Angels Old Unis

[clippers6]

Yes, me. LA Dodgers. hmmmmmmmmm. In Brooklyn you dodged the trolleys. What do you dodge in LA. Bullets perhaps??

According to one of this years giveaways, you dodge this guy...

I think LA has had some weird fate when it comes to sports teams. Lakers and Dodgers are both references to their original homes. The Kings share the same name and recently the same colors as one of the Lakers main rivals. The Clippers are OK, but made more sense in San Diego. Galaxy, Sparks, and Avengers I can live with. Riptide hasn't grown on me yet. And of course the Angels with their ridiculous LA of Anaheim name, plus the redundency of Los Angeles Angels in Spanish.

I would nominate Utah as having the second most non-fitting team names with Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake.

[clippers6]

Perhaps after (if) te Sonics move to OK City, Seattle will be inclined to convince the Clips to move up there.

Of course, I don't know what kind of deal the Clips have with the Staples Center, so it would depend on that.

The Clippers used to play part of their season in Anaheim and were considering either a permanent move or playing a larger chunk of the season in Anaheim as a way to lure Kobe Bryant to the team a while since Kobe lives in Orange County. After that fell apart they signed a new contract with Staples that should keep them there awhile.

There are constant rumors of NBA teams wanting to relocate to Anaheim. The Grizzlies had some talks with people in Anaheim before deciding on Memphis. There was a rumor the Maloofs wanted the Kings closer to Las Vegas and Hollywood. I think the current new is that the owner of the Ducks wants to buy the Trailblazers. I don't imagine anything coming of it though. The NBA probably wouldn't want 3 teams so geographically close.

[Lumbergh]

i love the all red caps, it's been really a drought of AL teams for a while. The Angels grew up, and started to actually look like a baseball team, instead of a Disney-ruined-Michael Eisner-fiasco. I'm happy with the caps, and i agree that is works well to create a visible line between them and the dodgers. Anyone who likes the disney look, is NOT my friend.

[BBM]

Plus let's not forget the Angels won the World Series in the all-red. That look ain't going anywehre.

[M59]

Those were terrible...they should have stuck with the old ones with the A hat. I know they kinda went back to them, but the all red just doesn't do it for me...too Rangers or Cardinals for them.

My solution is this:

Nice set, especially the blue alternate. Supposedly the switch back to red as a primary color was to honor Gene Autry. Red was supposed to be his favorite color.

[winghaz]

I think the problem with the current uniforms is all that red.

Yes, I know, red was Gene Autry's favorite color. But you don't think of heaven when you think of red. You think of the other place.

[Gothamite]

The main problem with the name change, IMHO, is that the Dodgers are so historically and culturally linked with LA (Cheech's cap in Born in East LA, reference in We Didn't Start the Fire, etc.) that the name change fooled no one and only made the team look silly.

FWIW, the song only mentions "California baseball". It doesn't say anything about the Dodgers specifically. It's about the changes in society in the speaker's lifetime, which includes MLB teams on the West Coast. It's as much about the Giants or, for that matter, the Angels.

Also FWIW, I know a bunch of Angels fans from my days in LA, and none of them have ever lived in Orange County. I don't know of any evidence showing that the club's fanbase is in any way limited to the county in which they play at the expense of the rest of the metro area.

The only ones "fooled" are those in Anaheim who want to pretend they're somehow separate from Los Angeles, and are scared of admitting that they live in a suburb.

That's what this is all about - bruised egos. And as usually happens when people lash out from wounded pride, the city of Anaheim only looks sillier now after having their ineptitude repeatedly exposed.

[FiddySicks]

The main problem with the name change, IMHO, is that the Dodgers are so historically and culturally linked with LA (Cheech's cap in Born in East LA, reference in We Didn't Start the Fire, etc.) that the name change fooled no one and only made the team look silly.

FWIW, the song only mentions "California baseball". It doesn't say anything about the Dodgers specifically. It's about the changes in society in the speaker's lifetime, which includes MLB teams on the West Coast. It's as much about the Giants or, for that matter, the Angels.

