Ducks, fans hoist the Cup

There was utter joy in Duckville on Saturday night.

More than 15,000 hockey fanatics, waving signs that declared “We Got the Cup,” partied outside Anaheim’s Honda Center to mark the Ducks’ Stanley Cup championship victory and bask in what many said was the long overdue respect for the icy sport in sunny Southern California.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. Finally, someone brought the Cup to California. You see, we’re not supposed to know about hockey in Southern California,” said Ernie Rodriguez, 71, of Laguna Niguel.

To prove his loyalty to the Ducks and elation over their victory over the Ottawa Senators, he wore his truck’s personalized license plate “ADUXFAN” strung around his neck as if it were a very valuable piece of jewelry.

People began staking out spots in the arena’s south parking lot as early as 4:30 a.m. and holding lengthy tailgate parties, authorities said. By the time the official celebration got underway 14 hours later, police said, 15,000 people had showed up for glimpses of their favorite players and the 3-foot-high silver trophy captured by a California team for the first time. Free hot dogs, soda and chips were offered.

Among the speakers at the two-hour rally was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who likened the Ducks to the films he starred in. “I come from action movies. We didn’t have much dialogue. We had a lot of action. And that is what this team represents. Little dialogue but lots of action,” he told the crowd.

“California is the leader in so many things. Now we are the leader in ice hockey,” the governor said.

With an escort of firetrucks and police officers on horseback, the Ducks arrived to huge cheers, waving to fans from the open-air upper level of a double-decker bus.

Then, in a moment of high theatrics, a police helicopter ferrying the Stanley Cup circled the rally several times and landed on Katella Boulevard.

Team captain Scott Niedermayer, who was voted the most valuable player in the playoffs, and co-captains Rob Niedermayer, his brother, and Chris Pronger emerged from the chopper with the 35-pound Cup and passed it to other players along a red carpet to the stage.

“I don’t think I ever had a better feeling than I did Wednesday. We couldn’t have had a better script,” Rob Niedermayer said.

Ducks owner Henry Samueli, the Broadcom co-founder who bought the team from Walt Disney Co. two years ago, continued the movie analogies. “I know that Disney doesn’t own the team any more, but even Disney couldn’t have choreographed such a magic season,” Samueli said.

Many fans wore Ducks black-and-orange jerseys and waved victory pennants. Some carried homemade replicas of the Stanley Cup as a fireworks show glowed overhead.

Mochtar Gondoksumo, 20, of Walnut used two boxes of aluminum foil and a roll of clear tape to wrap up a 5-gallon water bottle, an empty CD case and an upturned bowl into his own trophy, which he took to the festivities and passed around to the crowd. In fact, he was so sure of the Ducks’ victory that he made it before Wednesday’s championship-clinching game. “I wanted to get people excited. Get them pumped up. This is my baby right here, “ he said as he patted his shiny creation.

Some of the attendees still seemed in shock that a team once scoffed at for its origins as a Disney project with a goofy name -- the Mighty Ducks until last year -- is on top of hockey’s heap after 13 seasons. Others expressed relief that their past suffering had been rewarded.

Chris Deberry, 47, of Montclair said she became a Ducks fan because of the team’s former colors, purple and turquoise. She was disappointed when the colors changed but did not give up on the squad.

“I stayed because I’m loyal. If you love hockey, you go with the changes. If you are fan, you’ve got to be a fan all the way through.”

In 2002, the Anaheim Angels won baseball’s World Series in the seventh and final game against the Giants and set off a gusher of happiness in Orange County. A parade and festival in the Angels’ honor attracted about 100,000 people, a number that dwarfed Saturday’s hockey celebration, although Ducks fans said that spirit is more important than the head count.

“It’s awesome how this area is stepping up and showing that hockey works here,” said Eric Evelhoch, 21, who was born in Detroit, traditional hockey territory, and lives in Thousand Oaks. “The Canadian media loves to kick us around, but this shows that we’re really true hockey fans. It shows clearly that hockey works here and that we are every bit as passionate as Senator or Maple Leaf fans. But we have something they all want: the Stanley Cup.”

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Times staff writer Larry Gordon contributed to this report.