First "outside market" game experience...

[misch13vousmike]

Hey guys, i don't normally post that much but lurk quite a bit. Been a fan since I was 7, I am now 33, and never did I think the day would come would I say I LOVE OUR FANS IN LA, more so than ever.

My first experience was awesome win or lose, it's great to see the passion in fans. Ya it sucked we lost in OT, but as a fan of the NHL and mostly the game, I had an awesome time. Met with a lot of kings fan who went up north. Being bombarded with "boo's" and some small talk trash talk, (nothing serious.......yet) I soon came to realize by the end of my second cigarette session outside, that I have officially seen the worst and most CLASSLESS fans I've ever come across. I, like many of you have spoken to many fans across the NHL map, and nothing ever left me with this impression. While I do understand fans can be passionate of the colors they wear, I never knew it would be this bad. From being cussed at to being told raffi Torres made love to our mothers LOL....(use your imagination, it wasnt said in those exact words).

We went to the "old wagon wheel saloon" before the game to have a few beers before making our way to the shark tank, and after the game went back to get some food and some more drinks. But we never made it in. We were denied entrance to the place because of the jerseys we wore. Ya you read correctly, me and my two buddies and another two kings fans who joined us, were all told "if you don't take off your jersey you're not getting in." It we embarrassing and even worse because we were being mocked by sharks faithful standing around us for not being let in. The place next door saw what happened and actually invited us in, which was really cool of the guy at the door. So in conclusion, (I really hope a sharks fan on these boards gets a hold of this) I hated this team, but not the fans, and I although there may be some decent fans out there and we did meet a few last night, in general sharks fans on my **** list.

Sorry for my rant, but I was curious if any of you have had anything like this happen to you. Would love to read some responses.

Click to read more...

 

[Ron*]

It's the bay area. They are passionate about their teams and they can't stand Los Angeles.

The bay area has had an inferiority complex to southern California for longer than I've been alive. (That's 55 years.) I don't understand it, never will, but I have relatives up there, and I think I will finally get around to asking them. Some day.

Anyway, you have to come to expect ****** behavior from fans if you go to their arena. Sharks fans here were treated poorly, IMO, by our fans (at least the ones who were drunk).

Fan decorum has generally been taking a slow but methodical downhill turn for as long as I remember. It wasn't so long ago that our fans were considered the most considerate in the league to fans of other teams who visited Staples (and before that, the Forum). I find our fans behavior becoming generally worse as the years go by. We won the cup and some fans decided to get very arrogant after that feat...kind of following in the footsteps of Ducks fans a few years ago.

Just be aware if you are going to another team's arena, and you are wearing the visiting team's colors, you are likely to get hassled.

Well, except for Anaheim, whose fans don't seem to give a **** if you are there or not.

 

[misch13vousmike]

Oh I knew going in that I or we were going to be hassled, and or bombarded. But, the level at which it grew was just ridiculous. I have pretty thick skin and more patience than I need sometimes, so it didn't bother me much, just wanted to discuss on here with y'all. The fact that we weren't let in to the "old wheel wagon saloon" was just a joke. We were in awe.

 

[Ron*]

Oh I knew going in that I or we were going to be hassled, and or bombarded. But, the level at which it grew was just ridiculous. I have pretty thick skin and more patience than I need sometimes, so it didn't bother me much, just wanted to discuss on here with y'all. The fact that we weren't let in to the "old wheel wagon saloon" was just a joke. We were in awe.

Refusing customers is bad for business. Those guys are clowns.

In regard to the other issue: Beer has a lot to do with it. As I said above, you go to the Ponda, even a playoff game, and its unlikely Anaheim fan is going to say anything. I have been to five Kings / Ducks games in the past two seasons, and not one Duck fan has said anything negative towards me. As a matter of fact, I have had nice conversations with them.

I imagine some arenas in the south are the same way. If any of you have ever been to the south, those are some of the friendliest people you are going to find in this country. They also seem to be laid back at hockey games (at least what I've seen on TV).

