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.
Has Disney crossed over to the light?
Monday being a rare day off for the Wife and I together, we decided to take our Demon Spawn to the Happiest place on Earth. No, not the DMV. We went to Disneyland. This season has been rough, seeing all these bandwagon Ducks fans come out of the woodwork, wearing their crisply-ironed jerseys and new hats balanced on their mis-shapened heads. In the few times I've gone to Disneyland this season (we have season passes), I make it a point to wear something related to the Kings, whether it be a sweatshirt, ball cap or beanie. Being that deep in the heart of Orange County and sporting the Purple, White and Black is just my way of sticking it to the OC.
Today, I was sporting the Luc Robitaille third jersey I bought myself for Christmas. Since I've been blogging for the Press-Telegram, watching some home games up in the press box, I haven't had a chance to actually wear it in public. Being a chilly day, I figured it was time to pull it out and slip it on.
On our way into the park, The Wife stopped in the Disney Store down in Downtown Disney to find some dance clothes for the little one. I meandered through the store, aimlessly looking at coffee mugs, character crayons and feetie pajamas, my eyes settled on some apparel that caused me to stop dead in my tracks.
A Mickey Mouse hockey jersey. I walked over and picked it up and was amazed just how familiar the jersey was: It was damn near the same style as the Kings' third jersey. Same hue of purple, same stripes on the arms, and as close to the same shape and design elements of the Kings' logos. The bottom of the logo was very similar to the Kings crown logo. The name? The Mighty Mickey's, an obvious nod to the now defunct Disney hockey franchise. Last time I checked, the apostrophe is not a toy.
As I picked it up to show The Wife, some of the Disney clones behind the counter were commenting "Aww, how nice. He wants to buy it for his daughter. They'll look the same. How cute." I managed to keep my bile from issuing forth, and just politely smiled. The Wife just rolled her eyes, and my three-year-old saw it.
"What's that?" she asked. "A lame hockey jersey," I replied. She looked closer and asked: "Where's the crown?" I just shook my head and said "I have no idea" and quickly put it back. "Well, I don't like it, Daddy. It's d-u-m, dumb." she said. I just smiled and said "It's spelled d-u-m-b, honey."
