2014: Los Angeles, CA

Hello. My name is Michael and I was able to witness the LA Kings hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup due to the complete altruism and overreaching kindness of a complete stranger. I am still in disbelief that what transpired actually happened. Let me explain.

After the Kings went up 3-0 in the Series against the New York Rangers, I decided that I wanted the Kings to win in 4. That way it would be in New York and I wouldn’t feel like I “missed” it, being all the way across the country. There just isn’t enough extra money right now to be able to get tickets. Well, as game 4 ended with a Kings loss and the Kings with a chance to win on home ice in Los Angeles, I began to browse the internet to gauge ticket prices and see if there was a snowball’s chance in Hell that I could snag a seat. With prices between $600-$20,000, there was just no way I could make it happen. I tried craigslist to see if maybe I could find a face value deal or something of the like, and came across a posting simply titled:

Upon clicking, I read about a guy who had gotten the chance to take his brother ( a huge Chicago Blackhawks fan) to Boston to witness the Hawks hoist the Cup. He said that because of the joy he saw in his brother, he wanted to be able to share that feeling again with someone that would enjoy it just as much. A King’s fan. So I opened my email and sent him a letter.

Hello,

My name is Michael and I am the biggest Kings fan I know. I’ve been a fan since I was just 7 years old. I am 30 now. I grew up watching some of the worst hockey teams LA has ever produced. lol I used to watch them with bunny ears on KCAL 9 or listen on the radio if I had to. I was overjoyed that the Kings were able to win it all in 2012, and cheered them on all the way from Phoenix. I was living there at the time for school.

Growing up, my Mom did what she could, but it was just the two of us and money was pretty tight. I only ever got to see one game as a kid. As an adult, I’ve been to a few games per season, as money allows. Now that I’m in California again, and the Kings are so close, I was hoping to be able to go see them win it all. I’ve been looking at tickets, but with being laid off 6 months ago and money being tight, I thought it was impossible. That is until you came along. I am doing everything short of begging you. LOL If I miss the chance to see them hoist the Cup again I will be totally devastated.

I think I would make a great addition to your night. I’m intelligent, thoughtful, respectful, and honest. I can also talk some mean puck. =] I’m a musician, audio engineer and video editor by trade and can also do web development. If you need any help in those categories I can hook it up, free of charge. I actually just finished editing an 18 minute video recapping the San Jose Sharks series. I’ll send you a link when it is finished uploading. I’m very proud of it and plan on making one for each series. It is a good way to keep my skills up while I’m out of work.

So long story short, please please pick me, you won’t regret it and I’d love to make a new hockey friend. I don’t have too many. Hehe. Thank you for your time and thank you for making this offer. That is very kind of you to do. I really hope to hear back from you, or I might have to resort to selling plasma and or my body. Just kidding, but only kind of. ; )

I hit send and went to bed. The next day I checked my inbox religiously, hoping that maybe it was legit and just maybe he would pick me. As the night before game 5 wound down, I fell asleep without a response, but when I awoke on game day, there was a message waiting for me. It said, “Welcome to Game 5. Want to join me at Staples Center tonight?”

I was in shock. I still didn’t think it was true. We exchanged a few texts and I agreed to meet him at the Luxe, where he was staying. I made the trek to downtown and texted him when I got to the lobby. Even to that point, I thought it could still possibly be a prank or scam or something. Instead, he shows up, proceeds to be a super normal, interesting guy, has 2 tickets 12 rows off the ice, and refuses to let me buy a single thing. We took some pictures outside of the festivities, then got inside so we wouldn’t miss warmups.

The game itself couldn’t have been better. When we made it down to our seats, I couldn’t believe the view. Being that close really helped to put into perspective just how fast, physical, and precise this game of hockey really is. Both teams were playing out of their minds. The Kings opened the scoring in the first, but after 2 Ranger goals in the 2nd, I was starting to get antsy that maybe it just wasn’t going to be.

Then, midway through a tight-checking 3rd period, the Kings break through with a goal from Marian Gaborik on the power play. Boom. 2-2. Now we’re going to overtime.

After 20 solid minutes of a grueling overtime period, we still sat at a 2-2 tie. Being so close, I could tell the players were running on fumes. My nerves were on edge the entire time. The play went back and forth, with no team really claiming an edge of any kind.

Then, in the 2nd overtime, after multiple pucks rang off the goal posts for both teams, Kings defenseman Alec Martinez, the hero in game 7 of the WCF, rips a rebound past Henrik Lundqvist. Cue pure pandemonium. Cue the “JAZZ HANDS” celebration. The Kings had won the 2014 Stanley Cup in dramatic fashion, and I got to be there to witness it in all of it’s glory.

I can’t thank him enough for allowing me the opportunity to witness what I did. That had to have been the greatest game in King’s history up to this date, and I got to see it in the flesh, all thanks to a complete stranger I met on the internet. Life is such an adventure sometimes. It never ceases to blow my mind. I want as many people as possible to know about the epic kindness of this human being. It is truly a story that I will tell for ages and will definitely never forget. Thanks again. P.S. I loaned him my Kopitar jersey so he would feel at home. It looked good on him. Haha.