海角大神

The Los Angeles Kings are in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1993. Is this a big deal in the city boasting 16 NBA Championships? Yes, even if it pales by the comparison to the elation caused by the Lakers.

When Laker excitement is high 鈥� during big games, big championship series 鈥� cars speed down the boulevards to make their purple-and-gold car flags snap in the wind. They honk to make their point. The Kings? You have to go to a game to witness the real mania 鈥� which is deep but not as widespread. But give it some time, sports fans here say.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of anger right now about the Lakers losing 鈥� maybe even more than the happiness that the Kings are in the finals,鈥� says Vincent Bonsignore, sports columnist for the L.A. Daily News. 鈥淵ou turn on the radio, and they鈥檙e still talking about how to fix the Lakers and what trades to make.鈥�

The NBA鈥檚 L.A. Clippers also became contenders after adding Chris Paul this year, and so add that barometer reading to the L.A. sports landscape 鈥� 鈥渟teady drizzle鈥� after they fizzled to a four-game sweep at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.

鈥淭his will hit a crescendo, give it some time,鈥� says Bonsignore. 鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to see some Kings hats and jerseys coming out of the woodworks, it鈥檚 not like the Lakers, but these fans are extremely passionate. They had an incredible run.鈥�

It was made even more incredible because no one saw it coming.

The Kings replaced their coach midseason after lots of struggling 鈥� primarily, figuring out how to score. Still tinkering as the end of the 82-game season approached, a trade for forward Jeff Carter seemed to make something click. Carter has been far from a savior, but with him the team has become more balanced and more difficult to defend 鈥� and goals have come, at last.

Even so, their postseason run has been nothing short of astounding. They entered the Stanley Cup playoffs seeded No. 8 of the eight playoff teams in the Western Conference. Since that point, they have won 12 games and lost two against the Nos. 1, 2, and 3 seeds in the West.

鈥淓verything lined up, the stars lined, and it came together at the right point of the season,鈥� Dustin Penner, who scored the series-winning goal against the Phoenix Coyotes Tuesday, told the L.A. Daily News. 鈥淲e knew once we were in [the playoffs] that it was anybody鈥檚 game.鈥�

There is not a sense of celebration in the air around Los Angeles, but if you scratch the surface, you can find it.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 tell on the streets, but hockey fans here really get into it,鈥� says Wayne Sherman, a medical claims insurer who has lived here since 1982, reading the paper at a corner Starbucks. 鈥淭his is not as big as when Gretzky was on the team in 1993, but it is still a big deal.鈥�

Dan Lebowitz, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, says the Kings have done much to establish themselves as a viable and important franchise in an area of the country where hockey is not naturally indigenous.

鈥淭he Kings have established a marquee franchise with great tradition even though it鈥檚 not as long as the Lakers,鈥� Lebowitz says. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e done a lot for the sport of hockey, and Los Angelenos have responded by embracing them and investing them with a kind of passionate identity.鈥�

Charlie Lavoie, a carpenter who moved to聽Pasadena聽in 1984 from聽Connecticut, considers himself a knowledgeable hockey fan after growing up watching the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and New York Rangers. He says the聽Los Angeles聽fan atmosphere is generally not what it is in the East. But he says the current fever is very high, partly because of a controversial statement by radio personality Roger Lodge of KLAA AM830.

鈥淩oger Lodge said the Kings won鈥檛 win a game in the playoffs, and that alone has made every King fan in the city so ticked off that they鈥檙e tuning in to see Lodge get his comeuppance,鈥� says Lavoie.聽

鈥淚 got so sucked in, I wouldn鈥檛 miss a game even if it was only on radio,鈥� says Lavoie.

The Kings will play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals on May 30 at either聽New Jersey聽or聽New York.聽Los Angeles聽is in the final round for the first time since 1993, when Wayne Gretzky and the Kings lost to the Montreal Canadiens in their only finals appearance.

鈥淭he Clippers blew their chance. The Lakers blew their chance. This is it for聽Los Angeles,鈥� says Lavoie. 鈥淧eople here need somebody to root for and this year it鈥檚 the Kings.鈥