June 17, 2007
I hate the OC Angels of Anaheim
I'm a Dodger die-hard. It's in my blood. So I can't like the Angels. But do you know who I hate even more? That jackass who was sitting behind me at the game today.
He and his Angel ass-kissing buddy did not stop speaking throughout the entire game. They seriously thought they were placed on this earth to be the walking and talking media guides and for three and a half hours they didn't shut up once. They loudly spewed stats and facts at each other which seemed rather pointless since obviously the other one was painfully aware of GA's batting average this year given that they are both big Angels fans, but also because the damn batting average is posted on the DodgerVision screen for everyone in the stadium to see so the fact that they could quote it meant nothing at all. Morons.
Then one went so far as to call Dodger fans "bush league" because someone booed his precious little Vlad Guerrero. Oh, get over yourself. Booing is not bush league. A-Rod yelling ahhh/mine! might be bush league. A bunch of 10 year olds booing your best hitter at a ball game when he comes up to bat, get over it. Fucking Orange County. I felt like I was sitting in front of two White Joe Morgans. (Never mind that they protested several calls and taunted Schmidt throughout the entire game. It's acceptable for them, I suppose.)
more photos and ranting after the jump
Then they went off about why Angel Stadium is better than Dodger Stadium because you can bring your BBQ and grill hot dogs from the back of your 6MPG SUV. Well you still can't drink beer, and they actually have a beer patrol guy who drives around writing tickets for people who are drinking in the parking lot. And then you get a $175 ticket. I know this from experience. While Dodger Stadium says you can't tailgate, the number of people getting absolutely shitfaced in the parking lot would suggest that this rule is very poorly enforced. So if you're going to judge baseball teams by their parking lot limitations (which is completely inane, if you ask me), then you guys lose.
I did not turn around to mention that there is a Hooters at the "Big A of Anaheim," which is another thing that really pisses me off. As if women aren't alienated enough when it comes to sports and sports venues, to have an institution with pseudo-prostitutes like Hooters allowed 10 feet from the kids' play area seems just a little inappropriate. But I am getting off topic. I will save the "why the Big A of Anaheim sucks my ass" for another date.
About the 4th inning, our wanna-be Joe Morgan-Jon Miller team spilled about 48 ounces of sticky sweet Coke all over the ground, which of course ran down onto our shoes and also my camera bag with about $1000 of camera equipment in it. They waited about 20 seconds, then alerted us that they'd spilled Coke on us (a little late, jackasses, it's a fluid) and then offered us one napkin as a consolation prize. I didn't even turn around to refuse it, because I might have socked the guy in the face, or at least booed him (bush league).
They insisted Pierre was out on this play. No. He. Wasn't. I have proof. I almost started yelling at them over this one, but again, I kept my cool. Okay, and I was nursing a frozen lemonade and I didn't want it to melt.
This went on and on. They thought they were the greatest managers of all time. Every time one of the Angels took a strike, they would jump in and loudly validate all of the reasons why it was a good idea to take a strike at that particular moment. Then they offered soothing advice by shouting into my ear, "it's okay, that's okay, you're okay" for the poor player at the plate who, without their generous encouragement may have become severely depressed or self-critical and given up the sport of baseball altogether.
They then began to yell and shout that they felt certain this or that player would be forced out or this player couldn't hit an infield single. They were wrong 100% of the time. You would think with that sort of record, you would consider just shutting up. Nope.
Inevitably they took to trying to call every pitch before it was thrown. They were wrong 98% of the time. Then they would have to justify why their pitch would have been better, and tried to speculate why anyone would possibly want to throw anything else. This is an annoying guy thing. I'm not trying to be sexist, but I have never heard a woman do this. I know I don't. Because if I were better at calling pitches than the team's staff, why am I sitting in the stands and not on the field? Oh yeah. Because I'm not.
Okay, then Kotchman is standing pretty far off the 2nd base bag and Martin makes a throw to pick him off and it beans him in the head. (check out the 2nd photo for a kick ass shot) Whatever. It wasn't a bad throw. It was exactly where it should have been to put the tag on, but the dude's head gets in the way. That's why they wear helmets. But no, Jackass #1 and #2 stand up and start cursing at Russell Martin, booing and cursing (bush league style), calling him names and then speculating on all of the potential lineup changes that would result from Kotchman being on the DL for a while which they felt certain would happen because he'd been down for, oh, 2.8 seconds. "This will really hurt the team," they yelled. "Thanks Martin, for ruining our June!" Wah wah wah.
I tried to keep quiet because I know I am highly sensitive to jackasses when the Dodgers are losing, but the people around me (not even Dodger fans) were saying things like "I want the Dodgers to win just so you'll shut up." These two didn't care. They were so impressed with their own knowledge of baseball that they had to let the world know. "Did you know Martin is French-Canadian?!?!" Well, yes we do, asswads. That's why no one fucking asked.