San José? I gave it two seconds of thought about going up there and decided against it. Your experience with those fans does not surprise me.

 

[MsMeow]

Every city has good fans and ******* fans. It's not fair to act like the minority represents all of the fan base because it's like that everywhere.

 

[likewall32]

Hey guys, i don't normally post that much but lurk quite a bit. Been a fan since I was 7, I am now 33, and never did I think the day would come would I say I LOVE OUR FANS IN LA, more so than ever.

My first experience was awesome win or lose, it's great to see the passion in fans. Ya it sucked we lost in OT, but as a fan of the NHL and mostly the game, I had an awesome time. Met with a lot of kings fan who went up north. Being bombarded with "boo's" and some small talk trash talk, (nothing serious.......yet) I soon came to realize by the end of my second cigarette session outside, that I have officially seen the worst and most CLASSLESS fans I've ever come across. I, like many of you have spoken to many fans across the NHL map, and nothing ever left me with this impression. While I do understand fans can be passionate of the colors they wear, I never knew it would be this bad. From being cussed at to being told raffi Torres made love to our mothers LOL....(use your imagination, it wasnt said in those exact words).

We went to the "old wagon wheel saloon" before the game to have a few beers before making our way to the shark tank, and after the game went back to get some food and some more drinks. But we never made it in. We were denied entrance to the place because of the jerseys we wore. Ya you read correctly, me and my two buddies and another two kings fans who joined us, were all told "if you don't take off your jersey you're not getting in." It we embarrassing and even worse because we were being mocked by sharks faithful standing around us for not being let in. The place next door saw what happened and actually invited us in, which was really cool of the guy at the door. So in conclusion, (I really hope a sharks fan on these boards gets a hold of this) I hated this team, but not the fans, and I although there may be some decent fans out there and we did meet a few last night, in general sharks fans on my **** list.

Sorry for my rant, but I was curious if any of you have had anything like this happen to you. Would love to read some responses.

Quite sorry your first road experience was a bad one, especially in my city and arena, but having been to a lot of road Sharks games, it sounds like you didn't really get anything out of the ordinary. It having been your first road game, its understandable to not have expected the chorus of boos and the constant razzing, but that stuff will happen in almost any building. I personally don't boo or say anything to visiting fans unless they decide to incite by saying or doing something stupid in the stands. Its sports, and most people take it too seriously, regardless of city, state, country, or sport. Everybody has their dummies.

I've had the opportunity to travel to many Sharks games on the road, and by far, playoff games, regardless of opponent, are the worst. The people who come out don't care as much about the game, and really just want to be seen and also get completely smashed. I've been shoved and had beer and peanuts thrown at me in Nashville, had my jersey tugged at in Detroit, and was cussed at while walking with my 6 year old cousin (wearing an Avalanche jersey) in Colorado. During a regular season in LA once, I was followed for about 2 blocks back to my hotel by a car full of Kings fans and had to turn into a corner store just to shake them so that I could go back to my room in peace. Also had three guys in Pittsburgh chirping at me for an entire game with homosexual slurs of all kinds just because I was wearing a Giants cap.Point is, there are idiots everywhere.

As for not being let into the Old Wagon, it sucks, but living here and experiencing that bar and many others late on a Saturday, it makes perfect sense. You were razzed by people who had maybe a couple drinks in them at HP during the game, and nary a night in Downtown SJ happens without a handful of fights inside and around the bar areas when people have been going hard at the bottle or keg for several hours. It sounds like it wasn't communicated very well to you, but by not letting you in unless you removed your jersey, they thought they were doing both you a favor (by thinking that their clientele wouldn't be smart enough to not do something stupid to you) and doing themselves a favor as well (by thinking that they would have to break up a fight after their clientele did something stupid to you and you rightfully wouldn't stand for it). Fights happen down there all the time, throw in sports, and its just extra fuel to the fire.

