June 5, 2012 L.A. KINGS: ONE MORE WIN FOR YOUR FAITHFUL FANS

I was 9 or 10 years old when I started following the Kings during their first season.  I loved the Dodgers and the Rams and the Lakers, and I found that I loved watching hockey, too.  I even loved listening to the games on the radio!  I had a little black transistor radio back then.  I would fall asleep listening to Vin Scully and Chick Hearn, and, for the Kings games, Jiggs McDonald and Dan Avey.  Remember Chick’s call on Jerry West’s last second “80-footer” which allowed the Lakers to go to o/t against the Knicks in the finals?  Thinking about that brings tears of joy to my eyes.  Turning my little radio on to listen to Vinny and the Dodgers was always a thrill, whether it was the regular season or preseason. The same could be said for the Los Angeles Kings radio broadcasts, too.  My heroes on the Kings were Whitey Widing, Butch Goring, and Cowboy Bill Flett.  I even recall games with Terry Sawchuck in goal and Harry Howell playing D.  The Kings were pretty decent back then and made the playoffs, and I lived and died with them with every victory and loss.  I have lived and died with the Kings for 45 years.  When they lose, I am disgusted and I can’t stand to open the morning newspaper.  When the Kings win, I devour everything I can about them.

There are a handful of moments in Kings history which cause watery eyes, and their current run (15-2) through the Stanley Cup playoffs is one of them.  One moment was the “Miracle on Manchester”, which I attended in April of 1982.  That game, up to this moment, is the greatest victory in Kings history, though the Game 7 win in Toronto in 1993 comes really close!  Unfortunately, Kings hockey history is dominated by mediocrity and “almost good enough”.  The effort and passion have been there for 45 years, though, and Kings fans like myself are some of the most faithful and dedicated in sports, whether they live in L.A. or Cucamonga or Moose Jaw.

So, this article is about one more win for the hardcore, long-frustrated, passionate L.A. Kings fans, young and old, dead or living.

This article isn’t intended to put any additional undue pressure on you guys, but, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE KINGS!!  PLEASE…

…please win one more game against the Devils for the boy with the transistor radio, and the kids using ice cubes for pucks and a dog house for a goal.

Please win one more game for Bob and Nick, and for Jim and Daryl.  And for Jiggs and Dan and Roy, too.

Please win one more game for the moms and dads that drove their youngsters to Topanga, North Hollywood, Paramount and Pasadena and  Culver and Ice-o-plex during the wee hours.

Please win one more game for the kids at the playgrounds with the street hockey sticks and no-bounce balls —- the ones at Lawrence in Chatsworth, the ones in Oak Park, the kids and grown-ups in the big empty parking garages below the Woodland Hills skyscrapers at midnight, the street hockey players in the gyms at USC and CSUN, the ones playing past midnight in the parking lot at Music-Plus, the guys at the rinks in San Berdoo and Loma Linda…the teams at Santa Barbara and San Diego and at the rinks in O.C.

Please win one more game for the peanut guy at the Forum —- the “good service now, rotten service later” dude.  “Feed your family for a quarter.”   “Celebrate the tie.”

Please win one more game for the Forum ushers and usherettes who looked the other way when we sneaked down to the loge level.

Please win one more game for Mark and Jay, Marcel and Dave and Charlie.

Please win one more game for Jack and Jerry.

Win one more game for Pully and Rob and Barry and Bob and Larry and Pat and Terry and all 700 former Kings head coaches.

Win one more game for the “Animal” guy who cross-checked me in the back while I stood in front of his street hockey goal.  He was ejected.

Win one more game for Jim McCain and all of the Northridge and Woodland Hills hockey team buddies.

Win one more for everyone who despises Tinkerbell.

Win one for Stu Nahan.

And Pete Demers and Cap Raeder.

Win one for the guy who records every Kings game and watches after he gets off work at midnight.

Win one for the Mantas and the guys and gals in the adult hockey leagues in Simi, the valley, Barstow and South L.A.  They have leagues in Barstow, don’t they?

Win one for Rogie.

And win one for Mario, Kelly, Robb, Felix, and Glenn, etc., etc.

Win one for the two babes — my pretend girlfriends — in the yellow Robitaille jerseys at the Forum in the mid 1980s.

Win one for Tomas and Tony.

