{"id":133789,"date":"2026-01-14T22:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/133789\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T22:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:38:10","slug":"beware-the-revenge-of-wild-wing-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/133789\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware the revenge of Wild Wing \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could it be the Curse of Wild Wing?<\/p>\n

Agitated fans have taken to the Interwebs by the thousands, bemoaning the fact that the Anaheim Ducks had a losing streak after the fierce fowl\u2019s statue was removed from its prominent perch in front of the stadium before Christmas.<\/p>\n

Are the Ducks \u2026 drumroll please \u2026 cursed?<\/p>\n

Thousands reacted on Instagram<\/a>, on\u00a0Facebook,<\/a>\u00a0on Threads<\/a>. \u201cCoincidence?\u201d \u201cThey\u2019ve angered the hockey gods.\u201d \u201cThe Quack Attack is back, Jack.\u201d \u201c*Sarah McLaughlin\u2019s \u2018Angel\u2019 plays softly in the background*\u201d \u201cBring Wild Wing back!\u201d<\/p>\n

And a plaintive, \u201cHalp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/a>Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke, left, celebrates his goal with left wing Alex Killorn during the third period of their 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at the Honda Center. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull)<\/p>\n

Will the doom-and-gloom subside now that the Ducks broke the streak, beating the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Jan. 13<\/a>? You\u2019d think. But, as one fan noted, \u201cHockey is superstitious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apparently, many sports folks<\/a> are as well.<\/p>\n

Baseball, we\u2019ve learned, is perhaps the most, how shall we say, irrational sport. Players have been known to spit into their hands before picking up a bat, brush teeth between innings, eat chicken and only chicken on game day, and talk to the ball before a pitch. Baseball fans have been known to wear the same clothes for days to support their team\u2019s winning streak.<\/p>\n

Basketball players wipe the soles of their sneakers for good luck. Tennis players avoid wearing yellow. Football players<\/a> have pre-game meal rituals, including mandatory pizza, cheesecake, chocolate milk \u2014 and a shot of Tabasco sauce.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>The Ducks\u2019 Chris Kreider celebrates after scoring a goal during the second period of their game against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at the Honda Center. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

For ice hockey, it\u2019s apparently bad luck for sticks to lie crossed and to say \u201cshutout\u201d in the locker room before a game. It\u2019s good luck to tap the goalie on his shin pads before the action begins, and some players don their gear in exactly the same order every time.<\/p>\n

Superstitions, the dictionary says, are ingrained rituals that give people the illusion of control over unpredictable outcomes (read: when they have none). But is that any reason to not bring Wild Wing back? Just for safety\u2019s sake?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf only winning hockey games were as easy as a statue!\u201d said\u00a0Esther Kwon, spokesperson for the city of Anaheim. \u201cStatue or not, the Ducks are having their best season in years. And, as much as we want the statue back, the reality is it stood over some really challenging seasons in the past decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuperstition can be fun to think about, but we know the team\u2019s strength lies on the ice and goes beyond any momentary streak.\u00a0Go Ducks!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OC<\/a>OC Vibe, a mixed-use district planned around the Honda Center, is intended to draw people for work and entertainment. (Courtesy of OC Vibe)<\/p>\n

The Ducks have explained Wild Wing\u2019s relocation this way<\/a>:\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not goodbye. It\u2019s see you later. As progress continues for OCVIBE and renovations at Honda Center, the Wild Wing statue located outside of the Team Store will be temporarily relocated \u2026. The statue will return to OCVIBE as construction nears completion.\u201d<\/p>\n

OCVibe,<\/a> for the uninitiated, is the gargantuan, 100-acre, $4 billion, mixed-use entertainment district under construction around Honda Center. It aims to be the new heart of Orange County \u2014 something Irvine had in mind for the Great Park(ing Lot) 20 years ago, but, well, yeah \u2014 combining homes, work and public spaces. It\u2019s slated to include 35 restaurants, an artisan market hall, two public parks and a 5,700-seat concert hall. And \u2014 somewhere in there \u2014 it\u2019ll have a statue of Wild Wing.<\/p>\n

\"Six-year-old<\/a>Six-year-old Hayden Kennar, left, connects with Anaheim Ducks Wild Wing on hand to help design a new playground and park with local kids during a public session in Anaheim, on Friday, July 15, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)<\/p>\n

Any chance the mighty anatidae (the biological family name for ducks, geese and swans, we learned) might move to a place of more prominence, in the interim, to appease the hockey gods?<\/p>\n

The team has been working on finding and constructing a temporary home for Wild Wing until a permanent location is complete on the venue\u2019s south side, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

So back off, hockey gods! And be patient, Wild Wing. Go, Ducks!<\/p>\n

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