When did you become an Angels fan? Were you an Angels fan before, during or after the 2002 season?

[Angels#1Fan]

"I hate to admit it, but I was a Los Angeles Angel PCL fan back in l950's when they called Wrigley Field their home."

I saw Steve Bilko in 1957 at Wrigley 

[disarcina]

this thread is starting to look like a Chicago Cubs thread --

-- were you a Cubs fan before or after 1908 ??

[disarcina]

in the 70's, I remember watching a guy named Ryan pitch for the Halos........I still remember being in the area around game time one time and just buying a single ticket. Probably section 400 something -- 401-403 (long time ago - park was different then -- the old Big A) up high behind the plate -- and who's  pitching? Nolan Ryan.....about 18,000 in the park -- probably a July/ August game --- Angels out any contention in the standing -- Ryan pitched a one hitter.

Rules have changed -- probably because of stuff like this -- but it's an absolute shame and a sin that Nolan Ryan isn't in the Hall of Fame as an Angel -- and a California Angel at that.

His best years were with the Halos. Under current rules he's be in as a Halo........I think Texas put the HOF thing in his contract and Ryan got a huge bonus for it. Can't blame him.

[Lou]

On 6/8/2016 at 4:26 PM, Angels#1Fan said:

I saw Steve Bilko in 1957 at Wrigley 

i think we have a winner

[Dick B Back]

18 hours ago, Lou said:

i think we have a winner

Agreed.

[Dtwncbad]

1977 was the beginning for me.

[Trainman95630]

Had just moved from Ohio to Diamond Bar in 2001, noticed how well the team was doing in 2002 and became a fan that year, lots of dissapointments since

[budice0]

I enjoyed the Vlad Guerrero led teams.  Those were fun to watch.

[Highsteppingbruin]

1993 during tim salmon's rookie year and a couple years before the epic regular season collapse in 1995. 2002 made all the pain go away.

[WBaxterDTM]

I grew up liking both The Angels and The Dodgers. I was a California Angels Fan starting in 1967, and remained a California Angels Fan until 1994 when they had that MLB Strike. Major League Baseball had become too much about money, and not the fans, families, and the love of Baseball. In 2005, I became a Minor League Baseball Fan and National Anthem Singer (Long Beach Armada) which was all about these things. Today, I live in Colorado Springs and I am a Sky Sox Fan.

[southbay]

1973 when my family moved to Orange County from the South Bay. Dirty Al Gallagher, Nolan Ryan, Mickey Rivers, Bobby Valentine. Dick Enberg and Don Drysdale. 

[Dtwncbad]

When entire months go by with no posts, can this thread be retired yet?

[JustATroutFan]

Became an Angels fan (and Dodgers fan) starting in 2004. But people didn't like that idea so I stopped being a fan of both teams  after 2009.

[tomsred]

1977 was my first Angels year.  I lived in Camarillo, and could hardly hear the games through the radio static.  The drive to the ballpark was a nightmare, but we did it several times that first year.  I was always an American league fan starting with the Tigers for several years as I grew up and went to college in Michigan (MSU).  Then, living in Chicago, I became a White Sox fan for a few years before switching to the Angels for good.

[hmautocenter]

Since going to my first game in 1997.

Edited October 16, 2017 by Lou

[WBaxterDTM]

I grew up in Orange County liking both teams: The California Angels and The Los Angeles Dodgers. I first started liking The Dodgers in the Early 1960's when Danny Kaye rocked the world with his "D-O-D-G-E-R-S" song. I first started liking The Angels when Angels Stadium was built and completed in the  1960's. I was a California Angels Fan from 1967 thru 1994 when MLB went on strike. A year before The MLB Strike which ended my years as a California Angels fan, I won a small package of Angels Tickets at an Opportunity/Raffle Drawing at a Toastmasters International Speech Contest, and that was an enjoyable season. That was the year Tim Salmon was a rookie, if I'm not mistaken. I got very good seats. I became a Minor League Baseball Fan and National Anthem Singer in 2005 (Long Beach Armada--now defunct) and became a Dodgers Fan again in 2006.

