Well, I had the best time ever! This was my first year as a STH and so my first Meet the Players. Other fans had previously said to leave early so I left work super early with my co-worker (hubby had to work) and got there around 4:30. We were the first hundred or so in line and chatted with everyone so that was fun.
When they let us in, we went to Anze line first and were right up front. Kings Vision was in our face with the lights, so I think my co-worker will be in that with Anze. They guy doing the video yells “you’re going to be in Kings Vision!” and Anze says under his breath that he should have probably shaved. LOL. Got Anze, Clifford and Martinez all in one shot and was able to thank them and talk a bit. At first I thought Martinez looked like he didn’t want to be there, but when we talked to him he just smiled and laughed and talked for a min – super nice!
Next we went to Williams and Lotki and Voynov. Williams was yawning, he looked really tired, but of course he was very nice. I said “pri-VET” (hi) to Voynov and Lotki (I’m such a geek) but they were really nice and said it back to me in Russian too. I think those two were the nicest of all the players. They both said they were very happy to be there and didn’t think it was weird at all.
Richards and Lewis were next and Richards wanted to go home! He was nice and patient, but I think his hand was cramping about then and he was done. lol. Lewis was very polite. So we figured that was it for the guys but we wanted JJ’s sig. So I thought we should try.
We did and they signed for everyone even when we saw a lot of the players leaving they stayed. got Hunter’s sig and boy was he happy to be there! Just a really nice guy.
JJ was terrific. I don’t say terrific very often but he was that! We asked him to sign on my hubby’s jersey with the MF and he laughed and did! it says Jack MF Johnson on there. Just one of the nicest people ever!
(Blurry – sorry)
We went to Brownie and he was so shy. I can see why sometimes people think he is off standish but once you see him and talk to him, he is just so shy. Very nice though.
I have no complaints. I just loved every minute of it. All together leaving early from work until we got home was about 6 hours. I got 11 sigs and pics and met nice people. Wonderful.
Here are a few more pics to share:
Westgarth
Bernier
Mitchell and Fraser
Scuderi and Doughty
And our jersey’s!!!
Hubbypat’s jersey. Notice the MF on Johnson’s. So sweet!
Mine <3
I met HockeyJockey and talked with Megums, saw a few old friends and talked to new ones. I can’t wait for next year when I can get the rest of the guy’s signatures! Thanks Kings!
hockeyjockey
January 11, 2012
It was very fun!.. this will be enjoyable for our readers..I sent a text to Tracy telling her LA traffic was ruining my life..knew I would probably be late…. sent a second text to tell Tracy I made it and was in line ( the back of) for Brownie.. never got a response.. thought ‘shoot, but oh well’… So I got my autographed pic of Brownie and me from a King’s Fest event and then went to my Russians.. and Justin Williams.. must be fair.. Justin is
a dynamite player.. really he is.. even though so far he is one who is having one of those WTH seasons..
Both Slava and Latte were as sweet as can be.. Excellent English.. so I will take their not wanting to be on camera as just being young and a bit bashful.. Latte definiately is the shyer one..
The time went by very quickly.. and I am not a line stander.. Would Never do this for Disneyland I said a few times.
Then I went to Kopi’s line..I was quite satisfied already so this was bonus time..found out I was in the standby line..no guarantee.. so when the line next to me that was supposedly closed took a few more people… I jumped ship,… to Mikey Richards!..no problem with that!
He was ready to go early..”thought they were stopping at 8:30″ I hear him say..had to tease him on this.. but after all the players are humans.. and I imagine it is exhausting with the smiling.. small talk and signing.. and I am being serious..you don;t know.. who is sick.. sore etc..and Gange was not there.. his Concussion.. really makes me feel worried.. as they don’t want him even participating in this..pre Mike so I felt obliged not to pass him by .. I had to go ..”uuuuggghhh ..Colin Fraizer”.. he who dares to wear #24.. and just my luck.. that was the best picture of the bunch!,,,I cannot smile correctly for the life of me.. my daughter must teach me.. those youngsters are very knowledgeable with this as they take millions of pics of themselves..:)
As I am standing in the Richards line.. I start talking to two women in line behind me.. . I am talking about the practices at El Segundo and that I wish it was easier to navigate the King’s Web page to find the info.. one of the women tell me Hammond posts the practices and asks
if I ever go to the Blogs.. I say used to do Hammond..not so much anymore.. too much
bickering.. but I did like another one and just as I go to mention LA KINGS HOCKEY FOR WOMAN.. she goes.. “Is your name Michelle”… OMG.. it was TRACY!!!!!
How Hilarious is that.. in a crowd of 5000 people what was the chance? Talk about
Six Degrees of Separation..
