A lot was made of Patrick O’Sullivan’s comments a few weeks back that seemed to take to task the L.A. market and saying that “nobody cared.” That wasn’t the politically correct thing to say, but when you spend time in Edmonton, you start to understand the difference in culture that O’Sullivan is experiencing, particularly in terms of the media. I counted six camera crews in Edmonton’s locker room after its morning skate. I don’t think I’ve seen a single local TV camera crew, not one, at any of the Kings’ morning skates in L.A. this season.
It’s almost impossible to get a one-on-one interview with an Oiler, because every player of significance is swarmed by reporters. It’s much closer to what the Lakers experience in L.A. The scene around Anze Kopitar’s locker this morning looked exactly like the scrum I’ve seen around Kobe Bryant’s locker at Staples Center.
Anyway, I was a part of the scrum for O’Sullivan’s pregame address to the media this morning. Afterward, as he finished yet another interview and warily walked toward the shower, I joked with him that he must miss the lack of media scrutiny in L.A. He said it was easier in L.A., but not necessarily better, and I think that’s the point he (somewhat awkwardly) has been trying to make…
Question: What’s the feeling, playing against your former team? Is there something a little extra there?
O’SULLIVAN: “Yeah, I think so. It’s the cliche of playing your old team, but it’s exciting. I think, at this point, I feel comfortable with where I am now, here, and the situation I’m in. I’m happy with that. I think last year, we got to play (the Kings) at the end of the year and that was certainly a weird feeling. You look across, and I’d played with some of those guys over there for three years, starting pro hockey together. I have some really good friends there, so that’s the difficult part, but everybody who gets traded has to deal with that. I’m sure most guys have the same answer.”
Question: Do you feel like you have to make a statement in this game at all?
O’SULLIVAN: “No, absolutely not. I’m going to play and prepare the same way I would for any game. It’s no different, just because there’s a personal connection for myself to the team we’re playing. That doesn’t mean I’m going to try to do anything out of the ordinary or go outside of the game plan our team has. It is weird. It’s weird playing against your friends and the people you kind of grew up with. L.A. is always going to be an organization that I feel for. They gave me a chance to play in the league, and they’re the people who developed me to the point where I could be a successful player in the NHL. I think anybody who ends up making it to this level always has some gratitude for the team that helped them get there. That’s certainly the case for them, with myself.”
Question: You’ve been quoted about the differences playing here as opposed to L.A. What exactly does that mean to you?
O’SULLIVAN: “You’re looking at one right now, the circus that is the media every day here. The people here care so much about the team. In L.A., there’s just obviously so much going on, and so much to do, that there’s just not the attention. It’s a different experience. I think both have their good things and both have their bad, as well. I know playing here is fun when you’re doing well, and when you’re not doing well, it’s not so fun. I think, in L.A., you can kind of go under the radar, and when the team’s not doing well, you can just kind of keep it with the team and just deal with it that way, instead of having to expose everyone’s problems. I think those are the differences.”
Question: Do you think it’s better here, in terms of dealing with that pressure? Is it harder or easier when things aren’t going well?
O’SULLIVAN: “I think it can be both. Pressure is good, and there’s definitely pressure here from a lot of people. Obviously fans put pressure on us, and with (the media) around all the time, it’s a pressure that, I think, can help motivate a team. And it does. So on the opposite side, it’s sometimes tough to get up for a game when there’s nobody that really cares, to be honest. It can go either way.”
Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He previously worked at the Los Angeles Daily News, was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar.
“It’s sometimes tough to get up for a game when there’s nobody that really cares”
Great insight into the delusional and immature mind of Patrick O’Sullivan. Keep talking kid, my respect for you is slipping away faster than that puck you watched slide by the boards to avoid taking a hit.
D’oh! He did it again!
Thanks, Rich.
GUys relax, he probably means that the oilers organization and city have higher expectations for their team, than the city that has the Lakers, Dodgers, Clippers, Angels etc…
Otherwise, it seemed like an honest interview.
Better hearing from him than hear JW stutter and mumble about things he has no clue about.
Heres to a Kings victory.
4-3 Kings, with Sully getting a hat-trick.
BREAKING NEWS: Scientists prove that anything is only worth doing if the maximum number of people see you do it!!
LOL!
Hey Patrick! Matt Greene blocked a puck with his face last year. He didn’t seem to have any trouble getting up for that game.
