Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
Smallest home crowd since 2001?
What do you expect? This is a rebuilding team, and L.A.'s finicky fans won't tolerate a loser. The announced crowd was 14,167, but there was less than that.
When Bettman decided on this lame plan, did he take into consideration that fans really don't want to see so many divisional contests during the season? I like going to the occasional Kings-Ducks game, but I'd rather go see clubs that have history behind them. How many times can I get excited about going to a Sharks/Kings tilt?
L.A.'s fans have far too much entertainment competing for their dollars than other regions. And even though the Kings' season ticket holders are at 90%, how many of those were just for the Luc retirement game?
Mark my words, 14,167 won't be the smallest home crowd for long.
