Call of the wild: 3,000 fans cheer Ducks

By CHELSEA J. CARTER
Associated Press Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Clutching Fowl Towels and blowing duck whistles, about 3,000 Mighty Ducks fans turned out Wednesday to honor the team that fell one victory short of a Stanley Cup title.

``We're finally going to get some respect around the league,'' goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere told the cheering crowd.

His Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff's Most Valuable Player was on display.

``Every time I stepped on the ice, I'd have shivers because of you,'' said Giguere, whose Mighty Ducks lost to the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 on Monday night.

``Same time next year, different result,'' promised team captain Paul Kariya.

The city had prepared for as many as 10,000 fans but police said about 3,000 showed outside Anaheim Arena. Some diehards took no chances, lining up at 1 a.m. for a good spot.

Many fans wore Ducks jerseys and the air was full of quacking duck calls and cheers. Loudspeakers belted out Aerosmith's ``Dream On'' and Will Smith's ``Gettin' Jiggy With It.''

At the end of the 20-minute ceremony, fireworks exploded and the crowd was showered with purple, green and white confetti.

Later, the Ducks cleaned out their lockers and contemplated the possibility of offseason changes. The Ducks have 10 restricted free agents, including Giguere, and unrestricted free agents Steve Thomas and Fredrik Olausson.

``We're going to do what we have to do to improve on our team. There will be changes,'' coach Mike Babcock said. ``I know we have to be better, and we're going to be better.''

Anaheim won the Western Conference title and finished the regular season 40-27-9-6 after going 29-42-8-3 the previous year. That was the NHL's biggest improvement this season, and the record was the best in the Ducks' 10-year history.

``The East Coast cities have always laughed at us and scoffed at us,'' said Denise Bell, 34, of Temecula. ``This year, the Ducks showed them.''

The Ducks' playoff run was a boost to Orange County, a sprawl of housing tracts and bustling immigrant communities best known for Disneyland before the Anaheim Angels which Disney owned at the time won the World Series last year.

The Ducks rewarded fans of a team that began life as a Disney spinoff. Named for an inept team in a kids' movie, they often seemed to play like their namesakes and drew sparse crowds.

``We've had lots of thrills this season,'' said Laura Bobryk, 27, of Riverside. She said she remembered the lean years.

``I'm glad we could fill the arena. I've been there when it was taken over by other teams' fans. It was truly nice to have a true home crowd and I hope they stick around.''

Mieke Verhagden, 30, of Riverside, called in sick to work to attend the rally.

``I just want them to be happy they made it and not have bad feelings,'' she said. ``It's huge to come this far.''

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)