Me and the Angels

I was born in Anaheim, CA to parents raised in Southern California. In other words, I was born and raised an Angels fan. (Actually, I was technically born a "California Angels" fan...much cooler than the "Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim," but I digress.) Over the last few decades, the Angels have gone through ups and downs, but the Snyder family has stuck with them. Although, I admit to temporarily bailing during the "winged A" period...who can possibly root for a team with that emblem. Blech. Thanks a lot, Disney. Fortunately, they returned to the halo-ed "A" and were soon rewarded with a pennant at the conclusion of a fantastic, so-fun-to-watch post-season. Living away from home (and more specifically, my dad), my Sports Center and baseball watching has definitely been less frequent, but I've maintained a general interest and loyalty to the Angels (and the Cubs...thanks to getting their Chicago TV station and the Atlanta Braves...when their pitchers were out of control good, including my boy Greg Maddox) and the game of baseball itself. So, when I got a job in Southern California, one of the first things I did was buy the best seat I could to an Angels game. I didn't even wait to make friends; I went by myself. It was my first major league ball game, and it was as magical and exciting as I thought it would be. It even ended with the Angels hitting a home run to win it in the bottom of the 9th.

Fast forward six years or so, and I'm back at Angel Stadium. This time with my husband Alex (and two sons left behind with a sitter...life is crazy!) and with the sickest seats ever, thanks to Alex's very generous birthday gift. It was an afternoon game, and the sun beat down on us the entire time, but I barely noticed, which says a lot because hot weather 99.9% of the time puts me in an awful, awful mood. The game itself was tailored to my own baseball taste: I love good pitching, fielding, good chatter from the fans (unfortunately, the best one was eventually kicked out), and going into extra innings. Normally, a defensive game is harder to appreciate up in the stands, but I could have coached first base from our seats. The score was 1-1 when the 9th inning ended, thanks to 8th inning solo home run by Abreu (btw totally called this...he was having a GREAT game). The Angels had loaded the bases at the bottom of the 10th when Morales came up to bat. Now, the Angels had left several runners stranded over the course of the game, so I was a little nervous, but I was also hoping that the good luck I brought during my first Angels game would return. And it did (mostly...stay tuned for explanation): a walk off grand slam to win the game! Amazing!! Unfortunately, some over exuberant/unbalanced celebrating led to a crazy freak accident: Morales broke his leg and is out indefinitely. Whoa...what a game. Who thinks baseball is boring?

As a postscript to this blog post, I feel it necessary to address my Dodger-Angel loyalty. After all, my "Me and the Boys" blog is currently featuring a post about the Dodgers. When I texted my brother Jack where I was on Saturday, he responded, "You're a traitor to Manny." Hogwash :). They are in different leagues and are hardly rivals. I grew up with the Duke-Carolina rivalry, so I know "rivalry." (And it IS impossible to like BOTH Duke and Carolina if you are a TRUE fan. I'm a Tarheel, of course.) I also categorize the Angels as my childhood team, and the Dodgers as my "grown-up" team. I've been to more Dodger games, am around more Dodger fans, and, despite the Angels new name, they are my hometown team. I've also enjoyed a Dodger luxury box a couple times, and really, I would probably develop a loyalty to any team responsible for giving me free hot dogs and a clean bathroom. I guess my take-away from my Angels and Dodgers loyalties and experiences is that I am thrilled to be living somewhere with TWO major league teams and can't wait to raise baseball-loving boys. I just hope the density of baseball prevents them from developing a taste for the NBA generally and the Lakers specifically (yuck).

Note: If Alan Mowrey ever reads this, please know that the Clippers game you let Alex and me go to was awesome. And if Jackson ever reads this, please know that I will continue to support your Celtics love. I'm just a college ball kind of girl.