The Lucky Streak No One Wanted to End

Luuuuuuc.

Is there any other way to begin a story about the final wave from the crown jewel of Kings?

Is there any other way to say goodbye?

Luuuuuuc.

It is more than a cheer, it is an anthem, the Kings’ national anthem, and how it echoed Saturday night, from the 11th Street curbs to the Staples Center rafters.

Fans stretched out Luc Robitaille’s first name early, often, tossing it across the ice if it were a rope that could lasso his skates and make him stay forever.

Luuuuuuc.

It was the final home appearance for the man who leads the Kings in career games played, career goals scored, and hockey loves started.

“The first thing I knew about hockey was Luc,” said fan Frank Ortiz, 30. “He was the inspiration for a generation.”

It was the final home act for the skater who translated to the rest of our sports society, his charm recognized by Laker fans, his professionalism understood by Dodger fans, his joyous play appreciated by all.

“You hear all about Barry Bonds and other sports jerks, but Luc was always different,” said fan Darlene Russo. “Thinking about him leaving, I’m ready to cry right now.”

It was a Los Angeles hockey night bigger than the disappointing Kings, bigger than the embarrassing Phil Anschutz, bigger than even the autographed Robitaille jerseys draped across hundreds of bodies.

Remember how, as a thank-you to returning fans this year, Robitaille signed a jersey for every season-ticket account, an amazing 5,000 signed sweaters?

This night was about that.

This night was about thanking him back.

“When I was a kid, I remember thinking I was willing to do anything to be a pro,” Robitaille said Saturday afternoon. “I was willing to sign every autograph, shake every hand, appreciate every moment. Lots of players say that, but then they forget it.”

He sighed.

“I never forgot it.”

When he announced his retirement earlier this week at age 40, a mismanaged team that has essentially forgotten about its fans thankfully did not forget about him.

On some of the Staples Center boards Saturday were plastered the words, “Thank You 2-20”.

Along some Staples Center walls were papered the word, “Luuuc!”

In every seat was a sign that read, “Thank You Luuuc.”

In every customer’s hand was a free T-shirt announcing Robitaille as the “King of Kings.”

And on everyone’s lips, whenever he came within five feet of the puck against the Calgary Flames, was, well, you know.

Luuuuuuc.

“I have been very fortunate with my name,” Robitaille said with a laugh. “Even when I am doing bad and it sounds like boos, I can still imagine that it is Luuuuuuc.”

Was he ever really booed? He scored a goal on his first NHL shot in his first King season in 1986 and has been wrapped in this town’s embrace ever since.

He left twice to play elsewhere, but always came back. It took a trip to Detroit for him to win a Stanley Cup, he made it out of the second playoff round only once in his 14 King seasons, but he never ripped an organization that never quite did him justice.

“He was the last cornerstone,” said fan Ortiz.

He didn’t even publicly complain this season, when he was ignored by former coach Andy Murray and sent to the stands to watch in street clothes as recently as two weeks ago.

“Sometimes you need to take a deep breath before you say something that will not be productive,” he said. “I was disappointed this season, but I was not bitter, I never wanted to sound bitter.”

In typical Luc fashion, when he was given a chance for dramatics, on Jan. 19 he scored a hat trick in becoming the Kings’ all-time leading goal scorer.

“All I ever wanted was a chance,” he said.

The Kings recognized all this Saturday when they made him honorary captain and put him in the starting lineup.

Fans were thrilled, some even rushing in from the street when they saw the “C” on his jersey during the outside TV broadcast of the Kings’ warmups.

“I noticed it right away, that is so perfect,” said Russo.

But for others, even the Luuuuuuc could not drown out their anger over how their star, and their team, have been handled.

“Two weeks ago he was a scratch, and now he’s in the starting lineup, as if to appease the fans? What a sham,” said longtime season ticket-holder Andrew Jamner. “It’s amazing what Luc did in L.A., and it’s a shame that not many people know about it.”

What’s a shame, but not surprising, is that absentee owner Anschutz didn’t even bother to show up to cheer him.

Maybe if Robitaille was a real estate developer, the boss would have been here.

Has any sports owner in any town taken such shameful advantage of such blindly loyal fans as Anschutz? It’s as if he knows that 18,000 hockey fans will show up every game to cheer an inferior product simply because they love the sport.

On a lump-in-the-throat Saturday night, as he always does, Luc Robitaille rose above all that.

He didn’t score during regulation, he was stopped during a shootout attempt that would have turned the place into poetry, but he played nearly 19 minutes during the Kings’ 2-1 victory, his highest total in nearly three months, giving every last ounce.

“Thank you so much fans,” he announced at center ice afterward before his final cheer-soaked skate around the rink. “For the rest of my life, I will never forget.”

The first name was perfect. Only the nickname was not.

“Lucky?”

We were the lucky ones.