We got thru Richie and then went over to Dougty but by then there was really no time .. so
as we are discussing we see that a short standby line for Jack MF Johnson.. so we say
why not.. and line up.. Well once again we were Lucky .. and got under the wire for Pics
with Jack.. he is another Sweetheart.. polite as can be..and this is at the end of all that signing and picture taking.. oh also got the picture with Hunter.. he was first in the set up and it did not seem right to just walk by him.. what a nice fan I am.. and of course that was the other picture that I thought turned out well… :/
So that was my night..
Happy Fan going home..
GO KINGS GO!!!
hockeyjockey
January 11, 2012
ON Another note.. this was pretty funny.. so passing on.. and I LOVE the picture..
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bdbza
Shoot Tracy I cannot get my cut and past picture to go in here!!
what is the secret..
GO KINGS GO!!!
tracykingslover
January 11, 2012
lol! I saw that on puckdaddy yesterday – cracked me up. I guess Penner was getting a little annoyed by everyone talking about pancakes with him. lol.
It was great meeting you last night! I had such a wonderful time. Just felt so honored to meet all those players. I think the nicest was JJ and Voynov. Oh and Anze and Martinez, lol, ok, everyone was wonderful. But you are right about Richards. Wear an LA team hat please!!
Next year I want to go to tip-a-king. That sounded really fun
hockeyjockey
January 11, 2012
Tip a King looks fun.. esp for the young kids.. It is expensive though..
Kings Fest in August is very reasonable.. and really my favorite activity..
You get symposiums and time to meet the players and a good set up of
King’s stuff to buy and some good discounts.. one year they even had the
Rookie camp going on!.. That was at El Segundo .. I think the best place to have
it. This year they were expanding and converting an inline rink to an Ice one. So maybe
next year they will have it there again..
Also don’t forget Frozen Fury.. it is almost all King’s fans and a smathering of Colorado..
Everyone goes around drinks in hand wearing their King Jersys and yelling Go Kings and
Kings Rule.. etc.. very fun..
tracykingslover
January 11, 2012
I always wanted to go to tip-a-king, but it is very expensive. I suppose we could save up? lol
I have been trying to talk my hubbypat into going to FF every year but he will never go! Now that Mary is liking the Kings, I think I could talk her into a Vegas trip.
hockeyjockey
January 12, 2012
Girls. I will get my pics on here as well..eventually….hopfully easier time then the pancake one!
GO KINGS GO!!!
MaryAReed
January 11, 2012
I’m SO jealous! You guys sound like you had a great time. The pics are great! That is really something that you guys just happened to be standing in line and met there, among THOUSANDS of people! That’s so crazy! It must be kismet. lol. I have no idea how to upload pics from a phone. Tracy, help!!!
Next year we all have to go to this.
Sounds like it was a fun, fun night.
tracykingslover
January 11, 2012
Mary, it is so much fun! only for sth so you can go with me next year if you want and my boss helps out with tickets! LOL
It was great meeting hockeyjockey and talking puck.
Meg Jarrell
January 12, 2012
Totally awesome meeting you last night! Sounds like you had a much fun as I did
tracykingslover
January 12, 2012
Thanks for talking “blog” with me! It was great meeting you too. I’m having a blast with the King’s functions. I know for sure I’m going to FF this year. No excuses!
Angryhockeywife
January 12, 2012
Here is my recap cross posted from Tumblr:
Got there at around 5:15, got in the middle of the line, went by pretty fast.
First line we hit was the Cifford/Kopitar/Martinez line…They kept packing in them in and people kept sneaking to the front of the line. Kid was getting cranky, but we had the free food as as saving grace!!! On my way to getting the food, all the players came out, luckily i didnt drop the tray!!! Waited in line for an hour, all the older people with kids were getting cranky, but the family behind us were super nice!!
Clifford- He signed my kid’s hockey stick and posed for pics, no big.
Kopi- My poor kid was a nervous wreck around him and was terrified to pose for a pic with him (he is usually out going, but he freezes up around his favs!). Kopi was super patient and encouraged ho, to come on over and pose for a pic. He also taught me how to say “Thank you” in Slovenian (Vale??).
Martinez-Didnt find him as friendly as last year, just basically did his job and we moved on to the next line.
Next up was the Greene/Penner line, the line was very unorganized and it took about another hour to get to them. There were these two chicks, well past their “expiration date” I might add”, that were holding up the line by flirting with both Penner and Greene. Penner soaked it up, but Greene looked terrified! One of them even left her phone number on his name paper!! Uh yeah!!!
