As if Los Angeles didn’t have it pretty good already, what with its three simultaneous professional playoff teams and its light-jacket-as-worst-case-scenario weather forecast. But the city had to go and create a monument to remind everyone of its best qualities: (1) the fact that the 11-1 Kings are inching oh so close to a Stanley Cup championship, and (2) the beach.
They call it… the Sandley Cup.
As part of the playoff fever running rampant through Southern California — everyone from David Beckham to Kobe Bryant to Alyssa Milano is now a lifelong fan of the crown — the Kings hired a seven-time U.S. Open sandcastle building champion to construct Lord Sandley in L.A.’s Nokia Plaza.
Shaped out of nearly 30 tons of sand, the dirty sculpture features a 12- to 14-foot replica of the Stanley Cup; the phrase “IT’S CUP TIME”; a life-size depiction of Conn Smythe frontrunner Jonathan Quick stretching for a glove save; and four headless Kings jerseys, all built within one 20-by-20-foot space.
Impressive stuff, but it does reek a little bit of counting chickens before they hatch. Is there such a thing as a sand castle jinx?