At the end of the 2001-2002 NHL season, I went to my first Mighty Ducks of Anaheim game. I had a great time at that game even though they lost. A few seasons later, after an ownership change and a re-branding to the Anaheim Ducks, the team won its first Stanley Cup. This post is about my first years as a fan.
This is the first Ducks shirt I ever owned. It was bought at the Ducks' Team Store for $50. It's a bit pricey but it's made out of a thick fabric and the logo or the material hasn't worn out from all the times it has been washed.
This is a replica road jersey made by CCM. Before the great NHL lockout of 2004-2005, color jerseys were the road jerseys and white was worn at home. After the lockout, the NHL mandated that color jerseys were home and away teams wore white. Most teams before and after the lockout had color alternate jerseys, which meant traveling with extra jerseys and matching equipment on road trips. The switch meant teams only had to carry one set of jerseys on the road.
On occasion, some teams will switch for certain games and wear their white jerseys at home.
I bought this during the 2001-2002 off season. I bought it at Sports Authority and I think I spent about $50 for it.
I bought this replica home jersey at the team store during the 2002-2003 Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Wild. I think I spent over $200 on it. (Team stores are usually really expensive and I don't advise buying during games. Wait till there's a sale or if you're lucky, Ross, Burlington Coat Factory, etc. might have it.)
Jean-Sebastien Giguere was the goalie who carried the Ducks all the to the Stanley Cup Finals. They ended up losing to the New Jersey Devils in a close seven game series. He would end up winning the Cup several years later with the Ducks. He was one of my favorite players on the Ducks. Ironically, I don't have his signature on it. I can't remember most of the players who signed it except for Guy Hebert and Teemu Selanne.
Three last things:
Paul Lukas who writes on
Uni-Watch.com wrote an article about a Royals fan who attended Opening Day and purchased a one of a kind find. The story is on
ESPN.com.
ESPN has the oral history of New Jersey Swamp Dragons. The team president of New Jersey Nets wanted to change the name and everything about the branding of the team. It was very close to happening.
MLB sent out an e-mail telling me that their auction site had Opening Day mementos up for auction. I checked what the Padres had for sale and they are selling
game used baseballs from last season. I purchased a couple of them. When they come I'll post about them.
