Thursday, February 10, 2005 |
Memories? What Memories?
Jon asks -- to Dodger fans -- what their favorite non-championship year was. A good question, but for Angels fans, prior to 2002, that encompassed every year. For most of their existance, the Angels have dwelt near the bottom to middle of the excellence scale, but that's not to say they didn't have years with good teams; 1995, of course, was one such year, marred as it was by an awful September. 1986 was another. There were good teams in the late 70's and early 80's, too, but they were overshadowed -- as always, it seemed -- by the Dodgers, who always made it through the postseason and into the World Series, something the hapless Angels never quite managed to do, losing the ALCS in 1979 to Baltimore, in 1982 to the then-AL Brewers, and again in heartbreaking fashion in 1986 to Boston.
I don't remember a day of it.
It's a little different now that the Angels won a title. For one thing, the Angels' pitch that they're "LA's Team" has some credibility -- though not as much as Arte might like to think. Broadcast media makes sure people know who the Angels are, though the getting-to-the-park part erodes it some; Azusa isn't really next door to Anaheim. For another: kids wear Angels red caps now all the time, and nobody's surprised by it. Those kids, they'll have the memories, the ones who will go to the park and, stickyfingered, eat the cotton candy, cheering on names like McPherson and Kotchman and Vlad. If they're lucky, they'll get acquainted with still more dear, dear friends, and know the years, like last year, that were special, too, for different reasons, for games and plays and dirt, the smell of beer in the stands, the crack of the bat, the cool April nights, and the light breeze wafting in from left field in the hot August sun.
I can see Dodger Stadium from my front door - want to trade?
-The Halofan
: 2/10/2005 02:46:00 PM : 2/11/2005 12:07:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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