I spent the first dozen or so years of my life as a Dodger fan. Even though I grew up in Buena Park, close to Angel Stadium, my dad was a Dodger fan, so I became a Dodger fan. Nothing was (and still is) better than listening to Vin Scully call a game on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I knew who all the players were each year and what positions they played. I had my baseball glove autographed by Mike Scioscia, Jay Johnstone, and “The Bulldog”, Orel Hershiser. I only remember going to a handful of games at Dodger Stadium, but I always remember getting a couple Dodger dogs and a Kula Koo, back when they still sold them there.
About the time I was 14 or 15, I realized that I lived close to Angel Stadium and should probably become and Angel fan. It was about the same time the O’Malley family sold the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch of Fox, and I just couldn’t get behind a guy like that owning a baseball team, so the switch was an easy one. I can’t say it was easy being an Angel fan in the 90′s. They pretty much sucked. They sucked so bad that you could even roll up to the Stadium when they were playing the Red Sox or Yankees and get tickets 5 minutes before game time. Dark days, my friends. Dark. Days.
Flash forward to 1999 when I meet Dana. Things were going great until she mentioned she was a Yankee fan. Ack! Not the Yankees… anyone but them! I do have to respect it. At least she’s been an Yankee fan since birth, and not some bandwagoner that half follows the team because Jeter has a nice ass, or A-rod has sexy eyes, or some crap like that.
Ya see, the Angels don’t have any real rivalries, so Angel fans need someone to hate on. Logically it could be Oakland, or even the Dodgers. But, really, when was the last time either of those were must see television? Everyone hates the Yankees. Well… everyone, except Yankee fans.
I can understand it. The Yankees have more World Series wins and more history than any other team. They are always in contention, and who doesn’t love a winner? “Scoreboard”, as the kids like to say.
And this is where Dana and I stand. A stalemate of fandom. She loves the Yankees. I love the Angels. To her credit, she does take a lot of crap from my Halo loving family whenever the Yankees do lose. Plus, she pretends to be an Angel fan, as long as they aren’t playing the Yankees. Or so she says.
It could be worse… She could be a Giants fan!