Also FWIW, I know a bunch of Angels fans from my days in LA, and none of them have ever lived in Orange County. I don't know of any evidence showing that the club's fanbase is in any way limited to the county in which they play at the expense of the rest of the metro area.

The only ones "fooled" are those in Anaheim who want to pretend they're somehow separate from Los Angeles, and are scared of admitting that they live in a suburb.

That's what this is all about - bruised egos. And as usually happens when people lash out from wounded pride, the city of Anaheim only looks sillier now after having their ineptitude repeatedly exposed.

But how long ago did you accually live there? Things have dramatically changed for the Angels over the past decade. You see more and more people coming from the beach areas and the inland areas of Orange County to catch the Angels. Accually now that I think about it, I know a TON of Angels fans myself, and honestly, I dont know of a one that isnt from Orange County. So you can sit back all you want to and say that Anaheim is a "suburb" of Los Angeles or whatnot, but fact is that Anaheim isnt Los Angeles. The area is growing every day, to the point where it no longer needs to use Los Angeles as a crutch to support its economy. But IMO if I was an Angels fan I wouldnt care what the hell you called em, just as long as they put a winning team on the field. And if being called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of fu*ktardville or whatever helps to do that, its really hard to complain.

[doctorpeligro]

but fact is that Anaheim isnt Los Angeles. The area is growing every day, to the point where it no longer needs to use Los Angeles as a crutch to support its economy.

"Fact is" Anaheim is in Greater Los Angeles. No one is claiming that Anaheim is Los Angeles.

[Lumbergh]

Yes, Anaheim is considered greater LA. But the fact that Anaheim IS it's own independent city, you can't really stumble around that. Sure, Anaheim isn't as marketable as LA, but really, who cares? I really dig the teams that have their own identity. The Angels were known as "Anaheim's team" for some time. Just like the Packers aren't Milwaukee's team, they are Green Bay's team. Giving a unique team a more recognizeable city is ridiculous. Their are smaller markets in sports than Anaheim. But the whole fact of the matter is, Anaheim is Anaheim, it wouldn't matter is LA is a mile away, or a 100 miles away, it's a seperate city. The owner has all the rights, but the more we "market" sports teams into monster corporations and cities, we lose the american heritage when it was classic to have teams in smaller areas.

[clippers6]

The main problem with the name change, IMHO, is that the Dodgers are so historically and culturally linked with LA (Cheech's cap in Born in East LA, reference in We Didn't Start the Fire, etc.) that the name change fooled no one and only made the team look silly.

FWIW, the song only mentions "California baseball". It doesn't say anything about the Dodgers specifically. It's about the changes in society in the speaker's lifetime, which includes MLB teams on the West Coast. It's as much about the Giants or, for that matter, the Angels.

Also FWIW, I know a bunch of Angels fans from my days in LA, and none of them have ever lived in Orange County. I don't know of any evidence showing that the club's fanbase is in any way limited to the county in which they play at the expense of the rest of the metro area.

The only ones "fooled" are those in Anaheim who want to pretend they're somehow separate from Los Angeles, and are scared of admitting that they live in a suburb.

That's what this is all about - bruised egos. And as usually happens when people lash out from wounded pride, the city of Anaheim only looks sillier now after having their ineptitude repeatedly exposed.

The events mentioned in We Didn't Start the Fire are semi-chronological. They aren't in perfect chronological order, for example Bay of Pigs Invasion should come before Eichmann since Bay of Pigs occured in April and Eichmann was captured in May. But nothing is mentioned out of chronological order in terms of years. In other words, nothing that happened in 1980 was mentioned in the middle of the events of 1970. Hence early in the song "Brooklyn's Got a Winning Team" is mentioned. "California baseball" comes before "Starkweather homicide" which puts it in 1958. The reference is to the Dodgers and Giants both moving west, bringing the rivalry with them which is pretty unique if you think about it, two huge rivals moving into the same state and into cities that are cultural rivals. Given the place this is mentioned in the song he would not be making a general reference to all California baseball teams (Angels, As, Padres).

