On Monday, the Los Angeles Kings made history, garnering their 45-year-old franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship , and the first hockey championship in Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, I was all set to go to the Dodgers-Angels game when it was announced the 2012 Stanley Cup Champs will be there and bring The Stanley Cup as well! I left the house early and made sure to catch the Red Lin and Dodger Stadium Express in time to see the festivities. It was my first time seeing the thing with my own eyes and was rather exciting, even from some 400 feet away sitting in the right field pavilion.
Members of the Dodgers and the Kings posed for a photo-op with Lord Stanley’s Cup, and were also joined by the visiting Angels, which might not have made any sense to Dodgers fans (especially since the 2007 Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks had their day at Angels Stadium), but it made all sense in the world to Fox Sports.
The Kings threw the honorary first pitch(es), throwing it to members of the Dodgers. I’m hoping this was a symbolic way of passing the championship torch from one local team to another, and likewise the Dodgers would show up at Staples Center this fall and show off their World Series trophy. And with the MLB’s best record at the moment, it might just be likely.
It was also Filipino Night at Dodger Stadium, scheduled to coincide with Philippine Independence Day on June 12 (Yesterday was a bobblehead night, so the 13th it was). I was actually the only Filipino in my group, made up primarily of people in my church, who originally bought the tickets to see our fellow choir member Chessa, a finalist in NBC’s The Voice sing the national anthem. But that appearance was cancelled a few days ago, and we decided to go see the game anyway. My friends Louie and Lisa sang as part of the Philippine Chamber Singers, who did a pre-game performance, and the national anthem/God Bless America was sung by another singer (stadium P.A. announcer Eric Smith actually used the word “Pinoy” while introducing her.
The Filipino Night attendees either got t-shirts or backpacks with a modified Dodgers logo featuring the eight-ray sun fron the Philippine flag in lieu of the speeding baseball. Which was way better than giving out red “This is My Town” t-shirts during a game where we played the Cardinals, and offering a Filipino food menu that had an adobo dish that more resembled teriyaki. This year was no-frills, but not embarrassing either.
As we sat near Andre Ethier’s workspace, we watched a game that ultimately had the Dodgers fall 2-1 to the Angels. No big deal since the Dodgers still have the best record in baseball.
But dang, how often do they have the Stanley Cup in the house?
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