When did you become a Kings fan?

[Buddy The Elf]

He

This caught my attention, the Forum....and location.....and 80's....holy shit....yea, I remember going mid 80's as a 9-10-11 year old, growing up in Burbank, riding down the 405, into the inner streets of Inglewood, not ashamed to say, I was a bit nervous lmao, of what, no idea, whatever I saw on TV...etc, I remember one time with my Uncle, end of the game we left, the line to go out would have probably taken an hour, 45 minutes something like that he said f*** it, drove over the foliage whatever the hell they had on, over the sidewalk, into the street, and off we went, I had no idea WTF was going on lol, but yea, that area, to me as a kid, was nerve wracking....

As far as the OP.....probably since 78-79, but don't remember much until mid 80's.....

It was both the distance and the surrounding environment. The crowd there was also much more unsavory than the crowd at Angel's games... lots of swearing and drunk dudes. I grew up in Claremont which couldn't be a more sanitized suburban environment. That said, my dad refused to go to mom grandma's house (mom side) who lived in the hood in Detroit. Inglewood couldn't hold a candle to the despair I witnessed in Detroit as a child. But yeah, Inglewood was a much different place than it is today.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

He

It was both the distance and the surrounding environment. The crowd there was also much more unsavory than the crowd at Angel's games... lots of swearing and drunk dudes. I grew up in Claremont which couldn't be a more sanitized suburban environment. That said, my dad refused to go to mom grandma's house (mom side) who lived in the hood in Detroit. Inglewood couldn't hold a candle to the despair I witnessed in Detroit as a child. But yeah, Inglewood was a much different place than it is today.

Did you ever play at the Claremont cage?

 

[2-4 Slashin]

1973/74 season I had a Big Brothers of America Big Brother who had season tickets through his job. We went to a few Lakers games but he was from Michigan an an NHL fanatic. I got hooked quick. My first favorite players were Kozak and Vachon. I’ve been there for virtually every kings highlight from about 1975 on. I’ve lived and died with these boys. I can’t even recall my life without my LA Kings during many of the milestones.

 

[Choralone]

For my friend's birthday in Junior High (1982 or 1983) , his dad bought tickets for us all to go to a hockey game. The Kings were playing a team with some guy named Gretzky who was supposed to be hot shit or something. We cheered whenever the Kings did something cheap to him and cheered at all the fights. The Kings lost, but as an ungrateful little bastard, I didn't care.

Flash forward to my junior year in college. Gretzky was traded to the Kings. I still didn't care, but my roommate - who owned the TV - had spent part of his childhood in Chicago, liked hockey, understood how momentous the trade was, and wanted to watch the Kings afterward. So I watched too (since it was his TV), but by the end of the season I was a fan.

 

[mysterman2]

started watching mid 80s when cable had WOR the NY station which broadcast Rangers games. 87channel 9 was showing Kings games which interested me more. Next year saw Gretzky and me attending my first game. Been to hundreds of games at all levels since and fell in love with the sport.

Has made football my 2nd favorite sport and wiped baseball from any interest whatsoever.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

92/93. That winter I was 5 and a half or so, watching hockey night in Canada for the first year ever and got into the leafs. Then something called a playoffs happened and a team with way cooler looking uniforms and the best player ever came along and beat them. I was smitten.

Funny looking back now as an adult on how I didn’t again switch allegiances to the Habs when they won the finals. Must have been meant to be.

 

[LAKings88]

I was ten in 88. Didn’t know who gretz was at the time or much about hockey. Randomly switching channels and was into sports. Casually watched at first them became a fanatic. Learned more about the history of hockey through looking up Gretzky’s past with the Oilers.

 

[Bandit]

'88 for me. One of my dad's friends had the game on Prime Ticket because of Gretzky and I got hooked. Became the only organized sport I ever ended up playing. Then again, according to GoldenDeezAxl I'm sure I've never really been a fan because I've criticized Blake.

 

[Herby]

Then again, according to GoldenDeezAxl I'm sure I've never really been a fan because I've criticized Blake.

No room for uncommitted fake fans like you.

The Ducks board is that way.

<——

 

[Lt Dan]

'88 for me. One of my dad's friends had the game on Prime Ticket because of Gretzky and I got hooked. Became the only organized sport I ever ended up playing. Then again, according to GoldenDeezAxl I'm sure I've never really been a fan because I've criticized Blake.

how dare you

 

[YP44]

Was Yanic Perreault that did it for me. Same last name so followed him, than he got traded to Leafs but I stayed with LA.

 

[tigermask48]

Not sure on the year, had to be 86-88 my dad took me to a Blackhawks v Kings game at Chicago Stadium with his drinking buddies, saw the purple and gold jerseys, saw Luc Robitaille and decided right there that was my team.

 

[tigermask48]

Was Yanic Perreault that did it for me. Same last name so followed him, than he got traded to Leafs but I stayed with LA.