I know toddlers with more accountability.
“it’s sometimes tough to get up for a game when there’s nobody that really cares, to be honest. It can go either way.”
Personally I’d find it pretty easy to get up for a game if I were getting a paycheck to play hockey in the NHL. But hey, its just more proof that DL did the right thing. Its especially great to know that he has no understanding of the kind of support he had here in LA. I’m happy he’s gone.
Yes, Hockey is like a religion to a very large percentage of the population in Edmonton, so where would you expect all the city’s sports hacks and cameras to go when there’s a morning skate?
Yes, LA has, what, 1/3 the population of Canada, so there’s probably a lot going on, and most of those people don’t elevate hockey to religious status.
No, that doesn’t mean “nobody cares.”
Still, POS knew to give Rich the boilerplate when confronted with the way his previous insult was received. Nevertheless, LA *is* lackadaisical about sports in general, at least until a team is in the playoffs and/or wins something big. Then, there *might* be a dedicated following, but not necessarily a media following.
Take for example, the Raiders, who won a Super Bowl just before moving to LA and won another in LA three years later. They couldn’t fill that monstrosity known as the LA Coliseum. It wasn’t the Raiders’ fault (at the time, anyway.) I’m sure a lack of media attention had a lot to do with it, along with the normal platitudes you hear regurgitated every time the question is asked (or most–there’s always the chance you’ll hear some of the nastiness that came from POS the first time he was asked.)
Anthony…its time to just admit it. He hasn’t the stomach to be a core player on any team. I know you have a man-crush on POS, but come on…context or no context, his words are clear. He didn’t appreciate the fan base in LA and his game hasn’t elevated one bit. He’s Radek Bonk all over again, minus the first overall pick part of it.
Oh, sorry, forgot to put Rich on the spot.
Rich, you surely don’t mean you’ve seen every TV camera in the LA show up to ask Kobe questions the morning before a regular season game, do you?
This interview is incredibly revealing in that is shows what POS is driven by – fame/attention and external validation.
wtfk…No, I should clarify what I meant is the scene at Kobe’s locker postgame, although it would also certainly apply to the stand-up interviews Kobe sometimes does on practice days. Kind of depends upon the situation/opponent.
I don’t understand why anyone has an issue with what he is saying. Many people have said it before. Nobdy is saying that the Kings do not have a highly dedicated and passionate fanbase. Its just happens that there is not the level of interest in LA like there is in most if not all Canadian cities. Just look around, how many of your friends can name more than 2-3 people on the Kings. However, ask the same friends who the 3 point guard off the bench for the Lakers is and they will know.
Its not that controversial. Not everything is a slight on the Kings organization and its fans.
Good stuff Rich
As for this comment…
“It’s sometimes tough to get up for a game when there’s nobody that really cares”
Relax guys, he’s talking about the media thing.
I have to say, I wish there was more media presence for the Kings. I know they will come eventually when they start winning. But Canadian media is so different, I mean these guys put tons of pressure on the team. You feel it, it motivates you, winning is the answer.
It was a grueling rebuilding process the last few years in LA. Knowing your team is going to lose and never make the playoffs. Attendance slightly drops, barely any media attention, feels like nobody cares etc.
Don’t take O’Sullivan’s words personally. My take is he’s saying it as it is; hockey is not a religion in Los Angeles like it is in other places (hopefully by building a ainning team here that might shift). There isn’t media attention lavished on the team like there is in other places. This is sad, but undeniable. Watch the sports section on the local nightly news, you’re lucky to get a score and footage of a goal scored.
Los Angeles doesn’t even have a NFL team!?! What does that say about pro football in L.A. and sports in general in this city. Does that mean Angelenos doen’t like football?
Keep his comments in perspective, please.
I feel bad for POS. He just doesn’t know the right thing to say. Well, if nobody here cares, I guess we all don’t exist. That explains why he brought such a consistency to his game. By the looks of things, I guess nobody in Edmonton cares either. Ha Ha. Good luck with your future my friend.
If you need an eye opener, just watch and LISTEN to some of your own interviews.
Hey tenforinstigating, I respectfully disagree with just about everything you said, so allow me to briefly address some of what you wrote.