Again, sorry that your initial road experience was not a good one, especially since it came in the city and building that I call home. As a fan of fans, I still suggest you go to as many road buildings as you can and cheer your team on, as it really is a lot of fun. I bet if you came back to San Jose in the future, you'd find your experience a bit better, as luckily there are less idiots than there are reasonable fans. If not, wait til we suck again, all the *******s are generally bandwagoners, and you'll be left alone completely.

Cheers.

 

[KingsKnight]

It's the bay area. They are passionate about their teams and they can't stand Los Angeles.

The bay area has had an inferiority complex to southern California for longer than I've been alive. (That's 55 years.) I don't understand it, never will, but I have relatives up there, and I think I will finally get around to asking them. Some day.

Anyway, you have to come to expect ****** behavior from fans if you go to their arena. Sharks fans here were treated poorly, IMO, by our fans (at least the ones who were drunk).

Fan decorum has generally been taking a slow but methodical downhill turn for as long as I remember. It wasn't so long ago that our fans were considered the most considerate in the league to fans of other teams who visited Staples (and before that, the Forum). I find our fans behavior becoming generally worse as the years go by. We won the cup and some fans decided to get very arrogant after that feat...kind of following in the footsteps of Ducks fans a few years ago.

Just be aware if you are going to another team's arena, and you are wearing the visiting team's colors, you are likely to get hassled.

Well, except for Anaheim, whose fans don't seem to give a **** if you are there or not.

This is something I've been trying to understand for a while, but I just can't. I lived in the Bay Area for 10 years and saw with how much passion the fans up there hate LA. When the Kings beat the Sharks I don't give San Jose or my friends who live there a thought, but when the Sharks beat the Kings I consistently get texts and Facebook messages (directed at me) talking smack. It's never just "Go Sharks" which doesn't bother me, but it's always anti-Kings and anti-LA. I get this from both close friends and from people I don't know that well up there. It's strange behavior that I've found to be very much one-sided.

 

[KINGS17]

When I was a kid and first started attending games beer was not served in the arena.

I think the overwhelming desire to make money by the owners changed that. Some people just can't handle a few beers or don't know when to stop, which leads to some pretty poor behavior.

 

[Ron*]

Quite sorry your first road experience was a bad one, especially in my city and arena, but having been to a lot of road Sharks games, it sounds like you didn't really get anything out of the ordinary. It having been your first road game, its understandable to not have expected the chorus of boos and the constant razzing, but that stuff will happen in almost any building. I personally don't boo or say anything to visiting fans unless they decide to incite by saying or doing something stupid in the stands. Its sports, and most people take it too seriously, regardless of city, state, country, or sport. Everybody has their dummies.

I've had the opportunity to travel to many Sharks games on the road, and by far, playoff games, regardless of opponent, are the worst. The people who come out don't care as much about the game, and really just want to be seen and also get completely smashed. I've been shoved and had beer and peanuts thrown at me in Nashville, had my jersey tugged at in Detroit, and was cussed at while walking with my 6 year old cousin (wearing an Avalanche jersey) in Colorado. During a regular season in LA once, I was followed for about 2 blocks back to my hotel by a car full of Kings fans and had to turn into a corner store just to shake them so that I could go back to my room in peace. Also had three guys in Pittsburgh chirping at me for an entire game with homosexual slurs of all kinds just because I was wearing a Giants cap.Point is, there are idiots everywhere.

As for not being let into the Old Wagon, it sucks, but living here and experiencing that bar and many others late on a Saturday, it makes perfect sense. You were razzed by people who had maybe a couple drinks in them at HP during the game, and nary a night in Downtown SJ happens without a handful of fights inside and around the bar areas when people have been going hard at the bottle or keg for several hours. It sounds like it wasn't communicated very well to you, but by not letting you in unless you removed your jersey, they thought they were doing both you a favor (by thinking that their clientele wouldn't be smart enough to not do something stupid to you) and doing themselves a favor as well (by thinking that they would have to break up a fight after their clientele did something stupid to you and you rightfully wouldn't stand for it). Fights happen down there all the time, throw in sports, and its just extra fuel to the fire.

