It’s a wonderful world, isn’t it? Not only are the Angels one of the most exciting teams in baseball, and truly, as opposed to rhetorically, “championship caliber.” I can follow the team’s every move easily from 2200 miles away with no problem. Being an out of state fan today is no problem at all, in that respect. We have great websites like Money with a Halo, internet and satellite access to radio and video broadcasts of games, and I can even scoff at the OC Register coverage with the click of a button. I remember back in the early ‘90’s I was living in Wisconsin and would read and re-read the two-sentence Angels blurb they would have in the local sports page, which was often a day or two old by the time I saw it. I’m sure I wear bifocal contacts (I’ll never completely lose my LA roots) because I strained my eyes for so many years on box-scores.
I have some risky moments as an out of state fan. For example, when I start talking baseball at work. I know, I know, it’s not always a smart choice to make, especially when you’re an Angels fan living in Atlanta. It’s not that the fans here aren’t knowledgeable and so on, but they do tend to try to convert me, plus there are the Left Coast, California and LA jokes. Of course I just smile and slip a few “you-alls” and a reference to Chipper Jones into the conversation and the moment passes.
Of course, there’s always one safe Angels topic nowadays. Everyone wants to talk about Pujols. Mostly they shake their heads over the price, but signing one player has certainly put the Angels in the baseball conversation. Even non-baseball fans know about the signing; it wasn’t just baseball news it was world news, and I have to wonder if that name recognition takes the Angels to a new level in terms of a fanbase. Will fans start following the team because they are following Pujols? Surely there will be additional media coverage due to his presence and that will attract more fans, both local and long-distance. Just maybe not from St. Louis, that they’ll admit.
Yep, it’s a wonderful world.
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