So, I drove up with my Laker fan buddy for about 6 hours to finally experience ARCO. Even with the loss, it was the best game I've ever been to in my life. Compared to Staples center, the atmosphere at ARCO is 50x better.
Yes, there were WAY TOO MANY laker fans, but what I noticed is that the vast majority were young in the 25 & under range. A LOT of little kids wearing lakers gear. As for Kings fans, they still easily outnumbered the laker fans and were loud as hell.
Beat L.A. chants blew my eardrums. And all those shots leading up to the end of the 4th, and in OT gave me an insane migraine because of the noise volume.
One the way back, we stopped by Carls Jr to grab something to eat and it was filled with Laker fans, leading me to believe that there were many Laker fans that drove up from L.A. to watch the game.
All in all, it was a great experience and even though Kobe was cheered on by his laker fans, the mvp chants were drowned out...at least from the nosebleeds where I was sitting.
DUDE, Great post!! Glad you drove up to FEEL the ARCO experience! The Kings have that HCA especially against the teams like LA that really get the crown whipped up into a frenzy! The LOUDEST I ever heard ARCO was the 2002 playoff games in ARCO. The noise was louder than a Rock Concert! You are lucky that you got to experience some of that ARCO THUNDER! It is unfortunate that the Kings were not able to win, but even in defeat the Kings played valiantly and made the game interesting. especially taking the game to a 2nd OT and pushing the Fakers to the brink!
Kobe Bryant is an amazing player, BUT he is at the height of his abilities now, and his star will begin to wane in the next few years. The Kings are YOUNG and will continue to get better for the next 5 or 6 years at least. Hopefully, when Kobe begins to slip the Kings will be poised to take the West away from the Fakers and there will be a resurgence of Kings basketball. As much as I hate to admit it as a Kings fan,
Kobe Bryant is THE BEST Basketball Player of our time. Michael Jordan was the best of His time, but now it is Kobe's time to shine. But he wont last forever. The Kings are a quality center away from being a playoff contender. I'd like to see the Kings make that 8th spot this year just to get a taste of the playoffs.
I sure hope Geoff Petrie can pull off some magic and obtain a very good center by trade to give the Kings a chance to win this year. Evans is a young ROOKIE, and he will continue to improve and grow as a player over the next 3-4 years if he keeps working hard. I would love to see the Kings beat the Nuggets tonight and really start to show that they are going down the right path. I like our match ups against the Nuggets, so I will be rooting for the the Upset. GO KINGS, BEAT those NUGGETS!!
Glad to see ARCO full and loud again. Loved the video you put in with the crowd shouting "Beat LA".The LA/Kings rivalry has been pretty poor the last few years because the Kings have been so bad that they couldn't compete against the Fakers. It isn't a real rivalry unless both teams are playing good enough to beat the other team. The Kings need to improve to rekindle the LA/Sacramento rivalry. I think the LA/Sacktown rivalry is good for the NBA, and so lets hope that this rivalry is on its way back and becomes a great rivalry like it used to be!!
The Kings look like a .500 team that is playing with a lot of heart right now. Petrie needs to obtain a center so that the Kings can make a legit push for that 8th seed. Nothing fills seats at the arena like a playoff caliber team fighting for a playoff spot. I am sure that Petrie is methodically scouring the league for a center that will mesh perfectly with the chemistry that the Kings have created even without Martin (the best scorer on the team) and Garcia (the heart and soul leader of the team). Petrie is also looking for the best possible deal.
By the All Star break, teams that thought they would compete for the playoffs will be totally out of it due to injuries or just poor play. Petrie wants to snag a starting quality center who can play defense and rebound. This center does not need to be a big time scorer, because the Kings already have a team full of capable scorers. The Kings need a defensive minded center who can block shots, get rebounds, and make the Kings tougher in the middle. A player like Marcus Camby of the Clippers would be perfect for that job. Canby can block shots, rebound, and even occasionally make a short shot or putback to score.
If you put Canby on the Kings roster, they would win a lot more games. Canby would make a great starter, which would mean Hawes would come off the bench. Hawes could play the 4 or 5 depending what team you were playing. Hawes's outside shot gives him a chance to shine on the 2nd unit, and he would be an improvement over a Sean May or Kenny Thomas because he is taller, has better offense, and can be used in a lot of different play sets that could make the second unit even better than they are now. There are other centers that Petrie could get that would do the job, but Camby IMHO would be a great pickup. Especially now that the Rookie Blake Griffin will be available after the break, the Clippers have a log jam at the 5 spot. They may be reluctant to trade Canby to the Kings because they are in the same division, but the Kings have several quality wing players that the Clippers need too so it might be a win/win for both teams.