Again, sorry that your initial road experience was not a good one, especially since it came in the city and building that I call home. As a fan of fans, I still suggest you go to as many road buildings as you can and cheer your team on, as it really is a lot of fun. I bet if you came back to San Jose in the future, you'd find your experience a bit better, as luckily there are less idiots than there are reasonable fans. If not, wait til we suck again, all the *******s are generally bandwagoners, and you'll be left alone completely.

Cheers.

Very good and detailed post. It is the same everywhere. Too much beer, in my opinion. These idiots get plastered, then they get brave. I can't stand the Kings fans who insist on telling fans of other teams that "you suck." It gets really personal...usually this happens after a Kings win and some unfortunate fans wearing the other teams colors get hassled going down the escalator. I find myself apologizing to those fans for the morons.

Maybe you can answer our question. Why do bay area fans hate L.A. so much?

 

[Butch 19]

We went to the "old wagon wheel saloon" before the game to have a few beers before making our way to the shark tank, and after the game went back to get some food and some more drinks. But we never made it in. We were denied entrance to the place because of the jerseys we wore. Ya you read correctly, me and my two buddies and another two kings fans who joined us, were all told "if you don't take off your jersey you're not getting in." It we embarrassing and even worse

This is not that unusual anymore (sad to say). Just last year our office was planning an after-work function at a restaurant in Pasadena (don't remember which one), and we were told that "no sports jerseys of any kind" would be allowed in the place.

We could only assume the place had had problems with unruley customers in the past. And since that, I have heard of other restaurants/bars that also have this policy.

 

[bk20]

Quite sorry your first road experience was a bad one, especially in my city and arena, but having been to a lot of road Sharks games, it sounds like you didn't really get anything out of the ordinary. It having been your first road game, its understandable to not have expected the chorus of boos and the constant razzing, but that stuff will happen in almost any building. I personally don't boo or say anything to visiting fans unless they decide to incite by saying or doing something stupid in the stands. Its sports, and most people take it too seriously, regardless of city, state, country, or sport. Everybody has their dummies.

I've had the opportunity to travel to many Sharks games on the road, and by far, playoff games, regardless of opponent, are the worst. The people who come out don't care as much about the game, and really just want to be seen and also get completely smashed. I've been shoved and had beer and peanuts thrown at me in Nashville, had my jersey tugged at in Detroit, and was cussed at while walking with my 6 year old cousin (wearing an Avalanche jersey) in Colorado. During a regular season in LA once, I was followed for about 2 blocks back to my hotel by a car full of Kings fans and had to turn into a corner store just to shake them so that I could go back to my room in peace. Also had three guys in Pittsburgh chirping at me for an entire game with homosexual slurs of all kinds just because I was wearing a Giants cap.Point is, there are idiots everywhere.

As for not being let into the Old Wagon, it sucks, but living here and experiencing that bar and many others late on a Saturday, it makes perfect sense. You were razzed by people who had maybe a couple drinks in them at HP during the game, and nary a night in Downtown SJ happens without a handful of fights inside and around the bar areas when people have been going hard at the bottle or keg for several hours. It sounds like it wasn't communicated very well to you, but by not letting you in unless you removed your jersey, they thought they were doing both you a favor (by thinking that their clientele wouldn't be smart enough to not do something stupid to you) and doing themselves a favor as well (by thinking that they would have to break up a fight after their clientele did something stupid to you and you rightfully wouldn't stand for it). Fights happen down there all the time, throw in sports, and its just extra fuel to the fire.

Again, sorry that your initial road experience was not a good one, especially since it came in the city and building that I call home. As a fan of fans, I still suggest you go to as many road buildings as you can and cheer your team on, as it really is a lot of fun. I bet if you came back to San Jose in the future, you'd find your experience a bit better, as luckily there are less idiots than there are reasonable fans. If not, wait til we suck again, all the *******s are generally bandwagoners, and you'll be left alone completely.

