Wednesday, January 5
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
All right, all right, I'm an Angels fan; I have been for decades. I went to my first game back in 1974, and I go to games every year. I went to a playoff game this year (against Boston, and, yes, they lost). I have a plaque above my computer commemorating the greatest moment in my life, when the team won the 2002 World Series.
Heck, look at this picture of myself and my wife hugging Arte Moreno on the day that he became owner of the team:
So what does a life-long Angels fan think of owner Arte Moreno's decision to change the team name from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim? Well, the actual name is pretty silly, and it'll make for some heckles from opposing fans. That will be annoying--for about a month until everyone gets tired of it and starts calling the team the Angels again. Locally, I guess everyone who actually lives in Anaheim or in Orange County will probably hate it because it minimizes the importance of their city and county. Since I currently live in Redlands, California (which is in San Bernardino county), and I'll soon be moving to Imperial county (east of San Diego, right by the Mexican border), I really don't care what Orange County thinks (of anything--those Bush loving bastards). And even better than all that, the LA Angels name pisses off Dodger fans!
But Moreno had plenty of good reasons to change the team name from Anaheim to LA. He wants people in other parts of the country and (especially) in other parts of the world to see the Angels and think of Los Angeles, for he knows that Los Angeles is a world-famous city, a city that hosted the Olympics twice, a city that people in the most remote parts of the world have heard of, a city that is as culturally and economically important as any city in the world. Anaheim? It's where Disneyland is. Calling the team the LA Angels is smart from a business sense, and I respect Moreno too much as a businessman to question his decision.
Besides, there's history here. When the team started in the early 1960s, they were called the Los Angeles Angels. They played their first few seasons in LA before moving to a new stadium in Anaheim. At the time, it was thought a bit silly to call a team Los Angeles when they play in a totally different city. So they took the logical route: call the team the California Angels because both Los Angeles and Anaheim are in California. That was the name I grew up cheering for, and that's what they remained until Disney bought the team and changed the name to Anaheim as part of a "branding" effort on Disney's (and Anaheim's) part. So, historically, to call the team the LA Angels is no worse than calling the team the Anaheim Angels. The only problem with all this is that, the Anaheim Angels years happen to include the greatest year in team history, 2002, when the team won a World Series. Hence, when we fans look back on the greatest moments of the team's history, the greatest will always be associated with Anaheim, not California or Los Angeles. But that's a pretty minor problem, especially since most people think of the Angels winning the World Series and not the Anaheim Angels winning the World Series.
So I respect Moreno's decision to link the team with LA. I appreciate that the name is connected to the team's own history. And I enjoy the fact that the name change really pisses off a lot of people in Orange County and LA. But the "of Anaheim" part? Well, that's just stupid, and it makes the whole name change thing a big joke.
Heck, look at this picture of myself and my wife hugging Arte Moreno on the day that he became owner of the team:
So what does a life-long Angels fan think of owner Arte Moreno's decision to change the team name from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim? Well, the actual name is pretty silly, and it'll make for some heckles from opposing fans. That will be annoying--for about a month until everyone gets tired of it and starts calling the team the Angels again. Locally, I guess everyone who actually lives in Anaheim or in Orange County will probably hate it because it minimizes the importance of their city and county. Since I currently live in Redlands, California (which is in San Bernardino county), and I'll soon be moving to Imperial county (east of San Diego, right by the Mexican border), I really don't care what Orange County thinks (of anything--those Bush loving bastards). And even better than all that, the LA Angels name pisses off Dodger fans!
But Moreno had plenty of good reasons to change the team name from Anaheim to LA. He wants people in other parts of the country and (especially) in other parts of the world to see the Angels and think of Los Angeles, for he knows that Los Angeles is a world-famous city, a city that hosted the Olympics twice, a city that people in the most remote parts of the world have heard of, a city that is as culturally and economically important as any city in the world. Anaheim? It's where Disneyland is. Calling the team the LA Angels is smart from a business sense, and I respect Moreno too much as a businessman to question his decision.
Besides, there's history here. When the team started in the early 1960s, they were called the Los Angeles Angels. They played their first few seasons in LA before moving to a new stadium in Anaheim. At the time, it was thought a bit silly to call a team Los Angeles when they play in a totally different city. So they took the logical route: call the team the California Angels because both Los Angeles and Anaheim are in California. That was the name I grew up cheering for, and that's what they remained until Disney bought the team and changed the name to Anaheim as part of a "branding" effort on Disney's (and Anaheim's) part. So, historically, to call the team the LA Angels is no worse than calling the team the Anaheim Angels. The only problem with all this is that, the Anaheim Angels years happen to include the greatest year in team history, 2002, when the team won a World Series. Hence, when we fans look back on the greatest moments of the team's history, the greatest will always be associated with Anaheim, not California or Los Angeles. But that's a pretty minor problem, especially since most people think of the Angels winning the World Series and not the Anaheim Angels winning the World Series.
So I respect Moreno's decision to link the team with LA. I appreciate that the name is connected to the team's own history. And I enjoy the fact that the name change really pisses off a lot of people in Orange County and LA. But the "of Anaheim" part? Well, that's just stupid, and it makes the whole name change thing a big joke.
