Centurians of Rome

Considering how much I hate the Ducks, it's hard to believe I was a ticket-holder for the Anaheim hockey team's inaugural season. I saw them get shellacked by the Red Wings in their first game. I saw Wild Wing get stranded in the rafters and also catch fire. I saw the Decoys (cheerleaders on ice) run into each other and fall quite often. Mostly, I just saw really bad hockey and an audience populated with families that were new to the sport. When netminder Guy Hebert would whack his stick on the ground to indicate that the power play was almost over, everyone started clapping along. Stupefying.


But it was fun. I had Hockey Fever at the time, and I went to any game I could--possibly because the Kings had just gone to the Stanely Cup Finals the year before. Being invited by my pal Joy when her roommate flaked wasn't enough, so I bought mini-plans for the Kings and the Ducks that season.

By the summer, I was burnt on the family-oriented aspects of the Pond and the Ducks. How could I take a team based on a Disney flick seriously? Especially one with no skills. But as the Ducks became better over the years, the teams became real rivals. For the last few years, the Ducks have been a powerhouse. The Kings, a doormat. It kills me.

So I root for the Senators out of spite--as if the Ducks were a girlfriend I rejected that went on to better things--but also because their president and CEO is ex-Kings manager Roy Mlakar. (Non-factor and ex-Kings defenseman Joe Covro skates for the team, too.)

I don't know if it will help, but I suggest the Ottawa players take "Centurians of Rome" (off The Meatmen's Rock & Roll Juggernaut album) as a theme for the series. You know, like how the White Sox adopted "Don't Stop Believing" or the Pirates took on "We Are Family," but better.


On a sort of related note: Mando Diao's song, Welcome Home, Luc Robitaille. I just read that he became the Kings' manager of daily operations. Maybe the Hall-of-Fame left winger brings some luck back to the injury-plagued franchise.