Even Losing, They’ve Made Their Mark
The first signs of victory appeared last week, outside the Pond, slowly at first, then proliferating like possums in the night.
They stared at the concrete, shuffled their feet, wrenched hands nervously into pockets.
The first signs of victory were embarrassed, but unmistakable.
Ducks’ fans, dressed in faded Kings’ jerseys.
Despite being swept from the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Detroit Red Wings after a 3-2 double-overtime loss Thursday, the Ducks skate off to the first tee with a nice consolation prize:
In terms of perception, they are no longer that cute toy hanging from Kings’ rear-view mirror.
After four years of trying to be considered simply in the same league with their neighbors, they leaped into a different one.
They lost this spring’s latest battle, but in doing so have won the war.
The one for the hearts--and more importantly, the attention--of local hockey fans.
Kings, schmings.
Ducks rule.
“The perception has changed 100 percent,†said Warren Rychel, Duck forward who has played both places. “Everything is different.â€
OK, so he’s biased.
The woman riding the elevator with me Thursday also used to be biased.
A longtime Kings’ fans, she said.
Many of her friends were also Kings’ fans, she said.
No more, she said, waving a silly duck-faced towel.
Ask around town the past two weeks and you heard that again and again.
A new niche has been won. A 30-year head start has been lost.
The Kings began the season boasting the slogan, “Serious Hockey,†while intimating that the Ducks were a joke.
Today, it is Ducks who are serious, and the Kings who are laughable.
Used to be, you would drive to the Forum for hockey, and the Pond for entertainment.
Today, you drive to the Pond for both.
This is not something new. This is not a fad, not like those people who climbed down ropes to the ice before games at the . . . oh yeah, the Forum.
This is something that has percolated since the 1993-94 season, the year after the Kings’ only appearance in a Stanley Cup finals.
The beginning of their demise coincided with the Ducks’ birth. For the next four years, the story was in the dueling headlines.
Kings declare bankruptcy. Ducks hire Ron Wilson. Kings trade Wayne Gretzky. Ducks draft Paul Kariya. Kings fire Barry Melrose. Ducks trade for Teemu Selanne. Kings sold. Kings sold again.
Although not in precise chronological order, you get the picture. Today, it looks like this:
The Ducks have a coach, Wilson, who is considered among the brightest and best in the world.
The Kings have a coach, Larry Robinson, who sometimes acts like he doesn’t really care about coaching.
The Ducks play in an arena that looks like the lobby of a luxury hotel.
The Kings play in an arena that, while this may change, increasingly looks like a luxury hotel’s kitchen.
The Ducks have two of the game’s best young stars.
The Kings have--let’s be honest here--no young stars. No old stars, either, come to think of it.
The Ducks trade for impact playoff players Dmitri Mironov and J.J. Daigneault.
The Kings trade for Kevin Stevens.
The Kings’ long overdue firing of Sam McMaster from his general manager’s job is a step in the right direction. But it is unknown how far Dave Taylor can stretch that step.
Just wondering, but in four years, have the Ducks ever fired anyone?
This organizational rivalry wouldn’t be an issue if the Kings didn’t make it an issue. You know it, and the Ducks know it.
“Who do you think that ‘Serious Hockey’ was a poke at?†Wilson said, admitting the obvious.
He was not smiling.
“We go in there and they have all those Duck jokes, all those little cracks against us,†he said of various King digs the last couple of years. “I think that’s a real cheesy way to create a rivalry.
“When they come to our place, we don’t put Los Angeles Queens on the scoreboard.â€
Earlier this week, the Kings placed a newspaper ad congratulating the Ducks. Wilson said it was much appreciated.
“I think they have learned,†Wilson said.
Not that the Ducks are not privately chortling. But it seems they understand the bigger picture.
“Of course you want to be ahead of the other team in your town--you think the Lakers ever want to be behind the Clippers?†Wilson said. “But as long as we’re one point ahead of the Kings, I want them to be successful. All of it is good for Southern California hockey.â€
And so it will be.
As soon that silly little team with a bunch of unknowns starts playing like its more experienced, established neighbors.
Next thing you know, Ducks’ fans will be wondering, just what kind of dumb nickname is the “Kings†anyway?
Go beyond the scoreboard
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