Kings Fans Brave Fire, Heat For Hockey Fest
- Monday, August 31, 2009 1:07 AM
- Written By: Josh Marks
Wildfires and record heat couldn't keep playoff-hungry Los Angeles Kings fans from Hockey Fest at L.A. Live this past weekend.
The Kings organization and many fans feel this is the year the team will reap the benefits of three painful rebuilding years guided by General Manager Dean Lombardi. The franchise wanted to build on this excitement by hosting three days of music, street hockey, discussion panels, autograph signings and more festivities.
"We feel this is the year. The time is now," said Chris Crotty, manager of fan development for the Kings. "Once last season ended with our core of young players, everyone from the team to operations to the business side said we’re going to make the playoffs this year."
The event kicked off Friday evening at Nokia Theatre with an acoustic performance from former Live frontman Eddie Kowalczyk, followed by two action-packed days.
Thousands of Kings fans came downtown from all over the L.A. Basin for the festival. And while the air conditioning was blasting inside the event deck tent and Nokia, outside the barometer was pushing 100 degrees and ashes from the nearby wildfires were falling on downtown streets.
"I think this year they will definitely make the playoffs. It's a good young team that has been playing together for a while," said loyal Kings fan Vicki Gale. She trekked downtown from Simi Valley with her mother, sister and new nephew to partake in the festivities.
Perhaps the most interesting and controversial panel in the speaker series was "Tough as Nails: The Enforcers" with tough guys Stu Grimson and Brad Norton explaining the role of the enforcer in the National Hockey League.
One Kings fan, a school teacher, asked how he can tell his kids that fighting is part of the game but at the same time teach them that fighting is not how to solve problems and they shouldn't do it themselves. Grimson explained that sometimes physical intimidation is part of the game and that gaining a physical edge in hockey is no different than beaning a batter in baseball or giving an extra shove in football. In other words, sometimes you need to stand up for your teammates if they are getting pushed around.
Grimson explained in graphic detail his first NHL fight with Dave Brown. Here is the video:
