...
He is my uncle. I love him and will miss him dearly.
My sincere condolences to you and your family.
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"An idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think." Georg Hegel
“To generalize is to be an idiot.” William Blake
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It’s been awhile since I posted, sad day indeed. I doubt I can add anymore to how important and special Ken King was/is but I’m going to try my best.
I started following the Flames as a kid in the mid-90s. I made my first trip to see the Flames play live in Washington DC (live in Maryland USA) against the Caps in 2001. I met some Flames fans who traveled to game (3 of them lol it was a tough few years) and who told me how they travel and make it affordable etc etc. As a 17/18 year old kid, I found it was a lot easier to save cash and take trips. So my adventures with the Flames begun. 19 NHL arenas in 4 years, including making a trip to Calgary to finally see home games. My initial trip to Calgary was in February of the 03-04 season, the middle of the playoff drive and the start of the Red Mile. Unknown to me at the time, a fellow CP’er who I spoke with on these forums was a STH and had Ken’s ear. In the middle of the 2nd period of game in Calgary, I see a usher waving to me to come down from my seat. When I got down I saw a man in a suit standing with the usher “Hi I’m Ken King, President of the Flames, I’ve hear a lot about you”. Long story short Ken gave me a grab bag full of Flames stuff, signed items, and his business card. He told me at the time “if you ever need anything or want anything just email”.
Flash forward to Cup finals, game 1 in Tampa Bay later that year. Standing by the glass waiting for warmups in a true sea of red. No longer was it me and 2-3 other Flames fans, hundreds decked out in Flames red stood around me chanting “go flames go”. As I waited for warm ups to begin I feel a stranger put his hands on my shoulders from behind. I turned quickly as I was 15 hours from home and traveled by myself and had no idea who was grabbing me from behind. It was Ken. Smiling from ear to ear, “this is great isn’t it?” He asked me before shaking my hand again and thanking me for being there and the support. It was the last time I got to meet Ken but not the final time the man made me feel like the coolest Flames fan on earth.
About 9 years had past since that game, and those meetings. I grew up a bit, got real bills and a family and my trips slowed. I couldn’t make it to Calgary yearly or take 10 trips to see them play. My 2 kids and I watched the games on TV but I always felt bad they never got to experience the things I did. I finally decided to take Ken up on his offer. I figured he had forgotten me, and my email would go unanswered. A simple question I figured would be too complicated to make happen anyway in the world we live in with security and everything, but a email I figured was worth a shot. So I sent it, asking if there was anyway to get into a morning skate on the road closer to home? Within 3 hours, Ken not only remembered me, he emailed me back and told me “no problem”, he checked on how I was and my new family he had never met. My email was forwarded and before I knew it, I was the coolest dad on the face of the earth leading my 2 kids down the steps at Verizon Center (DC) for a morning skate at the empty 18,000 seat arena. The interaction my kids got (and get til this day from the Flames), the access and friendliness the Flames have offered me and my family all ties back to Ken King.
So I apologize for the long read, but this man made me the hardcore fan I will remain. He showed myself and my family how a sports organization can be more than just a sports organization and I felt only appropriate my first post in years was a tribute to the true superstar of the Calgary Flames for many years. Thank you Ken, and may you rest in peace my friend!
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Last edited by Kobasew7; 03-13-2020 at 02:54 PM.
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I really want to thank each of you for these stories.
While I am crying, I am smiling.
Ken would have appreciated these too, but then said he was just doing his job.
To quote Ken, “God bless you for being Flames’ fans”.
Thanks for sharing with us. They don’t make better people than your uncle, just different people.
I was always amazed that he would respond to my emails.
I vividly remember an interview he gave during the 2015 playoffs when he stated on the radio:
“the fans really own the team.”
I thought that was just so honest and open. It will always be pinned in my memory of him. His candor and authenticity were evident in everything he did. He always had a purpose.