“I don’t understand why anyone has an issue with what he is saying. Many people have said it before”
People have an issue with what he is saying because he is claiming that the relative lack of interest in hockey in Los Angeles was a major contributing factor in his shoddy performance. Then he is also making sweeping generalizations and ridiculously downplaying the level of interest in the Kings (come on, look at our league attendance and the passion/knowledge/history of this fanbase). Furthermore, just because “many people have said it before” doesn’t mean I have to bend over and accept this kind of nonsense.
“Just look around, how many of your friends can name more than 2-3 people on the Kings.”
My friends are almost all hockey fans across the board. Naturally this doesn’t reflect as an accurate representation of a cross-section of LA, but let’s not exactly under-state the Kings’ relevance either. There’s a reason Rich is being paid to provide SOMEONE with information.
“Its not that controversial. Not everything is a slight on the Kings organization and its fans.”
Not everything is a slight, no. This is, though.
Hey Rich, any Lubo interviews? Gotta miss his play. He came out everynight, helped bring stability and tons of offense.
Vote for Lubo.
If POS scores a goal nobody is there to see it, did he really score?
@ TenForInstigating: It’s the “nobody cares” part. How is not insulting to those who do?
Crosstown…I got to say hello to Visnovsky when the radio guys were talking to him. Just a quick catch-up chat, as he was doing a lot of Edmonton-based interviews. I’ll try to grab him again when I come back next month.
Did Gretzky once say that there is no better city to be in when you’re winning than Los Angeles?
O’Sullivan is entitled to his opinion, after all we’re not Kings players and most of us have never been to Edmonton, but I hope when the Kings make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in a few seasons they have to take down Edmonton in one of the subsequent rounds. It would be interesting to see his take on hockey in Los Angeles then.
I should note that the above makes most Kings fans seem like fair weather fans, but everyone knows that we have a million different ways to spend our entertainment dollars and watching a player float around and “go under the radar” doesn’t entice or inspire most Angelinos to spend that money at Staples.
Go Kings!!
O shully, you should just not talk buddy…
its bad enough that Lubo is outscoring Patty O …
I’ve always been disgusted by the “fair weather fans” comments about LA. I don’t even live there any more, and it still sticks in my craw. The reason it pisses me off is that my experience with both the Raiders and the Kings has been that the fans actually DO care–DEEPLY. Maybe too much.
The people who have the money and time to show up in the stands aren’t necessarily those people. Let’s face it. It costs a lot of money to show up for more than a game or two in any sport, and especially in this economy, some of us don’t have it (yours truly doesn’t have it at the moment.)
So if “tons of pressure” by the Canadian press is such a good thing, why is it that NO Canadian team has won the cup in 16 years? Yet teams from Florida, Texas, California & North Carolina have?!?!
My point is either way, it shouldn’t matter to a professional athlete. That’s what pros do, they get up for games because it’s their job and they are paid well to do their job.
Some great posts by WTFK? and Irish Pat there. Couldn’t agree more with either of you.
Count me as one who is willing to cut POS some slack on this one. I think much of what he said is not terribly controversial in substance, but he could have made his points more tactfully. But he’s still young. When I was his age, I said a lot of things I probably should have said more gracefully and with more forethought, but I didn’t have reporters taking them down for the public record, and thousands upon thousands of passionate readers reading that record.
And I would wager most of us here could say the same of ourselves.
That being said, it sounds like POS hasn’t exactly bathed himself in glory in Edmonton. Getting into a public back-and-forth with one of your team’s color commentators (who happens to be a former GM) when you haven’t even been on the team for a full year isn’t a particularly good idea.
Oh…one more thing. “Everyone is entitled to his opinion” is the sort of thing I frequently say in a lot of contexts. That doesn’t mean it’s not SHEAR IDIOCY when it’s about WHETHER OR NOT I CARE! Only I know if I care.
I bet his Dad could help him get up for a game.
Thanks, Lanny’s stashe. Likewise.
That being said….
Not that many of the points made here aren’t valid, but lest we forget, there was this very famous interview given by Ryan Smyth, not too long ago…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article745439.ece
Quite a contrast to POS, eh?
I dunno … I think Sully’s right on in this case.
I mean … The Kings are a religion to me and I preach wherever I can BUT
I do quite often see the glaze in my friends eyes after I try to tell them how great Smitty is gelling with the top line …
ah well
I blame the Lakers
Sean Avery, so basically, what you are saying is that the Kings are the Lakers’ sloppy seconds?
