Too Much Holiday Cheer Going On Here

On this Sunday when there is no NBA game, in a place where there is no NFL team, the thought occurs that the second meeting of the season between the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Kings should be kind of a big deal.

You know, a happening, a special occasion to be anticipated, then savored and then rehashed the day after among the sports fans of the area.

And yet it is pretty certain that not many of you are standing around the water cooler at work this morning, dropping down on your knees to imitate Ducks goalie Guy Hebert making one of his spectacular saves or describing to the guy at the desk next to you how Teemu Selanne froze King goalie Stephane Fiset stiffer than Craig Hartsburg’s unchangeable mug when Selanne scored the Ducks’ first goal.

For there is no evidence of a rivalry here. No nasty banners. No bad-natured fans jawing in the parking lot an hour before the game. Or 30 minutes before the game. Or 15 minutes before the game. Or when the game started. Or when it ended.

During one intermission, the overhead scoreboard showed highlights of a Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers playoff game and you didn’t need the sound to hear the hitting. And, yes, that was special, it was the playoffs. But there is no game--exhibition, regular season, playoffs--between the Flyers and Rangers; Flyers and New Jersey Devils; Rangers and Devils--where there aren’t a few fistfights, on and off the ice. A Flyer fan who wears a Flyers Jersey into Madison Square Garden goes home with his own blood on that jersey from his own nose that was smashed by a Rangers fan. In a skirt.

That’s not to advocate blood in the stands, but it would be nice that when the PA announcer at the Arrowhead Pond thanks the fans for a sellout, that the fans aren’t scratching their heads and pointing to that empty seat next to him, behind him and two rows in front of him.

A rivalry can be a wonderful thing. When two teams, even two bad or mediocre teams play, suddenly everything should become magnified. So what if first place isn’t on the line? At least the guys you’ll play five or 10 or 15 times in whatever season or sport will maybe be a little afraid, a little intimidated. It should make the Ducks feel better to be 2-0 so far this season against the Kings than against the Chicago Blackhawks or Edmonton Oilers or anybodyelse.

Which is, by the way, what the Ducks are now after Sunday’s victory.

For the second game in a row, Hebert pitched a shutout. The puck must look big as a Christmas turkey to Hebert. Selanne scored twice, Paul Kariya once unassisted. But by the time Kariya did his solo act, with 6 minutes 43 seconds left in the game, a goal that made it 3-0, a quarter of the people who had come had also gone.

Gosh, against the hated Kings shouldn’t you want to stay and watch your team till the glorious end? What’s the fun of having another team from 30 miles away if you can’t hate them, detest them, make fun of them for one, lovely evening?

Hebert, who says that he’s playing with a lot of confidence, that he is relaxed, that he is under control and that he is picking up the puck with his eyes quicker, also gamely said that, yes, playing against the Kings is special.

“There is no love lost between us, no sympathy for them. I’m personally excited to play them every time,” Hebert said after a game that was marked by no fights, no punches, no blood let.

‘It’s a great rivalry,” Kariya explained in a level, toneless voice. But then Kariya said that maybe “if we had a chance to get them in the playoffs, [the rivalry] would become better.”

And Selanne actually said that he would prefer it if the Kings were not great rivals because “whenever you see those great rivalry games, it’s not good hockey. You get lots of fights and maybe too much emotion is involved. I try to use [the Kings] as motivation to be ready to play right away but otherwise try to keep it as just another game.”

Maybe that is the sensible thing to do as far as winning the hockey game goes. But during this peculiar season of no Lakers, no Clippers and, as usual, no NFL team, wouldn’t it be nice to feel a buzz about something? Wouldn’t it be nice to hear a little trash talk? Wouldn’t it have been nice to have had a rumble on the ice? Wouldn’t it be great if the fans wearing Kings jerseys got harangued whenever they moved at the Pond and then when fans wearing Ducks shirts arrived at the Forum, that the treatment was mutual?

You’re more likely to see two shoppers at Fashion Island raise their fists this week over the last cashmere sweater at Bloomingdale’s than you were to see a good hate roused Sunday night.

And maybe that’s the civilized way to behave. But it’s sure no fun.

Diane Pucin can be reached at [email protected]