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They’re The Champs, But The Kings Are Still Struggling To Get Respect

The Los Angeles Kings achieved the ultimate in hockey last night, winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup with a 6-1 thrashing of the Devils. But while the Kings are the champs – and convincingly so; the Stanley Cup Finals was the only series in which they were even pushed to six games – they still seem to be struggling to earn the kind of recognition a champion normally would.

Specifically, we’re talking about this moment from a newscast on a local NBC affiliate. Of course, the graphic meant to use the L.A. Kings’ logo, as the segment was discussing the three L.A. teams still alive in the NBA and NHL playoffs at the time, but the one that actually made it on the air belongs to the Sacramento Kings, who are in the wrong town and play the wrong sport. The mixup fueled the stereotype that no one in L.A. really cares about hockey, and while Kings fans did their best to erase that perception, gaffes like the NBC station’s made it a tough perception to fight.

So in the wake of the Kings’ victory, could NBC atone for its prior screwup? Could they show the Kings respect befitting a champion? Well, NBC Sports’ store arm sent out an email to subscribers urging fans to commemorate the Kings’ victory by buying Kings championship gear. The photo in the body of that email:

And thankfully… this graphic has it right. The Kings depicted here are the correct Kings. Maybe it took winning a title, but it seems that everyone finally knows who the Los Angeles Kings really are. One thing, though: the subject line of this email, asking people to buy L.A. Kings gear in honor of the L.A. Kings’ Stanley Cup championship. That subject line, forwarded to us by a tipster: