Longtime Ducks fans are finding that patience can pay off in unexpected ways, as the team’s playoff run has turned a once-muted spring into a rare stretch of excitement at Honda Center. For supporters who stayed through seasons with little postseason hope, the current surge feels less like a fluke and more like a long-delayed return on loyalty.
That includes fans such as Kozo Shimano, Ed LeBeau, Irene and Ross Amador, and Linda and Robert Pagan, who have kept showing up through the lean years. Their reactions around Game 3 of the Ducks’ second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights reflected the same theme: the playoffs have made the wait worthwhile.
A spring schedule no one expected
For some fans, the practical upside of a playoff run is simple. Shimano joked that it once was easier to plan vacations when the Ducks’ season ended early, while LeBeau described the change with a laugh as “44 games and bonus hockey.”
That surprise matters because this season was widely seen as a step toward the future, not a finished product. Instead, the Ducks have already delivered a first-round win and strong play in the second round, pushing optimism closer than many supporters expected.
Fans who never left
The Amadors represent the kind of loyalty that defined the crowd around Honda Center on Friday. Irene Amador said her family had tickets in the Mighty Ducks’ inaugural season, later moved through Ducks, Angels and Chargers seasons, and never felt a reason to walk away from Anaheim hockey.
“I’ve always been a glutton for punishment,” she said, adding that supporting a team means staying with it. Ross Amador said he has enjoyed the run and the season overall, even if he did not take his wife’s advice to bet on the Ducks for the Stanley Cup before the season.
The Pagans took a similar approach from their longtime seats in Section 414, Row B. Robert Pagan said they were there for the 2007 Stanley Cup title and the successful years that followed, and he said the organization still feels worth backing.
Why this run feels different
The Ducks’ current push stands out because it comes after a long stretch in which even playoff contention was rare. For supporters like LeBeau, who lives just minutes from Honda Center, the appeal has never been limited to wins alone.
He said missing the games can trigger a sense of FOMO, especially for people who genuinely enjoy watching hockey and being part of the arena atmosphere. That feeling helps explain why many fans kept their seats even when the results on the ice were difficult to endure.
Shimano has watched nearly every chapter of the franchise’s history, from the first playoff series and first series victory to the 2003 run to the Stanley Cup Final and the championship in 2007. He said the lean years lowered expectations, but this season has already become “quite a pleasant surprise.”
A reward built into loyalty
The payoff is not only emotional for some of the biggest supporters. Shimano also pointed out one small benefit of owning an all-event suite at Honda Center: the playoffs are included at no extra cost.
That drew a laugh, but it also fit the mood around the building as fans poured in before Game 3, many of them treating the postseason like a bonus after years of waiting. The Ducks’ young roster and renewed competitiveness have given longtime followers a reason to believe that the future they were promised may be arriving sooner than expected.