I read this as Kings legend Yanik Lehoux and got real confused for a second. Perreault is a much better choice for favorite player.

 

[Herby]

Yanic Perrault seemed to always come up big in the limited amounts of games I went to living out of state. I saw him score an OT game-winner in Pittsburgh and a hat-trick in Detroit.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

It was around 1971. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I was kneeling in front of my TV changing the channel with the rotary dial, and I came upon a game where players were skating around. And at that instant a Kings player (believe it was Mike Corrigan) knocked an opposing player to the ice with a hard hit. The opposing player got up and jawed with the King, and bam, they dropped their gloves and went at it for about 20 seconds. Both of them got their shots in. I was thrilled, thinking "OMG, this is great!" From then, I was hooked =)

Nice 1971...Corrigan was playing for the Vancouver Canucks and was re-acquired by LA...For me it was the year LA shipped out Doug("Curly")Robinson,Denis DeJordy,Noel(Old man)Price and Dale Hoganson our good young D-man and the option to swap First rounders in 1975...Montreal took Pierre Mondou and LA took Tim Young who balked because the Kings signed MDionne and there was a Logjam at Centre (Widing,Goring,Carr,Venasky and the Aforementioned Magical Marcel Dionne)...for Rogatien(Rogie)Vachon...

 

[YP44]

Yanic Perrault seemed to always come up big in the limited amounts of games I went to living out of state. I saw him score an OT game-winner in Pittsburgh and a hat-trick in Detroit.

sweet
I read recently the kings almost got Theo Fleury from Calgary for a package of Yanic +. Would have been crazy, that would have been peak coked out Theo.

 

[shuchukfan]

Like some others, I became a fan AFTER the Finals loss in '93 and that always made me feel like I missed out on the best moment of the franchise until they won it in 2012 and 14. I didn't even give hockey a thought until I bought EA's NHL Hockey for the PC at the end of '93. Just thought it looked cool and it came with this huge yearbook from the prior year. Loved the game, so I figured I'd give watching the real thing a shot. Man, I was hooked. Kings were my local team, so they became my favorite, but I watched ANY hockey that was on TV.

Also, I did visit the Slap Shop that was somewhere on the OC border and I remember buying the VHS tape of their Cup run. I watched that all the time, but I always turned it off after the first game recap. It's still in a box somewhere at my mom's place. Maybe I should convert it and upload it to Youtube.

 

[Surf Nutz]

This is rich.
Guy's like this on the internet come in and wonder why people don't take them seriously and consider them a clown show. SMH. Seriously, no self-awareness whatsoever.

Lol, the Kings Board has been outted on HF Boards as the Biggest Clown Show on Earth , thanks to a few regulars overdramaticizing the same points over and over for the last half dozen seasons.

Stop taking yourselves so serious.
Your comments are all laughed at by knowledgeable lifelong hockey fans.

LMAO!!

 

[Fishhead]

1982. I was clicking through our 7 channels(!) and there was a game on KHJ, so I started watching. I almost didn't get to see the end because it was really long and I was in 6th grade so I had to go to bed. Naturally, I snuck down and watch the rest after my parents went to bed.

That game turned out to be the Miracle on Manchester, I was hooked immediately. I thought all games were like that

 

[tigermask48]

Lol, the Kings Board has been outted on HF Boards as the Biggest Clown Show on Earth , thanks to a few regulars overdramaticizing the same points over and over for the last half dozen seasons.

Stop taking yourselves so serious.
Your comments are all laughed at by knowledgeable lifelong hockey fans.

LMAO!!

Funny how every thread you participate in eventually degrades into you trashing the board and people here.
I don't think any of us are the problem.

 

[Gjwrams]

1980, right after the Miracle in Ice is when I fell in love with the game. I grew up in Anaheim and by extension became a Kings fan. I miss game day purchases of tickets on the glass for $25 each. Gretzky came and it all changed. I sort of lost interest in the Kings a bit in the dark ages. I was building my career and family and God they stunk, but came back in 2010ish and was able to witness two things I thought I’d never see….two cups. The 2014 cup run was the greatest post-season run I’ve ever seen and was in the building for all of it.

 

[Buddy The Elf]

Did you ever play at the Claremont cage?

I'm not sure what you're referring to unless you're talking about the roller hockey rink at Wheeler Park. If so, then yes. I spent a lot of time there in the early 90's.

 

[Surf Nutz]

Funny how every thread you participate in eventually degrades into you trashing the board and people here.
I don't think any of us are the problem.

When have I ever trashed any of the comments from a few of this board's regular repeating offender failed hockey minds?

Oh...

never mind...

 

[deaderhead28]

1982 as a young kid visiting my grandmother. I accidentally turned the channel and saw a Kings game. Was a huge Lakers fan and saw the Kings colors and automatically fell in love.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

I'm not sure what you're referring to unless you're talking about the roller hockey rink at Wheeler Park. If so, then yes. I spent a lot of time there in the early 90's.

That’s it