i fell in love with the angels back in the '97 season. living down the street from the stadium, i made a run for the cheap seats with friends a few times, just because we were looking for something different to do. but then, something odd happened, i actually started paying more attention to the game than my peanuts and cracker jacks. (and you know me, it's almost always all about the food.)
anyway, by the time the 2002 world series rolled around, i was in a full blown love affair with the angels. i'd gone to more games than i ever thought i'd attend in an entire lifetime. it was good times.
fast forward to the start of the 2003 season. i tried to get tickets to the opening day for my brother and i and they were sold out weeks in advance! WHAT? the year before, we walked up to the ticket booth 5 minutes before the game started on opening day and got great seats. this was the day the tide turned.
for the rest of the season, it was hard to get seats in the outfield (my favorite "cheap seat" area) without buying them in advance. booo. so...i went to less games, but still caught a good amount of the action on the tele.
it was also in 2003 that arte moreno came into my life. with his purchase of the angels came lower beer prices, but also a whole lotta drama. little arte decided that the club could be better publicized if it was affiliated with los angeles.
now, arte is a shrewd business man. he didn't come to be a millionaire by winning the lottery, he got there with a lot of hard work and ambition. but this time, i would have to say, his head was up his...well, not in the right place. the los angeles angels of anaheim...right.
there was a huge backlash and lawsuits with the city ensued. disgruntled fans openly expressed their rage. it was chaos everywhere. i found myself watching less games. and suddenly, the entire 2005 season blew by without me walking through the stadium gates even once. i had officially lost that lovin' feeling.
recently though, i've found myself checking out a game here and there. hmmm....
and just last week, i found myself in a slight state of jealousy because my friend russ blogged about his visit to the boeing luxury suite at dodger stadium.
(http://www.russellandjoanne.com/2006/05/go-dodger-blue.html )
then, strangely enough, i got an e-mail from my roommate on tuesday. she said her company had a suite at angel stadium for wednesday night and asked if i wanted to go. oh my! (i have the best roommate ever.)
so last night, i made my return to angel stadium in style. the suite was great, and kristine's co-workers were lots of fun. but best of all, i found myself completely enthralled with the game. and although we lost, i walked away with a smile, because i was once again an angels fan.
GO HALOS!
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ps- for all you idol fans, ace young sang the national anthem, as well as take me out to the ball game. kristine and i are the only 2 people on the planet who don't watch idol, so someone had to point him out to us.
I read an interesting article today that refuted the idea that you burn the same amount of calories whether you run or walk a mile.
