On being a long time fan.

[SaltyElkHunter]

Nicest players I remember from the early 90’s as a kid at the forum were rookie Rob Blake, Tony Granato, and Charlie Huddy. Man … sitting outside the forum club for autographs sure are some great memories.

 

[KINGS17]

Now I want to know which players are weebs.

I am sure you can guess which players are not fan friendly.

Some guys just are not that, hmm shall we say interesting. You can probably guess who those might be as well.

I shouldn't have left out Quick. He is a good guy.

Also, have to mention Jim Fox and Daryl Evans are nice guys. God Bless, Daryl.

 

[AbsentMojo]

This is a fun thread... hockey mom on my kids team did interior decorating for Janet TGO while Wayne was coaching the yotes.. went to the game and after Janet met us w backstage passes so we could meet Wayne outside the locker room. The kids did most of the interaction I just shook his hand and said thanks for doing this... he def put out the effort spent 3 or 4 minutes w us. Met Bob at local rink - he was there promoting youth hockey on behalf of the Kings. I came w my kid and got to chat w him for a bit. He was exactly what you would expect..kind and funny. Was at a tournament at Valencia and met Teamu who was there watching his kid play.. had a little youth hockey related banter w him - he was really nice. Met Jim Fox at Kerlan Job orthopedic a long time ago he was riding stationary bike rehabbing and joking around w all of us grunts who were also rehabbing knees...

 

[LAKings88]

I met DL at a practice. Kings had just drafted B. Schenn. Told him thanks for doing it the right way. He crushed my hand.

Bob Miller was awesome of course.

Luc was cool with me.

I remember going home after a game at the forum. My brother’s girlfriend was driving and we were next to Gretz’s black Porsche 9-11. We waived and he waived back. We were in Kings gear of course. She honked her horn as he left the freeway. Later in a book he said it would be nice to go home without being honked at.

 

[Bandit]

 

[Kurrilino]

I follow the Kings since 93 so i would call me a long term fan.

My take on this is that there is nothing like a franchise-fan relationship.
I want to see the team play and cheer on, beside that i don't care about much.

The only thing i would like to see more is to run the organization more like a business than a charity.
The team is the product i buy and this should be the only thing on Blake's mind.

Beside that, the players are humans too and i respect their privacy.
The socializing only happens at direct charity events where you buy autographs or pictures.

My 2 cents

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

You're not officially indoctrinated as a Kings fan unless you urinate in the horse troughs at The Forum. That includes the ladies as well.

 

[LAKings88]

Man oh man do I have a lot to say on this subject.

I'll spare you all here and just say... I brought this topic up during our conversations with the 2012 team when I was allowed to interview a bunch of them in August during their 10th anniversary celebration.

Intrigued now. Will any of that make it into a show?

You're not officially indoctrinated as a Kings fan unless you urinate in the horse troughs at The Forum. That includes the ladies as well.

Don't cross the streams.

 

[Bandit]

You're not officially indoctrinated as a Kings fan unless you urinate in the horse troughs at The Forum. That includes the ladies as well.

And you're not a Ducks fan officially until you swim in them.

 

[yankeeking]

I was not impressed with Gretzky....I will tell you that.....could have been the situation etc, as I look back now I understand it more, but at 12....I know he was an ass....... Jim Fox as well.......

Dave Taylor though was an absolute beaut.....