Cheers.

Although I appreciate your willingness to respond, I think its horse-ish to deny entry into a bar, unless you take your rival jersey off. Theres no legit excuse for that. Im sure the guy is a big boy & can defend himself. Its downright stupid, is what it is. San Jose sounds like a jealous, petty lil brother imo.
Btw if theyd tried to deny me entry for wearing my Kings jersey...we wouldve had problems!

KINGS FOREVER

 

[Kings4thecup]

I live up here in Nocal, and have been to many games at the Shark tank. The fans there have changed a couple times over the years. The first several season at the Cow Palace, the fans were still learning what offsides was. They would sit on their hands until the loud horn went off for a goal, cueing them to cheer, then they would cheer for 1 minute, then go back to sitting on their hands.

Then they started to learn the game, became a lot more invested but were still respectful. I would get a little ribbing for my Kings Jersey, but for the most part very nice people.

But in the last several years, it has changed for the worst. I've had several bad experiences there, and probably will never go back. It's just not worth dumping several hundred dollars and a 2 hour drive both ways to get abused. My last game at HP was game 2 of our series in the first round 2 years ago. Kings win 4-0 with Doughty going off, but I had several idiot fans cussing my wife and I out, and 1 even get as close to my face as possible and slur/scream as loud as he could obscenities while spitting all over me. Just plain rude. I don't have any problem with anyone rooting for there team, but I don't want to get in a fight with 15,000 idiots to go see a hockey game.

It's free to stay home and I get a better view of the game. It's a blast to go to live hockey, but it's not worth the aggravation to go to San Jose anymore. I have replaced that experience with going to an occasional Stockton Thunder game. A lot cheaper and closer for me, and a real fun experience. Hey, they're even playing for the Kelly Cup right now (but down 2-0 after the weekend).

 

[Captain Mittens*]

We went to the "old wagon wheel saloon" before the game to have a few beers before making our way to the shark tank, and after the game went back to get some food and some more drinks. But we never made it in. We were denied entrance to the place because of the jerseys we wore. Ya you read correctly, me and my two buddies and another two kings fans who joined us, were all told "if you don't take off your jersey you're not getting in.".

That's when you go on Yelp and write a really negative review of the place. Say that the beer was flat and that you got leprosy from the toilet seats

 

[likewall32]

Maybe you can answer our question. Why do bay area fans hate L.A. so much?

It really all stems from the Giants/Dodgers rivalry. If I have to explain that one to you, then I might as well stop. Truth be told, I only started considering the Kings to be rivals when both teams were good simultaneously the last few years. When the Kings were good in the early 90's, the Sharks were brand new and awful. When the Sharks were starting to get good in the mid 2000's, it was right after the Luc Robitaille era finished in LA, which I'm sure is a time Kings fans want to not remember. As for Warriors/Lakers, I can't really speak to it as I'm not really a fan, and same with A's/Angels.

Although I appreciate your willingness to respond, I think its horse-ish to deny entry into a bar, unless you take your rival jersey off. Theres no legit excuse for that. Im sure the guy is a big boy & can defend himself. Its downright stupid, is what it is. San Jose sounds like a jealous, petty lil brother imo.
Btw if theyd tried to deny me entry for wearing my Kings jersey...we wouldve had problems!

KINGS FOREVER

As pointed out by other posters, it's not really a thing unique to this bar or city. Lots of bar patrons go to establishments just to fight. Sports is a really easy sparkplug for altercations. Especially in a city that had to endure Canucks fans in large waves in 2011, and Detroit fans a couple times a year (no more thank god). It doesn't matter if he could handle himself, because he'd be outnumbered by the idiots unless he's rolling 30 deep.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

It really all stems from the Giants/Dodgers rivalry. If I have to explain that one to you, then I might as well stop.

I think it's bigger than that. The Giants/ Dodgers have historically been one of the "fuses" or "conductors" of the rivalry.