Penner- Couldnt have been more outgoing, funny and flirty. He totally remembered my kid from their air hockey match at Tip a King!! He actually reminded Gabe (my son) and he was blown away! He is just amazing with kids and the ladies. He had a stack of pancakes on his table and I commented how wrong that was and I said it could’ve been worse and it couldve been an IHOP gift card. Yeah, he might not be a beast on the ice, but he has a great personality and looks genuinely happy to be at these events.
Greene-Did not disappoint!! I had him sign my husband’s Green Bay Gambler’s jersey and he was in awe! He asked if they were still awful and commented on how much nice the jersey’s were than when he played there, then we talked about the beauty of Lambeau field, football, and Raiders fans. Another one, that is just a joy to talk to!!!
I really wanted to get my Richards jersey signed, but the line was closed, so we stood in line for Williams/Loktionov/Voynov. I notice that people were trickling into the Richards line, so I went back and they re-opened it for stand-by. Waited about 5 minutes and they let us in!
Richards-2nd time I meet him and to be honest he is no where near as friendly as Penner, Greene or Kopi. I wouldnt say he is rude, he just seemed overwhelmed and seems like he really is a bit on the shy, almost “mousey” side when it comes to stuff like this. I basically said hi and told him that I knew he just wanted to go home and that I would make it fast. He just flashed me a smile and “It’s ok, it’s what I am here to do”(or something like that). Then when we posed for the pic the Kings rep didnt know how to work my camera and I had to show her, but that’s ok because I got to hold to him a little bit longer (ha)! I said “thanks” again and he flashed a smile.
Lewis- Was much friendlier than Tip a King, another one that I think remembered Gabe from Tip a King, was very cool to him!
Despite the long lines, it was still a good time, but to be honest, it seems like Tip a King is a little more organized.
hockeyjockey
January 12, 2012
Thanks for the recap!
GO KINGS GO!!!
tracykingslover
January 12, 2012
“There were these two chicks, well past their “expiration date” I might add”, that were holding up the line by flirting with both Penner and Greene. Penner soaked it up, but Greene looked terrified! One of them even left her phone number on his name paper!! Uh yeah!!!”
LOLOLOLOL!!! That is so funny! haahha. oh boy. Poor Greene! When we were in line for Kopi there was a lady that was, uh, past her prime too and she asked him to sign her t-shirt above her breast just below the shoulder while she was wearing it! And he did! LOL! we were all mortified for him as he was too. Classic. Wish I took a pic.
Sounds like you had a really good time same as us. Too bad you guys didnit’ get to JJ. I’d say he was awsome with the kids that we saw. Just all around nice and happy. Loved it!
MaryAReed
January 12, 2012
LOL! LOVE the stories from the Meet N Greet, ladies!!!!
I was just about to post the same thing, Tracy. LOL! Those (*ahem) past their prime ladies should be bringing chicken soup! Everyone knows the way to a man’s heart is his stomach. lol.
Noreen M Brown
January 12, 2012
Us past their prime ladies may be old, but we’re not dead. The only way I would offer any of them chicken soup is if they showed up with a bottle of Reisling to go with. I’m glad you “girls” had a good time. Thanks for the pics Tracy.
tracykingslover
January 12, 2012
LOL! I’m glad you are my mom. I keep forgetting I’m supposed to be a bit “ripe” myself.
Who am I kidding! I’m just hitting my prime! Bring on the men!
hockeyjockey
January 17, 2012
Tracy.. did not see you post so I will.. the King’s Vision came out..
Yes your co-worker ..there she is!.. name again.. (sorry I do not retain when too much going
on)
And Tracy… that cut and paste.. it did not work for the Penner Picture.. do you think because it was a protected picture?
GO KINGS GO!!!
tracykingslover
January 17, 2012
sweet video of Smyth getting crushed. lol. not sure that is the one you wanted to put there?
I’ll put it up. And yes, its Catalina! She looks so small. lol. Not sure which Penner pic you are referring to?
hockeyjockey
January 17, 2012
Tracy.. so typical of me.. trying to do catch up and of course I post the wrong link.. the
JJ hit on Smyth was the season before we aquired him.. I saw that from S&S a few days ago.. just no time til now to watch.. so great you post the Penner Ihterview..
Co-Worker’s name is Catalina?..wow I so do not remember hearing that!
As for the Pen pic.. it was the one on the Bleacher report.. his face next to a huge stack of
pancakes.. I am going to have some for dinner.. think I have been brainwashed lol
I can copy and put in email to self, but when I try to copy or cut.. it will NOT allow me to put
on Your site.. right here.
I am going to send to your email right now
GO KINGS GO!!!
tracykingslover
January 17, 2012
I can’t embed in the post. Not sure why not. I;ll add a link so we can see it at least. Thanks.
hockeyjockey
January 17, 2012
Least it is not me/… I like the sanity checks when they come out clean
GO KINGS GO!!!