[Lou]

20 hours ago, WBaxterDTM said:

I grew up in Orange County liking both teams: The California Angels and The Los Angeles Dodgers. I first started liking The Dodgers in the Early 1960's when Danny Kaye rocked the world with his "D-O-D-G-E-R-S" song. I first started liking The Angels when Angels Stadium was built and completed in the  1960's. I was a California Angels Fan from 1967 thru 1994 when MLB went on strike. A year before The MLB Strike which ended my years as a California Angels fan, I won a small package of Angels Tickets at an Opportunity/Raffle Drawing at a Toastmasters International Speech Contest, and that was an enjoyable season. That was the year Tim Salmon was a rookie, if I'm not mistaken. I got very good seats. I became a Minor League Baseball Fan and National Anthem Singer in 2005 (Long Beach Armada--now defunct) and became a Dodgers Fan again in 2006. 

I'm a Dodgers fan.

Fixed 

[angels1963]

1963 

[Shohei Ohtani]

I was born in 2002, but I became an Angels fan in 2013.

[Cosmo_Kramer]

Grew up near the stadium. Jim Edmonds was my first favorite player.

[OK-LA Angels]

I always considered myself an Angels fan growing up in the 90's but I was a kid. So I had the hats, the shirts and so on. My first team I played for (TeeBall) was the Angels. But I didn't sit down and watch the Angels every night or listen to them on the radio or check stats. 2002 was the first year I actually followed them every single day, tv, radio, newspaper and so on. 2002 was the first year I went to a game. So it was quite a special year for me to witness as they won it all. I still have the newspapers I saved from the World Series.

[CubsFan]

no

[houstoncali]

I was always a fan of the angels but not a die hard until the early to mid 90's.  I just remember the Chad Curtis was the centerfielder when I started watching them almost every night on TV.  My fandom went into a new gear in 1995.  This was after the players strike so the stadium was practically empty, and the ownership were practically giving tickets away.  So, about once a week or so my buddy and I would drive down the stadium after school (I had just got my license) and throughout the year we probably hit up about 20-25 games in person.  I remember one time we got tickets right behind home plate for next to nothing! Now, considering I went lived in San Bernardino we put a lot of miles on our car.  My folks were completely cool with that because as some as you know, the 909 is am armpit and if my folks new that I was at Angels Stadium every other night then I wasn't local getting myself into trouble so they not only were OK with it they encouraged it.  Of course that was the year we completely went to shit and a couple of years later Disney bought the team and gave us the single ugliest uniforms in the history of sports ... but that's neither here nor there.  

For those who were devastated in the 95 collapse ... the feeling of the 2002 World Series was that much sweater.  The Angels in the late 90's were the single biggest laughing stock in all of professional sports.  In fact, I would say we were worse off than how the Cleveland Browns are viewed now or how the New Orleans Saints were viewed in the 60's and 70's.  In fact, what people tend to forget was (and correct me if I am wrong) but after 20 games we had the worse record in baseball ... and then the magic happened.  

[Tank]

welcome. and trust me, no one around here has forgotten that ugly start to '02.

[jordan]

I have never told my 2002 story on here...So I grew up an Angels fan going to the games with my dad in the 80s and 90s.  We always longed for that magical moment of crowning the Angels WS Champs.  As many of us here, I had to grow up around many Dodger fans who were obnoxious and thought the Angels were a second class team with no championships.  So finally 2002 comes, I'm in college and Angels had a tremendous regular season and start the playoffs.  Earlier in the summer I joined the Air Force with the delayed enlistment program.  At that point, I had not even a second thought about the Angels making the World Series, much less win it all.  So the playoffs start rolling, and Angels win the Division Series against the Yanks as underdogs.  Then on to Minnesota, and Kennedy's 3 Hr game.  Of course Angels win that series and I am forced to leave for basic training and I officially join the Air Force Oct 2.  While at Basic, I find out the Angels beat the Giants through a fellow Airman who had just made a phone call.  At that point I didn't care that I wasn't there, just so happy my Halos won it all. 

 

So I am hoping for a second chance at being able to watch either in person or on TV the Angels in the World Series.  I hope it happens...