I wish there was something we could do to ease this for you & your family. It just sucks. We all loved him a great deal. He championed & loved everything about the Flames. They’re the reason we all gather here.
He is right. “God bless Flames fans.”
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I never met Ken personally. My entire opinion of him was based almost entirely off of his arena negotiations.
After reading the stories you guys are sharing I have a whole new appreciation and respect for what he was all about. He sounds like he was a great Calgarian and a great person.
RIP Ken King
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I never met Ken personally. My entire opinion of him was based almost entirely off of his arena negotiations.
After reading the stories you guys are sharing I have a whole new appreciation and respect for what he was all about. He sounds like he was a great Calgarian and a great person.
RIP Ken King
If you were doing a pro/con list of Ken King, the pro column would have hundreds of things, and the con side would have 'The CalgaryNext plan had a few problems'.
The Flames and city are both much poorer without him, that's for sure.
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Someone mentioned that he should have a Bronze statue in the new arena reaching out to shake someone's hand.
I'd be totally on board for that.
Or a Bronze statue of him wringing Nenshi's neck...which is a bit of a mixed bag I'll grant you (as I fairly like Nenshi) but I think even the Mayor would find the humour in that.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
The World Ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. - Flames Fans
If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
Think somebody said it already in this thread, but with the new arena in the works, I do hope he has a section named after him like the Ed Whalen Booth.
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Never had a chance to meet Ken but admired the work he did for the Flames and the city of Calgary. I used to be a season ticket holder and my friend and I sat way up in the nosebleeds. Every game we would look down and see Ken take his spot behind the opposition goalie for the third period. This was a ritual that promoted us to joke around and be on the look out for “Ken King Cam.”
I admired the way he loved the flames and even from a far, way up in the press level, you could see his love of the team. Every goal, shot and save excited him and he was a true fan of the team.
My thoughts go out to his family and friends. What a huge loss. But rest assured, there will always be a Ken King cam, he will just be looking down from up in heaven.
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I have never had the fortune to meet Ken King, but this is sad news. He was a huge and positive presence for the Flames, and I have read many really great stories here and in real life of others and their interactions with him. He seemed not just a great ambassador for the Calgary Flames, but an ambassador for all of us on how to conduct ourselves as human beings. Sincerest condolences goes out to his family, his friends, and the numerous people that he touched in life. The world seemed to lose yet another honest, hard working person who knew what it meant to be a good person, and who seemed to consistently take the time out of his own day to make someone else's better.
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
I went digging through my emails to find the email I sent to KK and responses It turns out Peter Stewart had a hand in making a copy for me.
Peter Stewart <pstewart@calgaryflames.com>
To: Chris
Wed., May 30, 2007 at 9:15 a.m.
Glad it arrived Chris, and all your compliments are appreciated. I will pass along your thanks to Ken.
All the best,
Pete Stewart
Control Room/ Broadcast/ Production
Calgary Flames/ Calgary Hitmen
W-403-777-1382
C-403-998-3780
From: Chris
Sent: Wed 30/05/2007 12:19 AM
To: Peter Stewart
Subject: RE: 300 DVD
My apologies, Peter. Your package arrived last Thursday.
DVD was great - thank you so very much. I hate to admit this but I get goose bumps everytime I watch it. Awesome production.
Please give Ken King my thanks for reading my mail and considering my request. And thank you also, Peter, for going to the effort of getting this DVD made for me. The Flames organization as a whole are a first class organization.
My condolences to his family and to all those who knew and loved him.
I’ve never met him but am familiar with many stories of him that demonstrate that he was a sincerely warm man who cared about the fans and individuals and demonstrated this through numerous acts of kindness.
I hope all those suffering his loss can take comfort in those stories so that whenever they think of him, they can in time, smile rather than just feel the pain of his loss.
I met Ken King when I was a student at the Haskayne School of Business. He came and made a speech about leadership and entrepreneurship. Ken then stayed to answer questions after.
He was surprisingly quirky. But as many of his peers have said, he was a huge presence.
