As the Kings wrapped up their unlikely Stanley Cup run Monday night, Echo Park hipster Stan Gatlin made sure everyone around him remembered how huge a fan he was of the team last year, well before anyone else in town.
“It’s pretty easy for everyone to jump on the bandwagon now,” said Gatlin, while pounding a PBR at the Cha Cha Lounge in Silver Lake. “People forget how into the team I was last year, but that’s cool. I’m used to this sort of thing.”
Gatlin said he hardly paid attention to the team this season, especially after the trade deadline when they picked up Jeff Carter and actually rooted against them in the playoffs. He said his team of choice has since become the Sacramento Kings, mostly because L.A. newscasts were confusing the NBA Kings for the NHL Kings as recently as a couple weeks ago.
“I figure a team that obscure will be safe for me to follow for a while,” said Gatlin. “There’s nothing worse than being a fan of a team that’s got more than a few thousand followers. I thought I’d be safe with the L.A. Kings but then they had to ruin my ability to enjoy them by capturing the sport’s ultimate prize. That’s so lame.”