… I don’t about you tenforinstigating. But knowing 2-3 of the kings players is entry level knowledge for running in my circle. And obviously O’sully didn’t know me or my mates personally, because I go to “church” 82 days a year (unless the boys see the post season). So thanks for Smythie POS.. You’re not missed in my book.
WRT to giving POS an out, I’ll readily admit that I’m a loudmouth. Sometimes I do a better of saying things tactfully than others. I also don’t step in front of a mic and watch those words reverberate through North America, so the penalty is not so severe. There’s got to be at least someone close to POS who said:
“You know, Patrick, you’ve really got to be careful how you word things in front of a mic. People out of town HEAR that stuff, you know, and that team’s going to be coming to Edmonton eventually. In fact, we’ll be there in LA eventually. Fans have a long memory. You really want to motivate the fans to get behind their team so much just because of an off-hand comment? It’s called ‘bulletin board material.’ In fact, the next chance you get, you should really go out and tell someone like Rich Hammond you’re sorry you shot your mouth off because you were so emotional at the moment. I’m sure there were times you loved the fans in LA, and you should reflect on that.”
I guess that didn’t happen.
I think its what you make of it, and well he is a good player his heart is not in hockey. Kind of like cammi, i cant beleieve how much the habs spent on him, i cant wait till the Habs fail again lol
I didn’t take his comments the same way I took the original one he made.
I’m sure the pressure is different..but pressure is pressure. If you don’t do well in LA…you may not end up on the front or back page on the paper, but you will be held accountable by the org and the fans.
In the end, that’s really all that matters.
Look at our comments on Purcell, Fro, etc…whether they read the blog or not, they know what the fans are saying and more importantly, what management is saying about them.
I think POS would probably laugh if he knew how pissed off some of you are getting at his comments… he wasn’t specifically referring to you! It was a generalized comparison
Thanks Lanny McDonald’s ‘Stache. I particularly liked your statement:
“This interview is incredibly revealing in that is shows what POS is driven by – fame/attention and external validation.”
Cuts right to the point.
I don’t know what you guys do for a living, but you’ve got to be kidding me that it doesn’t make a difference whether anyone cares what you do or not. Assume you get paid anyway (like a hockey player), if you wrote for a living, wouldn’t you want readers that cared about what you wrote?
Of course he’s motivated to play hockey – there’s no damn way he would make it this far if he wasn’t. But it’s not some wierd personality flaw if he gets extra motivation from getting a more passionate response from the city he plays in.
More people go to Kings games because some corporation has given them the office tickets for the night than people who actually go to hockey games for the love of the sport.
True? (If not, gotta be damn close.)
Casual observers, disappointed that their boss did not give them the Laker tickets, will, in fact, tend to like the sport if they give it a chance, but again, more will just go home disappointed they missed a flying t-shirt by 3 rows, or that they didn’t get on Bubble Vision. LOL. (used to go to a hockey game to watch hockey… now it’s more like Laserium.)
“Generalities” are best understood when believed by the people who will listen to the comments. The people POS hates aren’t listening.
@ Choralone: I don’t know what to say about your comment, except that I agree with your premise, but not how it applies to him. I guess the short way to say it is that the people rolling the cameras into the dressing room aren’t necessarily a reflection of what the core fan base thinks. That’s the basis by which he’s deciding people care (or not.)
@ Nathan: Your first comment put the nail on the head WRT attendance. That said, I think Kings fans have been pretty faithful, showing up for a sub-par product. The flip side is that sometimes they sell out, and the people with the tickets don’t seem to get them to enough people who care (I was lucky to get GOOD tickets that way once.) Laserium? I haven’t been since it was at the planetarium. Is it still popular? I heard it was dead–but maybe there are enough people who blaze up in LA to support it there. (I’m in Colorado since ‘98.)
Let’s face it, hockey is an integral part of Canadian culture and identity. It is an amazing thing to witness, even from afar. I would love to see it first hand sometime.
Is there anyplace in the USA where hockey plays such an important role in the lives of the general population? I don’t think so. But who cares anyway.
I think O’Sullivan is being straight forward and honest with his comments and is not intentionally disrespecting anyone. His comments don’t bother me at all. I say give the guy some slack and don’t let it bother you.
