And it begins.... PT. I

Where to begin.
What to say.

I guess I won't go the direction of your usual proper introductions. Just going to plainly say what my whole blog thing is about in one sentence:

"I am a fan of hockey, more importantly I am a die-hard Anaheim Ducks supporter."

Yes, THAT Anaheim Ducks team. The team with the "Dirty Goons". The "Disney" team. And whatever outside Duck fans say to us. I've heard it all. But I am proud to be a fan of this talented team. And of course I am of fan of the great sport of hockey in general. Sure there are teams that I hate and there are teams that I really respect and like. I love the sport.

My journey:

Well don't know if I would call it a "journey" more like "My Story". What is my story? Well, I was born and raised in Southern California. Got into hockey right around the early 90's and I will honestly say that it was the "Disney" film, yes, THAT "Disney" film that help sparked my interest in the sport. No one in my neighbourhood played hockey, my father was a baseball, basketball, American football fan. My friends were into video games. I was on my own, 12 years old, a Southern Californian kid. It's sad but true what people say about SoCal hockey, or shall I say the lack of attention it draws and of course it has changed since '92 but back then, I didn't know anyone who had interest in the sport, and after that film was release, after I saw it, I was hooked. Say what you want about how silly it is to support a team that was started by Disney, I don't care. Hell, I think Disney should never be allowed to start a franchise and/or own a sports team again. But that was the past, the Ducks aren't that team anymore and they aren't own by Disney and any smack talk or linking the Ducks & Disney is rather sad. It's pathetic and just know that all of the current supporters of the team think it's pure jealously now because our team since then have proved that they are a legit team, ask Lord Stanley.

I wasn't able to follow the Ducks that much in those early years due to the fact that my father had been laid off 3 years prior to the teams inaugural season, so pretty much the only channels on the telly that we were able to get were a whooping number of 4. We had to cut the cable because frankly, we couldn't afford it(hell, I could tell that my father was sad at the fact that he couldn't do anything to help his son after it was known that I wanted to learn how to play the sport). And being that I was a kid who didn't have much of an attention span, let's be honest, all young boys don't, I kind of lost touch with the team after a year. It wasn't until 1995 when my interest was sparked again. This time the team was one led by Joe Sakic in Colorado along with players like Foote, Forsberg, Lemieux, Deadmarsh, Ricci, Ozolinsh, and Roy. By that time, I was a teenager barely able to hold steady on the roller blades that a family friend bought me and long gone were the days when I would outline a goal with duct tape on the front of the garage door so that I could practice my wrist and slap shots. I was on my way of learning how to rock and roll. By that time my main focus was music and learning how to play it.

Throughout the years I would keep dipping my head back into things around the NHL and the Ducks, it was the Avalanche in '96. In 2003 the Ducks had made their first Stanley Cup final having a go with the NJ Devils to 7 games and failing to hoist the cup. By that time, I was getting ready to live out on my own, moving from where I grew up in Riverside, CA to Anaheim, CA. I had yet to watch a game live and really wanted to but, I was involved with someone who thought sports were stupid and would mock me whenever I turned on the telly to watch hockey or footie(soccer). Needless to say that relationship was over in 2005 and I was back living in Riverside but still working in Anaheim. That hockey season was, well non-existent and when it was time to restart the NHL for the 2005-2006 season, we saw a different Ducks team, one that wasn't owned by the evil rat, one with newer and less embarrassing sweaters/colours. With better players. It was an exciting time and my ears were perking up, my eye brows were raising, my interest was renewed. I'd say it wasn't until the last half of the 2005-2006 season that I decided to take the deep plunge. The water felt fine and was ready.

I jumped in head first. Who knew that I would never want to get out?