still couldn't believe what davey did one day after practice , he was there on business as he was working for i think st. louis then and i happened to park my old truck next to his rental and i had left the lights on and my son and i were getting ready to push it to pop the clutch when he walked up told me to hop in and started pushing it and it took a couple of tries but he hung right in, when i thanked him he just said no problem happens sometimes .......LOVE THE GUY
Personally i think they the guys hear us when we cheer , big response back in the seventies when multiple standing ovations of 5 + mins when they came out to play the bruins in 76 or 77 in the second round and on the opposite end how hurt doughty was when the crowd boo'ed them for lack of effort against the blues one night . I have interacted with a few hockey players in general/business and never have had a bad reaction or been dismissed , though sather took my sales person to the cleaners in negotiating a sale one time, at the end i said to him damn coach you just gave Jagr and you beat me down for a few hundred bucks and his reply was classic "this is MY money '...............having spent more than enough to send my four kids to good colleges in the last 46 yrs and countless hours at the forum, staples and even at our home in anaheim i can't understand those that don't go to games live and that might be why i can understand their constant bitching about things out of our control, its not in their souls, may be in their hearts but tell me how you don't go games because of xxx WTF this damn team has dominated my sports life since the playoffs in 74/75 and i am a fan of the yankees, the lakers , the giants all of whom have won multiple championships over the years but none could compare to winning those two cups and that i got to share it not only with my friends and family but with other like minded folks here best of both worlds .

 

[deaderhead28]

Been a fan since 1982 and the whining seems to have gotten worse since the Kings won their 2 cups. Kings play in a fair weather city where the Lakers and Dodgers are top dogs and a city with around 8 professional teams. The city isn't a hockey town and it won't ever be in my opinion with the Lakers, Dodgers and two NFL teams.I seen worse things said on HFBOARDS than anyone like Bernstein. If anyone dislikes the takes of any sports personality, simply stop following them and reading their takes like I turn off the TV when Patrick ONeal comes on.

 

[LAKings88]

Thanks for these @All The Kings Men

Nice to hear their thoughts on the fans. Brownie was awesome.

 

[mysterman2]

my two cents- never met a player who was an outright ahole. They all seemed pretty cool and regular blokes...didnt ever have a personal experience with someone who had an ego or an outright D***Head.

Pretty sure the same couldnt be said about baseball players.

 

[Lt Dan]

So I’ve sat on this thought awhile and I thought getting it out would be a bit of a catharsis.

I’ve thought about long term fans and their relationships to teams. I often wonder how much players think about or care about fans and club history, maybe @All The Kings Men can shed some light if inclined.

My thought started with Hoven and Bernstein calling some fans donkeys.

Neither of those two should be insulting anyone. It's a glass house situation

 

[KINGS17]

Now I want to know which players are weebs.

I wouldn't want to label any particular players as "weebs". You can probably guess the players that are not very fan friendly or indifferent.

I told you some of the best. I would also add Bob Miller will spend a fair amount of time with you, if you ask him interesting questions. We talked for around 45 minutes outside a restaurant in Vegas the night before Frozen Fury. Bob is a great guy, and a great representative of the Kings. Jim Fox is as well.

 

[Fishhead]

The only player I thought was jerky was Chris Pronger, dude would blow by kids who waited 90 minutes for his autograph or to ask him something. Wouldn't even glance at them. Not the best dude for sure. Sean was a different story, you could tell he was happy to play so long in the league.

 

[johnjm22]

Been a fan since 1982 and the whining seems to have gotten worse since the Kings won their 2 cups. Kings play in a fair weather city where the Lakers and Dodgers are top dogs and a city with around 8 professional teams. The city isn't a hockey town and it won't ever be in my opinion with the Lakers, Dodgers and two NFL teams.I seen worse things said on HFBOARDS than anyone like Bernstein. If anyone dislikes the takes of any sports personality, simply stop following them and reading their takes like I turn off the TV when Patrick ONeal comes on.

There was always this belief that if the Kings won the SC that hockey would get much more popular in LA.

That didn't happen.

In fact I think the Kings are less popular now than before they won the cup.

