National Pastime, Part One

A couple of weeks ago, my mother asked me if BossLady and I would be interested in going to an Angels game here in Anaheim. We said yes. Last night was the night we went, and while we knew it was 9-11, it didn't register that it would be covered by special events at the Big A. Both the Anaheim (sorry, I will NEVER call them Los Angeles) Angels and the Seattle Mariners wore their special flag hats and there were memorials prior to the game. The color guard was by the Orange County Fire Departments, and there was a moment of silence. Simple things, but they meant a lot.

Now before anyone gets any bright ideas, my mother, BossLady and I are all HUGE HUGE HUGE San Francisco Giants fans, which makes sense since we all are from the SF Bay Area originally. And I still haven't forgiven the Anaheim Angels for stealing the 2002 World Series trophy. We won't even talk about what I think of that blasted Rally Monkey.

But I do follow the Angels. I followed the Kansas City Royals when I lived there, and the Baltimore Orioles when I lived in the Washington, DC area (the Nationals hadn't vacated Montreal yet). I followed the Oakland Athletics a bit (Bay Area rivalry... hard to get my hands into the green and gold without feeling like a traitor). But I will NEVER root for Dodger Blue.

BossLady and I have a few Halos items, but we decided to get into it for this game, since the Angels had clinched the Division Title the day before. So we decked ourselves out in Angels red and hats and had a good time sitting in the left field pavilion behind the bullpens. It was a beautiful night, and a good game.

The crowds down here in Anaheim have no life. The stadium was so quiet! I mean, we could hear the rats farting under the bleachers... And it's concrete bleachers! It was like this last year when we came to see Oakland play late in the season with both teams in a playoff push. Where's the energy?

I say that having lived in some really cool sports towns. The Giants push in 2002 was fun, and PacBell (or whatever name it is this week) was an electric place to be. Oakland in the late 80's and early 90's was a riot in the bleachers every night. Kansas City in the days of George Brett and Frank White was just intense with very knowledgeable fans in the seats. Washington with the Redskins and KC with the Chiefs are just crazy places to be, the Tank in San Jose for the Sharks is an ear-splitting experience, and even Anaheim with the Ducks (when they don't let the Sharks fans drown 'em out!)

So I really don't get the lack of energy in the seats last night. I hope OC is not making the fatal mistake of taking this team and it's success the last few years for granted.

Anyhow, we had a good time with my mother's work and as always, we enjoyed a good game of baseball. Nothing better than a SoCal night watching baseball...

The pictures above are from last night. Hope you enjoy.