The Stanley Cup Finals: When Life And Hockey Collide

At the beginning of the post season, I picked the Kings to lose in the first round and resigned myself to being happy with any playoff appearance given the rocky nature of the regular season. As the Kings kept winning, heading deeper and deeper into the playoffs, I realized I was totally unprepared for what a playoff run means in terms of impact on your every day life. And frankly, I was overwhelmed. Happy, but overwhelmed. And I still am.

I never knew you could use the tickets in the back of the book until this season....

My previous playoff experiences as a Kings fan have felt a lot like a vacation. You go away for a week or two of complete hockey immersion, then it's over and you return to "normal life." I've learned a legitimate Cup run is NOTHING like a vacation. It's a full time job. Constant news and blog posts to read. Videos of every player answering the same hackneyed questions to watch. Facebook and Twitter posts coming from people you rarely interact with who have suddenly taken a keen interest in your thoughts and feelings as a Kings fan. Some days the flow of information and commentary seems endless.

If I was independently wealthy, all this would actually be enjoyable. But like most of you, I have a full time job and the demands of that job don't care that this is the biggest moment of my life as a hockey fan. Occasionally something has to give, which in my case were my blog posts for the last two games.

Immediately after the Conference Championship, I was on a 6 AM flight to Huntsville, AL for work, followed by a couple of days back in Los Angeles then another early flight to Memphis, TN. Between the time changes and 10 hour days at work, I hardly knew which end was up. Because of the first trip, I didn't attend a watch party and the only experience I had seeing Dustin Brown pose next to the Campbell Cup was on video late the next day. The night of the win itself was difficult because my boyfriend is a Coyotes fan. Let's just say we didn't agree on ANY aspect of the Kings and Coyotes on-ice OR post game behavior, which made thinking about writing a post-game recap less than fun.

Then I watched Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals from my hotel room in Batesville, MS. I had such a long day at work I actually managed to fall asleep during part of the game. It probably had something to do with Doc Emrick boring me with his awful game commentary, including the play of Drew Droughty and the fact that the Kings were a "big" team. Plenty about how "skilled" the Devils were. The Kings just played "big." And don't even get me started on the Martin Brodeur love-fest put on by NBC. All I could think looking at his cheeseball grin was "YOU CHEATED ON YOUR WIFE, YOU JERK. WITH HER SISTER! DON'T SMILE AND PRETEND YOU'RE NOT A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING. AND YOU CAN KISS MY ASS WITH YOUR SCORPION KICK."

OK, now I feel better.

But the struggles of the last two weeks have a huge silver lining -- no more work travel until after the playoffs are over. So no matter what happens from here on out, I'll be there to experience it all. I plan to enjoy every blissful moment.

GO KINGS GO!