I have been having a lot of trouble recently with sitting in front of know-it-all loghorrheic opposing team jackasses. There was a Blue Jays fan who was lucky to leave without my camera wedged up his ass. Another Cubs fan fortunately survived without having melted chocolate malt poured onto his balding head. A few others were so bad that I had to move myself to a different section to prevent a violent outburst. What is it with you people? Your penis is not any larger if you can tell everyone in the section what Gary Matthews Jr.'s batting average is while hitting in day games with RISP. We do not think more highly of you if you correctly predict the standings of the Western Division for the end of the season given that it's June and come September no one will look back and say "wow, that dumbfuck who was sitting behind me at the Dodger game 3 months ago was RIGHT!" So really, just shut up. At least keep quiet.
All photos taken by Malingering, who may watch Sportscenter or Pardon the Interruption but does not feel the need to parrot back everything she hears to the 28 fans within hearing range.



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i was there and i feel your pain. some guys behind me kept yelling GO BACK TO BROOKLYN!
i was tempted to yell back either GO BACK TO ANAHEIM or even GO BACK TO THE PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE!!
oh well, they would have beat me up.
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Very well said Malingering. Great pictures too by the way. Unfortunaly, this sort of thing is happening in sports all the time and everywhere. I've been in situations at live sporting events in the past where I felt my life was in danger just for wearing a cap in support of my team. Fans can go way too far to justify thier love for thier team.
Boo if you want to boo. Cheer if you want to cheer. Hackle when appropriate.
Hating the other guys is fun but do it with a smile and ALWAYS remember it's just a game and fighting about it just makes you a d-bag.
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Mal,
First of all, I'm an OC girl... Angels all the way... but those guys sounded like dickwads.
Great photos. I envy your camera equipment. I want a big girl camera someday.
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yeah, you have to hate assholes like that, but fuck not all angel fans are like that and hooters is not at angel stadium, it's on the other side, it's in a corner and who gives too shits if it's there.
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This totally sounds like my roommate's ex-boyfriend. She used to dread going to Angels' games with him cause he would do this. And he had a twin BFF who behaved exactly the same way. When they weren't at games they were in our living obsessively discussing LOUDLY whatever they were infatuated with at that moment.
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there is a hooters IN angel stadium. at least there has been for the past 4 seasons. i haven't been there yet this season, but on the 1st base side near the kiddie area and the carl's jr.
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I was about to quit reading LAist due to the rampant Kobe-hate in a blog that claims to support the team, but what a great, spot-on post.
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I was kinda following you until the Hooters rant. Then i realized you are a completely biased Dodger fan.
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joe - you're KIDDING, right? I mean, didn't you get a clue from the sentence "I'm a Dodger die-hard."?
I thought it was an excellent write-up on how some fans can take psuedo-knowledge to a new level and pretty much make what should be an entertaining evening into a hell-night with Rush Limbaugh.
So what team are you a biased fan of?
Bill S.
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the "Hooters" in Angel Stadium is staffed by people wearing the same uniform as the Hot Dog booth or cotton candy, it's just a place to sell wings not some affront on american morality
the chatty charlies behind you suck, i'm with you on that but
the phrase "i'm a die hard dodger fan" is usually followed by "so what gang do you rep?" or possibly "so do you want the tattoo on the front of your neck or the side"
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and the phrase "i'm a die hard angels fan" is usually followed by "so what frat are you from, brah" or possibly "how do you get the collar on your pink polo to pop even higher?"
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Go to an Angels home game. Take those two douches and multiply it by 50,000. Are you sure you were not sitting in front of the Angel broadcast announcers? Those guys on t.v. are the worst I have ever heard. They always have to give their side kudos even when they screw up. I think all the Angels douche fans do that too. Nobody is on their level to them and they have no clue most of the time. Most of them have no idea what is happening around the league, either. Dodger fans can at least give respect to good players of other teams. For example, I'm a Dodger fan. The Padres are our contending rivals now that the Giants suck. But I have tons of respect for players like Hoffman and Green. That's something an Angel fan can't do. They probably wouldn't even know who they were on the field without reading their jersey. I will say it here: I have respect for Figgins and Vlad even though they are Angels. Dodger fans are smart about the game, the league, and their team and most of them have a kick back attitude about it all. I think the Riverside Angels of Suburbia fans have gotten even more douchey since they won their first and only championship ever. It's like it validated their right to be a-holes. They know their team is for pussies and little kids and soccer moms so they try to be extra super-fans to balance out the weak (former Disney)image that they have. Just because they have had an ounce of success- they have to amplify it to a thousand.
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Oh no, the comments are getting me even more riled up. The "why I hate Angel Stadium" post is tickling my fingers, waiting to come out.
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As a Cubs fan, your experience makes me appreciate Sox fans. Thank you.
And too bad about the idiot Cubs fan. Most people at Wrigley are too busy drinking and checking out the talent to care about the game let alone regurgitate key statistics. Hey - we could care less!
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I kinda liked the Big A. It had good food but wasn't super-pretentious *or* all fast-foodified about it. The sausages were really tasty and so were the cinnamon rolls. It pains me to say it, but the sausages were better than Dodger Dogs.