The Angels and Dodgers have very different fan bases. A Dodger game is a huge mix of humanity. An Angel game will probably be mostly suburban middle class. Which crowd reminds you of LA and which sounds like OC? I'm sure there's plenty of Angels fans in LA, but I would bet there's more Red Sox fans in LA than Angels fans. The LA Red Sox of Boston anyone? I would say the Angels probably have more Riverside fans than they have from LA. Myself and most Angels fans have nothing against the name change. I can see the logic in it and as I said, the owner should get to name his team whatever he wants. I wish the city would stop suing him and spend that money elsewhere. But I don't agree that this is the greatest thing ever done because Anaheim is part of the Greater LA area. Like Milton said, there needs to be room for all teams. We don't need the SF Athletics or the SF Raiders.

[LMU]

Bottom line:

1-the team is broadcast on LOS ANGELES television stations

2-Moreno managed to get a huge TV contract based solely on the name change, since the larger region was represented

3-I'm an Angel fan, and I live in Los Angeles County. Heck, I was at the game on Saturday.

[Gothamite]

Yes, Anaheim is considered greater LA. But the fact that Anaheim IS it's own independent city, you can't really stumble around that.

Of course it's an independent city. So is Hoboken. So is my mother's fair hometown of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. None of that changes the fact that Anaheim is, and remains, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Most suburbs function can quite well on their own, thank you very much. But only delusions of grandeur make those small cities feel that they're somehow separate from the major city right next door.

Delusions of grandeur backed up with an unspoken racism which originally was behind Anaheim's "We're not LA" campaign (but thankfully has largely died out as demographics shift).

[Gothamite]

But how long ago did you accually live there?

I spend about four months a year in LA (sadly, not always baseball season). Have been for nearly twenty years.

[BBM]

As an interesting contrast, Brooklyn (the former home of the Dodgers) used to be its own city, before 1898. Since the Dodgers franchise was formed in the mid 1880's, they used the name of their city of the time (Brooklyn) which is why they weren't called the New York Dodgers.

In 1898 they had a vote to incorporate Brooklyn, Queens and Richmond County (Staten Island) into the city of New York itself. The vote narrowly passed, but many Brooklynites were very upset by becoming a borough of New York, which is why the community was so tightly knit through much of the first half of the 20th century. And when the Dodgers left--the thing that REALLY brought Brooklyn together, a lot of regional pride was lost with them. The Mets never garnered that same kind of pride. And neither did the Yanks ever, really.

But the bottom line is, Anaheim is a "created" city, much like Orlando. It was more or less developed by Walt Disney to be a resort destination. So it just doesn't have the same appeal (and never will) of Los Angeles.

[Gothamite]

The Brooklyn BP calls that "The Mistake of 1898" from time to time.

It actually started a little earlier, in the 1860s, when many Brooklynites were vehemently opposed to the planned Brooklyn Bridge. They feared that once they were physically connection to Manhattan, they would be annexed by the city. Who says Dodgers ain't smart?

[The_Admiral]

I'm sure plenty of people in L.A. County became Angels fans in 2002. You might as well appeal to all of Los Angeles, since you're covered in the Los Angeles media and all.

[cityhockeyfever]

The whole definition of what Anaheim is to people is out of control. You should've seen that discussion on FanHome. Gothamite should know.

In all seriousness, Anaheim is its own place with some kind of identity. Whether Disney-haters despise the association or not, Disneyland is what the city is associated with. As Orange County residents, the Samuelis wanted to disassociate themselves from Disney by changing the Mighty Ducks name, then the uniforms (which suck with just the word logo on the front) and now the arena (without the famous "Pond" in its name) changing to Honda Center in October. What's next?

Bottom is true and will always be... Anaheim is a satellite city (or "suburb" to) of Los Angeles. Simple as that. Anaheim just like Long Beach, Santa Ana, Pasadena, Burbank and other major municipalities, they are a part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. There are no arguments about that. Gothamite's statements here discuss this in a logical way. I understand Orange County residents want their own identity. They have one.

