Kings Of The World!

In case you may not know already, the Los Angeles Kings ar...

naw, naw, naw...let's do that again.

In case you may not know already...


THE LOS ANGELES KINGS ARE THE 2012 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!!!!!1

 Dude, this is like...history!

The Militant can't reveal where he was watching the devastating 6-1 victory over the New Joisey Devils, but later that evening, he wanted to bask in the glory of victory somehow, so he took the (M) Red Line to Downtown and walked down Figueroa.

No, he wasn't there to cause any trouble, and in fact, aside from a few minor incidents, there really was no riot to talk about whatsoever. A damaged newsstand and an overturned illuminated traffic arrow trailer (pictured left) were pretty much the extent of the irresponsible celebrating.

The Militant passed groups of straggler Kings fans, held out his palm and got free high-fives as he walked past them. A few horns honked, and the few that were still out on the streets, whooped and hollered in accord.

Some three hours after the game ended, and the crowds have cleared, the Staples Center, once a roaring beast earlier in the evening, was now darkened save for a few parties going on in the patio level.

The Militant went across Chick Hearn Court and stared at LA Live's characteristic near-seizure-inducing video displays, which bore the words, "CONGRATULATIONS LA KINGS - 2012 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS."

The Militant just stared at those words for a few minutes, as if to have it sink in. As if, to verify for himself this was no dream or he had stepped into a bizarro-reality wormhole somewhere. But...it was real.

As the frequent Staples Center visitor has noticed, there is ia bronze likeness of former Kings player Wayne Gretzky, a man who, though still worthy of his "Great One" nickname, failed to make this night happen 19 years ago, and besides, never actually played inside the Staples Center (to be fair, neither did Magic Johnson, who is similarly immortalized. Gretzky was basically just a draw.

One would wonder which is the next Kings player to be immortalized like that. Jonathan Quick? Dustin Brown?

Of course, this victory was a team effort by all accounts. Still, that image of Gretzky looking across the street has a different meaning now. He was looking towards a future, a (albeit near-seizure-inducing) future brighter than what he was able to see. Because no matter how great you are, eventually there will be someone (or more) that will shine even brighter.

But Gretzky looks happy anyway, and that's all that really matters, right?