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October 9, 2002
LA Kings Honor the "Great One"
By Matt Petersen
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LOS ANGELES -- There were goosebumps on the arms, and
butterflies in the stomach as Jeff, Joe and I were a
day away from embarking on “The Trip of a Lifetime.”
The prospect of traveling upwards of 13,000 miles and
being away from our homes for two months would be
enough to send anybody into a fit of anticipatory cold
sweats, but what was causing most of a stir on this
night was the retirement of number 99 before the
opening face-off. The Great One was in the house.
The game wouldn’t officially count under the cloak of
Guinness World Record acclaim (that would be the next
night in San Jose), but what a way to start off the
trip, to see Wayne Gretzky honored before his former
home crowd.
There was a hefty buzz in the air hours before game
time as fans gathered outside the Staples Center where
a giant bronze statue of Gretzky was to be unveiled on
the night. Jeff was just one of thousands of fans
decked out in LA King gear, many with 99 stitched to
the back.
With many of his former players (Luc Robataille, Paul
Coffey, Jari Kurri), coaches (Barry Melrose), and
family (Walter!), Wayne delivered a touching speech
that lasted no more than five minutes before 99 was
officially hanged from the rafters. Joe and I were
planted almost directly underneath the spot where the
sheath dropped from the number and that was a real
thrill.
The Kings ended up winning rather handily on the night
by a count of 4-1 over Wayne’s current love, the
Phoenix Coyotes. Two nifty goals by Mathieu Schneider
and Ian Laperriere put the game out of reach and the
Staples Center shook until the final whistle. It was a
very passionate showing by an LA crowd who has high
hopes for their Kings’ 2003 season. Their first line
of Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh and Ziggy Palffy is
regarded by many as the finest first line in the
league, and there was a lot of pre-game talk about the
Russian rookie left wing Alexander Frolov who didn’t
disappoint. Although he was held without a point, the
kid had lightning quick feet and really good hands as
the crowd had many an “ooh” and “ahh,” for his nifty
moves.
Staples Center is enormous, seating over 18,000 with
three levels of luxury suites, and it could be one of
the biggest site’s we see throughout the NHL. Since
the seating extends so high, the new netting only
extend halfway up to the rafters. Oh, the first to hit
the netting drew a smattering of boos, and when Gary
Bettman was announced to praise Wayne, chants of “no
more nets,” rained from the seats.
After the impressive Kings win, our sights were
quickly set north as we were about to jump into our
(tightly packed) rental minivan to catch the Sharks
start their season against last years’ Stanley Cup
champs, the Detroit Red Wings at the Compaq Center. We
were in for a surprise we had no idea was coming.
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This is just a site to chronicle the journey of two die hard hockey fans from California
as they embark on their quest to set a World Record
©2002 Offthepost.com.
All Rights Reserved.
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