Win one for the ticket scalpers that we saw at every game in front of the Forum, including the one who didn’t give me correct change for my twenty, and for the guy who broke into my Mustang in the parking lot and stole my stereo amplifier.

Win one for the folks who skipped work and school and got in line at Ticketmaster the moment that playoff tickets went on sale.

Win one for all of the fans who remained at the Forum for the 3rd period thirty years ago —- even though the Kings were behind 5-0.

Win one for everyone who despised Sather and Muckler and Messier and Anderson.

Win one for Wayne and Marty.  Especially Marty.

Win one for the little kid looking through the fence at the older kids, wishing that he could play hockey, too.

Win one for the three guys on rolling skates at the church parking lot who decided to go against my brother and me, wearing tennis shoes.  Can you say, domination?

Win one for the all of the hockey referees in Southern California, ice and street and roller, even the ones who called those totally unwarranted penalties on me.

Win one for the person who screamed out “LET’S GO BUTCHY” at the perfect time.  Every game.

Win one for the guys who clapped and hollered out of sequence.  Which reminds me, win one for Joe Tripoli.

Win one for everyone who yelled out “HAROLD”,  over and over again.

Win one for the Stanley Cup Horn guy with the funny rooting style, the San Diego Chicken, the White Hats, and for the Polka Boys in the last row.

Win one for all of the Zamboni drivers in Southern California, especially the ones at the tiny Van Nuys ice rink where the ice barely covered the pipes underneath.

Win one for my former boss Boni, who married the girl on his team.

Win one for the guy who checked our school IDs at the Forum so we could buy tickets for five bucks each.

Win one for those of us who had to endure the delayed telecasts on Channel 9 and ON TV, and who had to go to friend’s houses to watch our beloved team.

Win one for Kings fans who were stuck going 3 mph on the San Diego Freeway every Saturday evening prior to home games.  And win one for the staff at Rally Burger on Century.  Or was it on Manchester?

Win one for Butchy and for EVERYONE who was at that playoff game or listening on their radio when Goring scored the winning goal and was carried off the ice on the shoulders of the victorious Kings.

Win one for the two guys who left the Philly game with a minute remaining after the Flyers scored an empty net goal to go up by two.  When they reached their vehicle, the game was tied.  UGH.  UGHHHHHHHH.

Win one for all of the Kings fans at the Forum who marveled at the unbelievable passes that Gretzky was making — in his first exhibition game at the Forum.

Win one for the guy that sat in front of me every game and leaned so far forward that I couldn’t see half of the ice.

Win one for the girl with the Hrudey jersey who hardly ever said a word, and for that Jamie guy from Van Nuys who sat next to us.

Win one for Art Guiney and the Reseda Sports Shop, and all of the skate sharpening guys at all of the rinks.

Win one for my dad, even though he really never admitted to liking hockey.

Win one more for the broomball people that came to the rink at 1:30 a.m. after the hockey teams were done.

Win one for the guy who was jumping up and down and screaming and celebrating in a Ness City, KS, motel room when Donelly and Gretzky scored in the 3rd period in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs.

Win one for Luc.  And Jimmy.

Win one for the fans who suffered through three o/t losses to Montreal.

Win one for Jerry’s kids and everyone in McNall’s booth.

Win one for Warren Weibe.  And Frank Mahoney.

Win one for Wayne’s dad.

Win one for the total strangers that we were hugging each other after Bozek scored.

Win one for the kid who painted all of the NHL team emblems on the garage wall 37 years ago, and for the folks who live in that house now and haven’t painted over it.

Win one for all of us who were devastated when Charlie injured his leg.

Win one for our teammate who drove all the way from Bakersfield and donned the goalie pads and gave his best every game.

Win one for the guy who could remember every horrid Kings trade and transaction during the 1980s.  He still can’t get over the fact that the Kings could have and should have drafted Ray Bourque.

Win one for Bruce.

Win one for the guy in the produce backroom with the game Kings’ game blaring on the radio.

Win one for Tiger.  And Randy.  And Hutch.

Win one for Ziggy and Bernie, Lappy and Mattias.

Win one for Garry and Larry and Jack.

Win just one more this week for all of the long-suffering stay-at-home Kings fans on the planet…

…if you don’t mind the request.  Thank you for the special moments and fulfilling playoff hockey this spring —- we lifelong Kings fans love you!

bill@stormbruiser.com

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