hockey cards I always liked the King’s jerseys and when our family went to Disneyland for vacation, my dad picked me up a Kings jersey and I was a fan ever since. The Kings winning the Cup in 2012 was the best thing to ever happen to me in this life. I loved every second of it. We killed the opposition. When Jarret Stoll took out the Canucks I LOST IT! And thank you (New Jersey Devil forward) Steve Bernier for taking that double minor in the finals. I can watch the outcome of that power play over and over and over. I cried when Captain Dustin Brown lifted the Cup. Finally I had seen it. I had waited for this moment for 24 years!!! YESSS!!!”

Carolyn from Montreal, QC, is a French Canadian who speaks English as a second language and has been a Kings fan since 1990 because of Wayne Gretzky,

“He was my idol. He changed the Kings and helped make hockey more popular in California. He had such a huge impact. Living here and losing to the Habs (in ’93) was hard but I was staying positive and doing my best to survive all the comments I was receiving from the Habs fans. I knew the Kings would win a Cup [someday.] The Stanley Cup run and victory in 2012 made me so happy! That whole playoffs was magical. The 2014 Stanley Cup run and victory in 2014 was very tough on [my] nerves. I had to use all my superstitions!”

Which was what?

She adds,

“I have a lucky shirt and I make sacrifices to the Gods of hockey.”

Sacrifices?

“Yeah like trying not to make fun of the Habs or the Blues…for a few days. I also try not to watch the Kings on French TV.”

Wilson Crossland is a Kings fan from all the way in London, England.

“I became a Kings fan in 2007. I went to see them play the Ducks at the London O2 arena on the 29th of September which was on my birthday. I have followed the team ever since. Being in the UK, it means that there is a massive time difference. However I made sure I watched every single game live, meaning that some of the games started at 3am here. Yes it was tough but totally worth it.”

As a King’s fan who lives in a different time zone than the pacific time zone of Los Angeles, I can relate to this.  Wilson continues,

“What I’ve always admired about King’s fans is the levels of loyalty and passion that the fans have always held for the team during the dark years of not making the playoffs. I truly understand and feel how all those years of pain make the feelings of success the Kings have recently experienced all the more sweeter and magical! The 2014 Cup run is one that will forever be remembered as one of the greatest displays of grit, determination, passion and “never say die” attitudes ever! The way the team pulled it back from the brink of total humiliation at the hands of their fierce rivals is without a doubt the sweetest of Cup wins in recent history.”

Amen to that brother. Whether from the early years to the Gretzky era or from the dark ages of post 1993 and post 2002 to the current golden age of King’s hockey, being a King’s fan takes a certain commitment, toughness and sacrifice.

Augie,

“I perceive this current season to be a lesson not only to the players but also to their fan base. Savor the flavor of winning, never take it for granted, always appreciate the good times but make sure you persevere through the hard times.  Long time fans that have suffered for decades know this well but the newer fans may not be familiar with the struggle. With that said, the emotional spectrum that I have experienced as a King’s fan is like no other that can be stirred in me by any other sports franchise. To be able to have a conversation with a legend like Luc Robitaille at a King’s game or to learn how to play hockey from a King’s alum like Daryl Evans is something that other sports don’t readily offer to their fans. I got to play hockey with Robitaille, Evans, Rob Blake, Jay Wells, Ian Turnbell and Larry Murphy.  3 of them are hockey hall of famers! What other sport can a fan do that in?”

None in fact.

LA Kings hockey girl,

“Being an LA Kings fan means to be patient, loyal and believing when you can’t find much hope. It means learning personal lessons about teamwork, dedication and perseverance. It is really something that the team teaches us all this and in turn we teach the team as well.”

Tonya Rose,

“My family had always loved hockey but my sister and I only started paying attention to the NHL in 2011.  It was nice because I was accepted into the Kings family and finally it felt like I belonged somewhere in the hockey world.”

So what are the chances of the Kings still making it to the playoffs this year?

Robert from Tulare, CA,

“Being a Kings fan has been a very important part of my life.  I feel like a member of an exclusive club of weird but wonderful people and it’s a badge I wear with honor. After last season I’ll always have hope. These guys have shown they are capable of doing anything.

Talking to everyone, I honestly felt less desperation about the Kings current struggles and more hopeful overall.  The Los Angeles Kings mean a lot to me as they mean so much to so many people of different ages and from so many different places and eras for a variety of different personal reasons that it truly is beautiful. It’s this passion that drives us all, not only as fans watching and following the Kings play but even in life with our everyday struggles. We love the Kings and share this love with others because the Kings have left different imprints in all of our lives.  One year of possibly not making the playoffs, even in defense of the Stanley Cup isn’t going to change any of that for any of us.

As my friend Dani puts it,

“Can’t win ‘em all.”

Very true but win or lose, we all still have each other and our common love for the Los Angeles Kings and that I feel is what will make our fan base a winner forever, whether the hockey Gods like it or not.

“We won the Cup because I went with a clean-shaven look.  It’s because of that and nothing else,” said Augie with a wink.

I know Augie, I know.  All jokes aside and superstitious or not, we all do our part because we truly are all Kings.

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