It goes back to which city was going to be the bigger one on the West Coast,of course water, and you can't forget politics.

As pointed out by other posters, it's not really a thing unique to this bar or city. Lots of bar patrons go to establishments just to fight. Sports is a really easy sparkplug for altercations. Especially in a city that had to endure Canucks fans in large waves in 2011, and Detroit fans a couple times a year (no more thank god). .

Yep and we feel you on the Canucks fans and I think every Western conference team is happy Detroit is moving to the East so we all see their "fans" a lot less. (Wings fans: we love Wings from Michigan, but your bandwaggonners are the worst)

 

[misch13vousmike]

Quite sorry your first road experience was a bad one, especially in my city and arena, but having been to a lot of road Sharks games, it sounds like you didn't really get anything out of the ordinary. It having been your first road game, its understandable to not have expected the chorus of boos and the constant razzing, but that stuff will happen in almost any building. I personally don't boo or say anything to visiting fans unless they decide to incite by saying or doing something stupid in the stands. Its sports, and most people take it too seriously, regardless of city, state, country, or sport. Everybody has their dummies.

I've had the opportunity to travel to many Sharks games on the road, and by far, playoff games, regardless of opponent, are the worst. The people who come out don't care as much about the game, and really just want to be seen and also get completely smashed. I've been shoved and had beer and peanuts thrown at me in Nashville, had my jersey tugged at in Detroit, and was cussed at while walking with my 6 year old cousin (wearing an Avalanche jersey) in Colorado. During a regular season in LA once, I was followed for about 2 blocks back to my hotel by a car full of Kings fans and had to turn into a corner store just to shake them so that I could go back to my room in peace. Also had three guys in Pittsburgh chirping at me for an entire game with homosexual slurs of all kinds just because I was wearing a Giants cap.Point is, there are idiots everywhere.

As for not being let into the Old Wagon, it sucks, but living here and experiencing that bar and many others late on a Saturday, it makes perfect sense. You were razzed by people who had maybe a couple drinks in them at HP during the game, and nary a night in Downtown SJ happens without a handful of fights inside and around the bar areas when people have been going hard at the bottle or keg for several hours. It sounds like it wasn't communicated very well to you, but by not letting you in unless you removed your jersey, they thought they were doing both you a favor (by thinking that their clientele wouldn't be smart enough to not do something stupid to you) and doing themselves a favor as well (by thinking that they would have to break up a fight after their clientele did something stupid to you and you rightfully wouldn't stand for it). Fights happen down there all the time, throw in sports, and its just extra fuel to the fire.

Again, sorry that your initial road experience was not a good one, especially since it came in the city and building that I call home. As a fan of fans, I still suggest you go to as many road buildings as you can and cheer your team on, as it really is a lot of fun. I bet if you came back to San Jose in the future, you'd find your experience a bit better, as luckily there are less idiots than there are reasonable fans. If not, wait til we suck again, all the *******s are generally bandwagoners, and you'll be left alone completely.

Cheers.

I appreciate your explanation, not saying all the fans I spoke with or encountered were hassling us, I did have some really good hockey conversations with some knowledgeable fans. We did get the **** the dodgers and **** LA chants going, and pulled the old smile and nod. Your point about the dude at the door not letting us in is valid, about avoiding potential danger. But, I think we've all recognized its not our turf, and you just keep quiet, enjoy your meal and beer and call it a night. We all have the pack mentality which boosts our fortitude. Just a bit embarrassing, because it seemed as though the chump who didn't let us in, was developing a super sized ego with all the support he was getting by not letting us in. Will this stop me from going again? HELL NO. I had a blast at another arena as an NHL fan. That's the whole point isn't it? Seeing the other teams faithful at your arena enhances the experience. I hate going to games or playoff series where fans from the other side aren't there. The crowd isn't as into it. I'd say I've got pretty thick skin and patience. As one individual posted above, about his wife being with him and getting hassled like that, is absolutely unacceptable. But I do agree, every fan base has their gems, and their a**holes

 

[misch13vousmike]

That's when you go on Yelp and write a really negative review of the place. Say that the beer was flat and that you got leprosy from the toilet seats

I thought about that actually, but I heard from a really good friend who's family is in the liquor store business, (they monitor yelp like most business owners) that they do filter out negative comments from new accounts. I don't have a yelp account, hence the reason I was told this, but I am going to ask someone who is a regular poster on yelp to right a review on my behalf. I guess it's an effort to avoid people just getting an account to trash other businesses, mostly due to competition.