Yes, BallPointHammer, that seems true. One of my fantasies for when I have too much time and cash to spend has been to go on one of the typical Canadian roadies the Kings take to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton and have fun with some local fans. Of course, if they’d swing by Toronto, that’d be great to, but that doesn’t usually seem to happen at the same time.
WRT POS, I think his comments slide somewhere between unintended and “I don’t give a crap what the people around that organization think any more.” The truth probably represents a mix of conflicting feelings. That particular person apparently has had a complicated life, so his emotions are probably complicated too.
Everyone needs to relax a bit. When he says nobody cares, I think he’s speaking more in regards to the media, which in my opinion is absolutely true. Before Rich, where did you find consistent coverage of LA Kings hockey? Answer: you didn’t.
Again, he doesn’t play for the media. (Or maybe he does! Guess Lannie’s stache would be right.)
I really do miss Patty-cakes frank interview style, it’s a pity good interviews don’t count for a point or two in the standings each year…;) JW isn’t as good behind the mic, I guess POS had to beat him at something!
@ WTFK,
“The truth probably represents a mix of conflicting feelings. That particular person apparently has had a complicated life, so his emotions are probably complicated too.”
Absolutely correct!!! It seems to me that plays a bit part in his personality and/or performance. I’ve personally been part of and witnessed this on multible occasions, many occasions in fact. It would astound you the number of f@#cked up parents out there that subject their sons and daughters to that kind of nonsense.
Miss him in the Shoot-Out’s but that’s about it. He didn’t fit. We could not give him the immediate glory. Boy, will he be jealous over the next decade….
Sorry Sully, I know it gets lonely hangin’ in the slot all by yourself each night but…………Geeeezz!
I think its funny that Patty ‘O still has the ability to make LA Fans want shake him by the shoulders till his head falls off. Maybe we all expected a little to much from him at the NHL level. I am betting that if he lasts long enough, he will be playing at the level most would expect him to be playing at now, when he reaches 32 years of age.
Sorry guys but until you live it you won’t understand it.
For example, my company is giving us the day off when Team Canada plays during the Olympics. I live in Vancouver, so if Canada wins gold I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a riot.
Only problem is, Canadians can get pretty hostile if you aren’t cheering for their team. Probably the worst city for this is Montreal.
Nevertheless, he shouldn’t have said anything negative about LA fans in the first place.
O’Sullivan is absolutely dead on in his comparison of the LA market vs Edmonton. People, I remember many years when there were only 6,000 of us in the stands. Even if the Oilers go 0 – 82 in a season, you will NEVER EVER see that in Edmonton. Up there its a religion. Here in L.A. we have about 10,000 serious hockey fans and half of those are absolutely crazy die hard Kings fans with 150 of those on this board and I prefer it that way. We all live and die with every Kings win or loss and when they finally win the cup, those of us who have faithfully followed this team all these years are invited over to my house to celebrate.
…with the wifes permission of course!
“I am betting that if he lasts long enough, he will be playing at the level most would expect him to be playing at now, when he reaches 32 years of age.”
And on his 4th or 5th team.
You guys are crazy if you extract any negativity from his comments. There is nothing to get up in arms about here.
Nice interview Rich!
Some of you guys are WAY too sensitive and taking this issue too far. I agree with what Sully says. Look at last night. The Kings win, and almost every local station starts their sports with the highlights of the Laker game the previous day. Then NBA, then highschool football. Oh, and then if they had time, they did the Kings.
POS isn’t saying there aren’t solid, hardcore fans. He’s referring to the fact that Edmonton and Canada in general and their media make hockey the #1 sports item. There are a lot of loyal Kings fans, but every NHL city has them. For as big as the LA market is, the percentage of those fans who follow hockey is significantly smaller per capita than, say Edmonton.
If the Kings actually start winning, start winning a Stanley Cup or two, then you’ll see a wave of support and enthusiasm (see Detroit Redwing and Pittsburgh Penguin fans now as opposed to the 80’s when they both sucked).
People follow winners (loyal and bandwaggoners notwithstanding). But for now, O’Sullivan is right. The media in LA is brutal with their coverage of the Kings and the NHL.
That’s all he’s saying. Actually, I’m sure he could care less about what the fans think, not unlike 90% pro athletes. They do it to win and they do it for rings and they do it for money. That’s it…