Memories of AngelsWin Fanfests

[Spirit]

As you know, this Saturday @Chuck  will be in AZ for the AngelsWin Spring Training Fanfest 2024!  If you can make it out to Tempe this weekend, you should go!

With this being the 20 Year Anniversary of AngelsWin, Chuck and I thought it would be fun to dedicate episodes of the Podcast to sharing memories of fun moments in AngelsWin history.  For this week's episode, we're going to focus on the Fanfests. 

Please share some of your fun moments and/or stories from Fanfests over the years.  Fun things that happened at the events, at the ballpark, post event shenanigans ... you get the idea!  

Ready ... GO!

 

[Spirit]

@BaseballMom @katie @Blarg @Stradling @Dave Saltzer @Crampknees @Black Beard  and all!!!

 

[Chuck]

Also @James, @ScottT, @Brian Ilten, @Lhalo and a handful of others who aren't really on the board anymore (Bruce, LightTheHalo, Cassy, etc.)

[Chuck]

Just to jog your memory

https://www.angelswin.com/gallery/category/4-angelswin-event-photos/

[James]

This is going to quickly become a Tim Mead appreciation thread. Rightfully so. 

While I was always hung over, the morning talks with Tim were the best. The insight provided was always awesome. 

[James]

Great pics Chuck. Love this one. 

[katie]

Some of my favorite memories from AW spring training trips are when tickets were cheap. 

[katie]

[katie]

[katie]

The flag holding events were always fun 

[katie]

Ladies of AW meetups 

[katie]

Waller’s in law’s beach house party in Newport was fun 

Edited March 5 by katie

[katie]

I guess I’m just doing anything AW at this point… and now I’ve posted 7 times in a row 

[Chuck]

8 minutes ago, katie said:

I guess I’m just doing anything AW at this point… and now I’ve posted 7 times in a row 

Your dedication is unmatched, @katie!!

[Spirit]

@katie wins!

 

[tdawg87]

I didn't go to fanfest but Jaime Barria and his wife will certainly remember my fat ass falling into the dude sitting behind me after getting Barria's autograph. 

[Chuck]

2 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

I didn't go to fanfest but Jaime Barria and his wife will certainly remember my fat ass falling into the dude sitting behind me after getting Barria's autograph. 

That was a great time, @tdawg87. I think the year before was our last event fanfest, but it was great to just go and not work and enjoy Angels baseball amongst friends.

 

[Blarg]

In 2012 I was setting up the location for the Angelswin Fanfest. I was looking for an upgrade from the defunct Hail Mary's sports bar and found a nice place with a patio that could hold up to 50 people. That would have been a record showing for an Angels win Fanfest, and I had it locked down at a fan friendly price which included bar food. 

Then Arte Moreno screwed that all up by signing Albert Pujols to a 10 year contract.

All of a sudden we started getting more and more people wanting to come and quickly it blew past the 50 person limit. Suddenly it had become a major event and how to house all of those old and new fans was going to be a challenge. So I told Chuck the days of grungy sports bars were over, we had to dress up this event and become more, lots more. And we ended up being just that.

 I found the Fiesta Resort and Conference Center, right down the road from Tempe Diablo stadium, and started wheeling and dealing for a conference room. I reserved a room that could seat 125 people with an attached patio, bar service with a real catered meal and to top it off got special room rates. At the time we had only 75 or so reservations and by the night of the event every single table was full. Somehow @Brian Ilten kept track of all partygoers and checked them in, no party crashers at this event. 

But that was only part of the surprise for the fans. Chuck with his connection to Tim Mead, put together and amazing list of players, including Jerome Williams and Cole Calhoun that attended a couple of Fanfests over those years. But the surprise guest was Arte Moreno himself. I almost didn't know what to say when I greeted him at the entrance to the conference room. He wasn't even sure what he was walking into so I explained this was a gathering of fans, both casual and season ticket holders, through a website dedicated to Angels baseball. He looked at me like, what? A handshake later, him and Carol, along with some of his staff, entered the room and the crowd went crazy.

Arte gave a speech to the fans that is on the Angelswin website, I'm sure @Chuck can drop a link to the video. It was the first Fanfest of it's kind and from then it kept growing to the point we hosted over 230 people at the Fiesta Resort in even larger banquet rooms which featured Don Baylor and Tim Salmon as guest speakers. It was a ton of work but to see fans just reveling in being fans of the team made it worth the effort. 

[BaseballMom]

2 hours ago, katie said:

JMOAS sighting!! 

[Tank]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

In 2012 I was setting up the location for the Angelswin Fanfest. I was looking for an upgrade from the defunct Hail Mary's sports bar and found a nice place with a patio that could hold up to 50 people. That would have been a record showing for an Angels win Fanfest, and I had it locked down at a fan friendly price which included bar food. 

Then Arte Moreno screwed that all up by signing Albert Pujols to a 10 year contract.

All of a sudden we started getting more and more people wanting to come and quickly it blew past the 50 person limit. Suddenly it had become a major event and how to house all of those old and new fans was going to be a challenge. So I told Chuck the days of grungy sports bars were over, we had to dress up this event and become more, lots more. And we ended up being just that.

 I found the Fiesta Resort and Conference Center, right down the road from Tempe Diablo stadium, and started wheeling and dealing for a conference room. I reserved a room that could seat 125 people with an attached patio, bar service with a real catered meal and to top it off got special room rates. At the time we had only 75 or so reservations and by the night of the event every single table was full. Somehow @Brian Ilten kept track of all partygoers and checked them in, no party crashers at this event. 

But that was only part of the surprise for the fans. Chuck with his connection to Tim Mead, put together and amazing list of players, including Jerome Williams and Cole Calhoun that attended a couple of Fanfests over those years. But the surprise guest was Arte Moreno himself. I almost didn't know what to say when I greeted him at the entrance to the conference room. He wasn't even sure what he was walking into so I explained this was a gathering of fans, both casual and season ticket holders, through a website dedicated to Angels baseball. He looked at me like, what? A handshake later, him and Carol, along with some of his staff, entered the room and the crowd went crazy.

Arte gave a speech to the fans that is on the Angelswin website, I'm sure @Chuck can drop a link to the video. It was the first Fanfest of it's kind and from then it kept growing to the point we hosted over 230 people at the Fiesta Resort in even larger banquet rooms which featured Don Baylor and Tim Salmon as guest speakers. It was a ton of work but to see fans just reveling in being fans of the team made it worth the effort. 

perhaps the best moment from that year was when arte looked at percy squint and said "I used to shoot at guys that wore that hat."

[BaseballMom]

A few photos from different events. Tim Mead was/is the man! Those Sunday morning talks were so great. @Spirit, I thought what happened at Spring Training stayed at Spring Training. 

Edited March 5 by BaseballMom

[Slegnaac]

I heard that one year there was a Full Moon sighting over the at the Oakland ST park.

[Spirit]

16 minutes ago, BaseballMom said:

A few photos from different events. Tim Mead was/is the man! Those Sunday morning talks were so great. Spirit, I thought what happened at Spring Training stayed at Spring Training. 

 

 

Every time I see one of the pictures of the Sunday morning "State of the Team" addresses with Tim Mead I immediately feel hungover and dehydrated

 

[katie]

Man I am so stoked for this weekend. 

[katie]

3 minutes ago, Spirit said:

 

Every time I see one of the pictures of the Sunday morning "State of the Team" addresses with Tim Mead I immediately feel hungover and dehydrated

 

I missed most of them for this reason.