 

[The Butcher]

One of my favorite parts of the game is trash talk. I think intense rivalries are so much fun and what good is a win if you can't rib your opponents a little.

That said, some of the idiots at Staples Center, especially on the smoking patio, are just an embarassment. Where did the whole "hey _____ fans, YOU SUCK" get so popular? It just sounds so infantile if you ask me. If your going to talk trash, at least have something funny or creative to say, not just drunken' aggressive babbling.

As for being refused service, it's more trouble than it's worth but I think you could probably get a lawyer to remind them of anti discrimination laws..

 

[Ron*]

That said, some of the idiots at Staples Center, especially on the smoking patio, are just an embarassment. Where did the whole "hey _____ fans, YOU SUCK" get so popular? It just sounds so infantile if you ask me. If your going to talk trash, at least have something funny or creative to say, not just drunken' aggressive babbling.

As I have written here before, at least a couple of times, this really irks me. As you said, its infantile at best, and really the last laugh is on these boobs who actually spouse this crap over and over.

As for being refused service, it's more trouble than it's worth but I think you could probably get a lawyer to remind them of anti discrimination laws..

I don't think Kings fans as a class are protected by discrimination laws.

 

[DeeMeck]

I find myself apologizing to road fans as well. The "Hey Sharks fans, YOU SUCK" thing is getting way way out of hand. It was a little funny I guess for awhile but it is every game now and it isn't just words.

Too many (probably drunk) Kings fans are getting in the faces of the opposition fans with the chants. I have seen several times this playoffs some idiot Kings fan will actually impede the opposition fans from even walking and will point their fingers right in their face telling them they suck. I haven't seen any physical response...but I know I wouldn't respond too well to someone stopping me and getting their finger within 6 inches of my face.

I am in the same section every game and go smoke in the same spot. It is the same couple of *******s doing it every game, and the whole "policing our own fans" doesn't seem to be working. I have seen Kings fans trying to get people to pipe down, but the offenders just get more aggressive.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

One of my favorite parts of the game is trash talk. I think intense rivalries are so much fun and what good is a win if you can't rib your opponents a little.

That said, some of the idiots at Staples Center, especially on the smoking patio, are just an embarassment. Where did the whole "hey _____ fans, YOU SUCK" get so popular?

Pretty sure it originated from LGK...via Frozen Fury.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

As for being refused service, it's more trouble than it's worth but I think you could probably get a lawyer to remind them of anti discrimination laws..

Businesses have the right to refuse service to anyone, as long as they have it properly posted

 

[Captain Mittens*]

That said, some of the idiots at Staples Center, especially on the smoking patio, are just an embarassment. Where did the whole "hey _____ fans, YOU SUCK" get so popular? It just sounds so infantile if you ask me. If your going to talk trash, at least have something funny or creative to say, not just drunken' aggressive babbling.
.

I also want to add that it sounds really stupid on TV when it's done

 

[snaggle toof]

Sorry for your bad experience, with regards to the Wagon Wheel, most of the bars in downtown San Jose have a no sports gear policy, they will usually permit Sharks gear on game days and that's it.

I think it really stems from certain gang populations wearing either 49ers red or Raiders black, but they have extended it to all sports gear. I have been sent away for wearing a Sharks hat on non game days.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

I've never hassled other fans at staples, only once because it was loud mouth Canucks fans that were being rowdy and crap. The only time that I really see kings fans really go at it is when Canucks fans come in. They don't stop running their mouths.