 

[Statto]

I was 9 when I visited LA (and am yet to go back), then discovered hockey at aged 12 and because the only place I’d visited in NA at that point was LA, I was instantly a Kings fan. I became absolutely obsessed with the sport and the stats and that has never subsided although I no longer memorize every player from each season, their goals assists etc. At one point could do that for 67-00…. damn geek

I‘ve never really gotten excited or attached by the players themselves even as a kid. I always saw them as just people but with a really cool job. The only player I think I would ever be star struck around is Gretzky, who as a kid was definitely my hockey hero. As long as players go out there and give their best I’m ok with that. I personally never expect any more and have never seen why sports stars should be expected to give anything extra (like autographs etc), especially to adult fans. However, that’s just me and it’s not something I’d argue over if someone feels they should. That said I think it’s cool when time is sincerely taken with young fans, especially with stuff like hospital visits.

I have no problem with players, coaches and management being critiqued but I do think people should always be respectful. I generally get irked when it gets overly personal. Fortunately it doesn’t happen to often on here.

 

[Gjwrams]

You're not officially indoctrinated as a Kings fan unless you urinate in the horse troughs at The Forum. That includes the ladies as well.

Yep. That’s when you learn to not wear shorts to games

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

There was always this belief that if the Kings won the SC that hockey would get much more popular in LA.

That didn't happen.

In fact I think the Kings are less popular now than before they won the cup.

You are conflating the two, hockey 100% got more popular, there is no question about that....

Kings do not equal hockey.....they represent it at the highest level in that area......

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

Since we're here talking about fans and players, I named my kid Drew. I liked Andrew but it didn't seem right with my last name but DD was on the Ice one night and my wife says "how about Drew?" I looked at her and said "done". So that's how he got his name. He's 7 now and we watch games together and he's excited to go to his first game in April.

So my question is, has anyone met Doughty before? I'd like to get a pic with him if possible and stick it in his room. Short of putting up a poster saying 'hey, my Kid's name is Drew, can we get a pic?" before the game while they are practicing, anyone have any suggestions?

Yep. That’s when you learn to not wear shorts to games

I went to a game where a guy didn't want to wait for the trough and peed in the sink.

 

[mysterman2]

I went to a game where a guy didn't want to wait for the trough and peed in the sink.

That was every game....

 

[mysterman2]

funny story...we used to go to card shows and autograph signings in the early 90s and have a player write something snarky to my brother or snarky in general.

South Coast Plaza for Gretzky- Gretzky was endorsing a line of high end sunglasses, brother comes home right as we are leaving and drunk as a skunk, we try and convince him to come with us and meet gretzky before he passes out on the couch. We get to the signing and Gretz couldnt be any cooler/nicer and asks if we want an extra autograph so we had him sign the promo picture "To Chris- you blew it. Wayne Gretzky"

Another time was Tony Granato- brother was big rams fan who were playing in Anaheim at that time. We had a jerome bettis rookie card we wanted him to sign with "To Chris- the Rams Suck." We get to the table and ask him to sign it and he says "oh I cant do that, thats not right" kind of chuckling, We say- "he bags on you all the time and thinks your a crappy player." Granato says "what what his name again?" and proceed to do as we asked.

 

[Fat Elvis]

Back in the Forum days, you could meet quite a few players after the games in the Forum Club and in the parking lot. Daryl Evans got us into the Forum club on a couple occasions. At the time he was working at a Cadillac dealership. Very nice guy.

But the best times were at Frozen Fury in the late 90's. Both teams would hang out there for the weekend. We'd dress as Elvis and Fox introduced us to a rookie Brown. Played at the same blackjack table many times with players, broadcast crew and front office folks, too many to name.

Blake was great to us. He was playing for Colorado and was getting booed every time he touched the puck. I was wearing my Blake jersey and he walked past us at the MGM during the day. He stopped to shake hands and I low keyed gave him a boo with a smile on my face. He laughed, thought it was funny and talked to us for a few minutes. Told him we missed him and good luck. Good dude.

Bob Miller and his wife Judy are amazing. We met them a few times in the offseason in San Clemente where they'd spend a few weekends a Summer. Always friendly.

 

[beedee]

Most media staff and players I've with were great.