Plus, it was awesome the way no one got to the game before the third inning and left in the fifth so there were no beer lines. Not to mention that since the Angels suck so much, you could almost always get free tickets if some vendor took your boss out to work.
Edison Field, now. Edison Field is DISRESPECTFUL TO BASEBALL. Dancing waters? Speedboat races? No more free tickets?
Please rant, Malingering. I love your rants, and Edison Field deserves to be ranted about hard-core, by a professional.
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www.halosheaven.com/story/2007/6/17/31047/0749
That is all.
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After Kotchman got nailed by the ball on the pick-off, you could clearly hear Dodger fans cheering as he laid on the ground in pain. My friend at the game called me to say that some fat Dodger fan sitting behind him said he hopes Kotchman is dead.
This is what your fan base has become--a bunch of gang bangers.
Enjoy it Malingering. You know they probably don't have a high school diploma.
Of course, there are several good Dodger fans who are decent human beings, but they appear to be out-numbered by the thugs whenever I'm at Dodger Stadium.
Its not just me who feels this way either. I feel sorry for vin scully. really. I do.
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I think what most Dodger fans forget is that the Angels were the NATIVE and Original team from LA. The Angels can trace their roots to LA all the way back to 1892.
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Independena review
Ballpark Visited: Dodger Stadium
Submitted By: J. Rodriguez
Grade: D
Pros of the ballpark: I must admit that most of the fans there know they're baseball and they really do get into the game. That and the fact that it's one of the older parks around does give it a sense of nostalgia. Also, surprisingly most people don't know, it's very easy to meet players from the visiting team right outside the right field, lower level gates. This is a great park to get autographs from some great players AFTER the game!
Cons of the ballpark: Where do I start????
-Traffic, yes, even though you may be 1 mile (yes, 1 mile) from the stadium with 1 hour to go till gametime, you may end up getting there by the 4th inning. Yes, this includes games against Milwaukee as well.
-The fans, yes most fans are well informed die hard Dodger fans but it has changed quite a bit as of late. There are various gang members who attend games and forget about cheering for the visiting team, the fans will get on you and you will receive no sympathy or assistance from the ushers. It has turned out to be a not so "family friendly" park. I know many families who will not attend games out of fear of fights and profanity laden tirades from terrible fans. The violence has escalated in the last few years, from fans being shot to death, to vendors outside the stadium stabbing security, to a dozen fights throughout the game. Keep your family away from this place!
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the phrase "i'm a die hard dodger fan" is usually followed by "so what gang do you rep?" or possibly "so do you want the tattoo on the front of your neck or the side
HAHAHAHAHA
comedy gold.
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"Keep your family away from this place!" That sounds a little bit extreme. I've only been to Dodger's stadium a few times, but never saw any problems except some drunk people having too much fun. I would think any stadium in a city has the potential for gang members. It would be interesting to see some statistics comparing the various stadiums with respect to fan violence.
Anyway, I'm not a fan of either team. I think you'll get boorish fans like this rooting for any team in any sport. Maybe there are more rooting for the Angels. I wouldn't know. I think they didn't want to stop talking about idiotic things because otherwise people would think they were on a man-date.
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I wish I had a high school diploma.
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As for that review, anything with a blatant grammatical error in the first sentence loses all credibility with me. Maybe in the 2nd paragraph, when you're all fired up and getting excited about it and you can't stop the passion from being vomited out onto the keyboard, but the first sentence? No.
Well maybe it's not an error. Maybe I just know I'm baseball.
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The violence has escalated in the last few years, from fans being shot to death, to vendors outside the stadium stabbing security, to a dozen fights throughout the game. Keep your family away from this place!
And come on, let's not get dramatic. Yes, a Giants fan (singular) was shot to death outside of Dodger Stadium. And an illegal bootleg t-shirt selling man was asked to leave and pulled a knife on security. You're telling me there is no violence at any other stadium? Maybe not at Angel Stadium, but that's because their fans are martini drinking OC yuppies who care too little about the game to actually fight about anything at all. They're lucky to know what inning it's in, and that's after looking at the scoreboard.
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I'm really happy that the "Angels" were in LA since 1892. That's only two years after the Dodgers became a major league team. But what were the Angels doing from 1892-1961?
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Sorry, but the Most Obnoxious Baseball Fans in the World Award goes to Yankee fans. Anytime they're in someone else's park, they're usually a) drunk, b) getting into a fight, c) rude and obnoxious, or d) all of the above. It's usually d.
Angels fans are a close second. I think I'd rather keep my family away from the yuppies and the frat brothers. God knows I don't want my kid to be a shirt collar-popping, martini sipping, dancing water lovin' Angels fan.
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can someone please just blow up Orange County already and hit 'restart'?
I'm sick of hearing about the 'morally sanitized' right wing freaks down there with their gated communities, monstrous SUV's showing the entire family (+dog) in stick figures on the back window, generic baseball parks, fake television shows, and (apparently) crappy trash talking.
it's obvious the republican elite land-raping greed-mongerers have fucked up the once beautiful 'OC' beyond all recognition...can we just start over or something??