Another thing, there's no sense in arguing the whole New York Jets and New York Giants playing their games 7 miles west of New York City at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They're still New York City teams, but the stadium is situated on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Big deal. Those two teams don't appeal to just New York City, it's the whole metropolitan area. Their roots will always be in the Big Apple one way or the other. The Devils and Nets are New Jersey teams by name and interestingly they suffer from an inferiority complex. It's not an arrogant thing to say, it's just that's how it is.

But I do have a problem with Brooklynites with their attitude that "we're better as our own" entity. Brooklyn has an identity of their own, but unlike Anaheim is to Los Angeles, Brooklyn is actually part of New York City. They stuck their thumbs up at the rest of the city when they were reluctant at first to be a city borough? Give me a break. And I'm not insulting Brooklyn either. My father was born there. My patental side of the family have Brooklyn roots. The Brooklyn Dodgers name back in the day was okay back then for sports history sake, but the potential move of an NBA team and re-naming themselves the Brooklyn Nets instead of the New York Nets? Unreal. You're in the city, you should be a New York City-named team, not just to appeal to Brooklynites.

I know the Angels technically don't play in Los Angeles and Moreno's intent to broaden his marketing appeal beyond Anaheim or even Orange County is a great move, but the team should've been kept the name "Anaheim Angels" or re-named just "Los Angeles Angels" despite where Angel Stadium is actually located. Not this "L.A. Angels of Anaheim" joke for a name.

Okay, before I get to far off on a tangent here, I will comment on the subject of the uniform concept that was provided in the opening post. I will say that the current design the Angels actually wear is the best one they've ever had and kicks ass. The concepts are perfect and I wouldn't change a thing. I might like to see what a navy blue bill on that red cap with the red alternate jersey would look like. No need to change the road uniforms to say Los Angeles. The length of the name is proportionally too big. The San Francisco Giants road jersey with the city name is small because of the amount of letters in the name. Same for the Dodgers. I don't like the "Los Angeles" in script on their road jerseys. They should go back to the "Dodgers" name on both jerseys, not just the home one. I'm not one for abbreviated names on uniforms either... So, "Angels" on the front of their current road jerseys is just fine as is. I do like the late 1980s Angels cap as I have a fitted one myself that is in great shape. It just needs a damp cloth to clear off a little bit of dust on it.

[Gothamite]

The whole definition of what Anaheim is to people is out of control.  You should've seen that discussion on FanHome. Gothamite should know. 

I wouldn't, actually. Finally gave up on Fanhome a while ago. Used to get pretty crazy back in the day, though.

I know the Angels technically don't play in Los Angeles and Moreno's intent to broaden his marketing appeal beyond Anaheim or even Orange County is a great move, but the team should've been kept the name "Anaheim Angels" or re-named just "Los Angeles Angels" despite where Angel Stadium is actually located.  Not this "L.A. Angels of Anaheim" joke for a name.

I can't speak for Moreno, but I believe that he'd be thrilled to call them the "Los Angeles Angels." Only problem is that he's contractually prohibited from doing so. This compromise name is only to satisfy the terms of his agreement, and as soon as he can rename the team, I believe that he will.

[alwaysr92]

I'm not sure I get what you mean by "take advantage of the name", though.  The Angels play in a suburb of LA, they have as much right to it as any team.

Anaheim is not a suburb of la at all, anaheim is its own city, its own location, and its own identity.

Only in the collective mind of the Anaheim tourist board.

Hoboken is its own city, with its own location and its own identity. That doesn't stop it from being a suburb of New York.

You'll find that all suburbs share the qualities you list. Many suburbs are incorporated as cities (as opposed to villages and towns), physics dictates that that no two objects can occupy the same space (hence the separate geographical location), and even neighborhoods within a city have their own identites.

Anaheim is a suburb. Any claims to the contrary are just public relations spin.

ur retarded.....anaheim is not a suburb, check ur geography