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They have stuck together...
Thick and thin...
Times have been challenging...
They had to do this...
No other alternatives...
When your back is against the wall...
You do what you have to do to survive...
These Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Are just what the doctor ordered...
For the Kings...
And for my daugher and son...
Stephanie and Ryan...
You see...
When Mom and Dad couldn’t make it together...
They clung to each other...
In an amazing sort of way...
Pretty much every Thursday night...
Dinner...
Watchin’ The Office...
Quality time...
A broken family hasn’t deterred them...
They keep going...
Stephanie, a licensed therapist...
Helping the mentally ill...
Ryan, a successful businessman...
With 200+ music students...
And even though Thursdays are special for these two...
Monday night was their night...
From Stephanie's facebook post...
For those of you who know anything about me, you know that my
family and I are huge Kings fans. My Uncle had a cat name Marty
(McSorley), and my other uncle has a dog named Luc. It is one of the
legacies that I am most proud of. My grandfather and
grandmother held season tickets for more years than I can
remember back when the Kings wore gold and purple. They met Luc
Robitaille and Wayne Gretzky at Tip-a-King, and I still vividly
remember shopping for the perfect shirt to have Luc Robitaille sign
(in true 90's fashion it was purple, turquoise and pink. I wore it
proudly until it had holes). My Grandpa wore his Kings hat proudly
while he gardened, and the only time I remember him getting a ticket
was when he was driving 90 on the freeway to get to the puck drop
on time. When the Kings went to the Stanley Cup (Finals), my father
took me to the game. I was overjoyed. He only had two tickets, so
Ryan didn't get to go. My brother, the major sports fan. My
grandfather died in 1996 and a little bit of our family died with him.
But we kept the legacy of the Kings alive. Throughout these
playoffs, we have been showing our Kings pride in every way we
can. My little cousin proudly wore a jersey in 95 degree weather in
Nevada, and the whole family has been texting each other to make
sure we know who is watching the game live and who is DVRing it
for later. It has brought us together in ways that we needed,
especially with our grandmother's health declining to a point where
she hasn't been able to watch the games. Ryan and I went to LA
(Monday) with hopes that we would possibly get tickets to a game
that my brother has been wanting to see for over 15 years. I told him
that if we could only get one ticket, I would put my money toward it-
he had to go. Fiercely he said, "Not going to happen." It made me
realize again how loyal and wonderful he is. And... he was rewarded
for those qualities. At the last minute, in a story he describes very
well, he got tickets!! For a price I will never know. As we ran to the
Staples center, I prayed at least 5 prayers that the tickets would be
legit, and they were! And as we watched the Kings hold their own
on a 5 on 3 power play, we screamed our heads off, as my phone
buzzed with text messages from my family, and tears filled my eyes
to know that my grandpa's memory is alive and well. His legacy lives
on in our love of this great team and in my brother who got me to
my second Stanley Cup game. Thanks, little bro.
When he was a kid...
We called Ryan...
“O. T. M”...
One Track Mind...
When you read his account of how he got the tickets...
You will understand why...
From Ryan’s facebook post...
Story about last night... Stephanie and I got to LA Live at noon to
hang out, enjoy the festivities and look for tickets. If you follow the
Kings, you know the prices were out of control and even people
with connections (my good friend works for Lakers) couldn't even
get paid tickets, including the head trainer for the Lakers. We
craigslisted for a solid hour to no luck, but I did make a good
connection with a broker who had somewhat reasonable prices. I
spent the next four hours entering raffles by all various promo
booths to win tickets, going to broker shops, and haggling with
street sellers. All the while, Steph was holding down our back up
plan, a table at Yard House in front of a TV. With my options running
thin, my iPhone battery at less than 10%, my Lakers friend shut
down, and my hope of going dwindling, I headed back to Yard
House. As a last ditch attempt, I sent the earlier broker a text asking
if he still had the tickets from earlier. He called me back on Steph's
phone and tried to sell me upper deck seats for an amount that no
self respecting person should ever pay to watch tiny humans move
across the ice. I declined and said if he had a "good" (I use that
term loosely) deal on some lowers to call me back. He calls back at
5 (puck drop at 5:30) and says he has some beautiful tickets for a
price I couldn't understand, because he was negotiating with his
supplier and selling another pair of tickets all while on the phone
with me. I told him to meet me at Yard House and I'll check them out,
hoping it wouldn't be a price I'd have to sell my remaining
RockStars stock to buy groceries next month. Phone dies. He
arrives at 5:15, shows me the tickets, and quotes a price of
$XXXXXXXXXX (an amount I'll take to my grave). Like a desperate
crack addict, I agree, give him all the cash I have and pay some on a
credit card (thank god for iPhone cc swipers!!). I go get Steph and
we sprint across LA Live, go through security, scan our tickets
(then I stop to pray and thank God they weren't fake), and race
through Staples to find our seats at the blue line FIVE ROWS FROM
THE GLASS right as the Devils come out to ear-piercing boos, and
the Kings come out to the most deafening standing ovation I've
ever experienced. Overcome with emotion and unable to hold it
together, I take it all in that I was a part of a legacy in my family for
30 plus years and at an event that my inspiration for everything, my
late grandfather, had attended as a dream of his just 19 years ago,
three years before he passed. The Great One (who happened to
walk past me earlier in the day) drops the ceremonial puck and then
the game starts. I screamed my head off, paid homage to my dad,
Doug, by dropping his "GO BACK TO FOOTLOCKER" line at the refs
after a bad call and enjoyed a beautiful Kings victory, 4-0, that was
way closer and more intense than the final score shows. Thank you
to everyone from my clients to friends to family who've sent good
thoughts and prayers my way, and especially to my business
partner Jeremy, office manager Elise, who held down the fort at
RockStars for me and to the teachers for being absolute pros and
always reliable.
GO KINGS GO!!! One more to go...
Monday night was their night...
And it gave me a revelation...
As to how important family is to them...
And to me, too...
dvt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UttQzF5C5I
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/stanley-cup-final-2012.gif
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