Hi. My name is VF21 and I'm a Kings fan.
I've been a Kings fan since the day Greg Lukenbill brought the team to town. I've loved the game since 1963 but until that day in 1985 when the Kings stepped on the court in Sacramento for the first time, I rooted for the Boston Celtics. I would transfer my hatred of the Lakers along with my fandom.
I was a fan because it was so much fun. The Kings were OURS. We neglected sports fans in Sacramento finally had a team to call our own. Our arena wasn't much but it was ours. The original old barn was drafty, the floors creaked scarily in some areas and there was an aroma in the building I never did figure out. But none of that mattered. It was all about the Kings and the game. The glorious game.
It didn't matter if they won or lost. It was the experience of sitting in the nose bleed seats and cheering until we were hoarse beyond belief for OUR TEAM. We got to know the people we sat next to and formed friendships that have, in some cases, lasted this whole time.
When the new arena was built, we were beyond ecstatic. Yeah, there were still some problems but they were easy to overlook. We came in droves and we set NBA records for attendance sellouts. Still, it didn't matter that much if we won or lost. We were there for the experience. And if we were able to get a free roast beef sandwich from Arby's because the Kings won a home game (on a Tuesday, I think) it was just icing on the cake.
Over the years, we fans grew up and brought our children to the game. And we made sure they learned to love the team as much as we did. You saw lots of Kings gear out and about, and you smiled and nodded at fellow fans and maybe even said a "Go Kings!" as you passed by.
When the Kings started getting good, more fans were drawn to them. I'm not calling them bandwagon fans but they came because of the winning ways, the SI cover, the buzz. That's kind of how it works for the vast majority of fans for any team, so again I'm not belittling anyone. I'm just pointing out that it brought a different POV.
I won't rehash the GOOD TIMES. If you lived through them, I don't need to remind you. If you didn't, nothing I could say could possibly explain the excitement, the electricity, the feeling that the whole damned town was along for the ride. It was an AWESOME time to be a Kings fan.
Then came the slow-at-first decline. The questionable trades, the reduction in salary, the disappointment. The Maloofs lied to us time and time again. They did everything they could to put the final nail in the Kings coffin in Sacramento so they could move the team to a more lucrative market. I will never forgive them or forget their treachery. They can all rot in hell for all I care.
Through all of this, I was still a Kings fan. I couldn't help myself. It's in my DNA at this point. It's in my daughter's DNA and it's in my granddaughters. Some of you know them as the Little Princesses (1 and 2). They are Kings fans to the point their middle names both start with K because "K is for KINGS!" My daughter and son-in-law got married in Reno in Chris Webber jerseys. My mom was a HUGE Bobby Jackson fan and watched every game on TV, even though they got pretty bad. When she died, we found a calendar that had all the Kings games circled on it.
In case you're counting, that's FOUR generations of Kings fans in my family. My Dad passed away in late 1984. He never got to see the Kings play but he would have loved it. He's the one who instilled in me a love of basketball that lasts to this day.
After all the drama of the end of the Maloof era and the uncertainty of the beginning of the Ranadive era, a lot of Kings fans left. I don't blame them at all. It wasn't an option for me, though. I'm not a quitter, I would tell myself. There wasn't much to love at times, but I could almost always find something to feel positive about. I didn't have much choice. It's who I am.
Now, I see reason for hope. I see more and more Kings fans returning to the fold. I see names on here that I haven't seen in a very long time. I suspect they've been around but they haven't been attending the meetings.
I'm hoping more of them will find their way back. Being a Kings fan is a good thing. And there's donuts!
Help yourself to the donuts and some coffee - or your beverage of choice. It's a good time to be a Kings fan even if it is hard.
I LOVE THIS TEAM!
I've been a Kings fan since the day Greg Lukenbill brought the team to town. I've loved the game since 1963 but until that day in 1985 when the Kings stepped on the court in Sacramento for the first time, I rooted for the Boston Celtics. I would transfer my hatred of the Lakers along with my fandom.
I was a fan because it was so much fun. The Kings were OURS. We neglected sports fans in Sacramento finally had a team to call our own. Our arena wasn't much but it was ours. The original old barn was drafty, the floors creaked scarily in some areas and there was an aroma in the building I never did figure out. But none of that mattered. It was all about the Kings and the game. The glorious game.
It didn't matter if they won or lost. It was the experience of sitting in the nose bleed seats and cheering until we were hoarse beyond belief for OUR TEAM. We got to know the people we sat next to and formed friendships that have, in some cases, lasted this whole time.
When the new arena was built, we were beyond ecstatic. Yeah, there were still some problems but they were easy to overlook. We came in droves and we set NBA records for attendance sellouts. Still, it didn't matter that much if we won or lost. We were there for the experience. And if we were able to get a free roast beef sandwich from Arby's because the Kings won a home game (on a Tuesday, I think) it was just icing on the cake.
Over the years, we fans grew up and brought our children to the game. And we made sure they learned to love the team as much as we did. You saw lots of Kings gear out and about, and you smiled and nodded at fellow fans and maybe even said a "Go Kings!" as you passed by.
When the Kings started getting good, more fans were drawn to them. I'm not calling them bandwagon fans but they came because of the winning ways, the SI cover, the buzz. That's kind of how it works for the vast majority of fans for any team, so again I'm not belittling anyone. I'm just pointing out that it brought a different POV.
I won't rehash the GOOD TIMES. If you lived through them, I don't need to remind you. If you didn't, nothing I could say could possibly explain the excitement, the electricity, the feeling that the whole damned town was along for the ride. It was an AWESOME time to be a Kings fan.
Then came the slow-at-first decline. The questionable trades, the reduction in salary, the disappointment. The Maloofs lied to us time and time again. They did everything they could to put the final nail in the Kings coffin in Sacramento so they could move the team to a more lucrative market. I will never forgive them or forget their treachery. They can all rot in hell for all I care.
Through all of this, I was still a Kings fan. I couldn't help myself. It's in my DNA at this point. It's in my daughter's DNA and it's in my granddaughters. Some of you know them as the Little Princesses (1 and 2). They are Kings fans to the point their middle names both start with K because "K is for KINGS!" My daughter and son-in-law got married in Reno in Chris Webber jerseys. My mom was a HUGE Bobby Jackson fan and watched every game on TV, even though they got pretty bad. When she died, we found a calendar that had all the Kings games circled on it.
In case you're counting, that's FOUR generations of Kings fans in my family. My Dad passed away in late 1984. He never got to see the Kings play but he would have loved it. He's the one who instilled in me a love of basketball that lasts to this day.
After all the drama of the end of the Maloof era and the uncertainty of the beginning of the Ranadive era, a lot of Kings fans left. I don't blame them at all. It wasn't an option for me, though. I'm not a quitter, I would tell myself. There wasn't much to love at times, but I could almost always find something to feel positive about. I didn't have much choice. It's who I am.
Now, I see reason for hope. I see more and more Kings fans returning to the fold. I see names on here that I haven't seen in a very long time. I suspect they've been around but they haven't been attending the meetings.
I'm hoping more of them will find their way back. Being a Kings fan is a good thing. And there's donuts!
Help yourself to the donuts and some coffee - or your beverage of choice. It's a good time to be a Kings fan even if it is hard.
I LOVE THIS TEAM!