It Used to Be Worse

The Angels season has come to a premature end with the club sporting a losing record for the first time since 2003.  Before you start getting too upset over that though, just remember, it used to be worse.

Remember when this guy was supposed to be our savior?  Yeah, the 2010 Angels are much better off.

I’ve got some good news for you, Angel fans: you’re spoiled.  One season where things go wrong and we act are acting like the sky is falling.  Yeah, it sucks, but is it really so bad compared to how things used to be for the Halos?

The Angels have had a great last decade, but it isn’t like they have a long and storied history of success like the New York Yankees.  You see, I was born in 1981.  That means up until 2002, the Angels had made the playoffs just twice in my lifetime (and just once prior to that) and I was so young then, I didn’t even notice.  For all intents and purposes, my life as an Angel fan consisted of losing, failing and disappointing… up until that magical 2002 season.  Now, eight years later, am I supposed to just up and forget about all the pain and suffering I endured during my formative years as a baseball fan?  Methinks not (especially that 1995 season, I still can barely talk about it).

The Halos may be considered one of the top franchises in all of baseball now, but it wasn’t so long ago that they were a perfect picture of mediocrity, a second-tier franchise in their own region, a Disney-owned punchline or any other derogatory term you want to call them.  And until 2002, you could call them anything you wanted because no Angel fan had any way to fire back with any credibility.  That was a dark period in my life as an Angel fan, especially since I was surrounded mostly by Dodger fans growing up and then Yankee and Red Sox fans when I went to college.

I never want to go back those days again, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to shed a tear or get overly angry over this season’s failings.

Back in nineties, there was little reason for hope in Anaheim, but today, we’ve got an active, engaged owner with deep pockets who values winning above all else, a crop of young talent (Bourjos, Walden, Conger, etc.) on the verge of breaking through with even more promising prospects on the horizon (Mike Trout and, well, Mike FREAKING Trout!).  And, of course, let’s not forget that the team’s franchise player, Kendry Morales, will be returning from injury next season.

That, my friends, is hope.  Much more hope than I ever had growing up.  So if at any point these next few weeks you feel like throwing a pity party for you and your Angels as you watch all these other teams play for the World Series, just remember that it could be worse.  You could be watching that old version of the franchise that had almost nothing going for it, instead of this new version that really has suffered nothing more than a temporary setback.

See, don’t you feel better already?