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FanGraphs: It's Fan Fest Season; Well, For Most Teams

ettin

By ettin
in LA Angels | MLB Daily

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Here's the actually "interview" I did with Fan Graphs ...

 

 

Fan Graph -How did your event get started?
 
Geoff - AngelsWin.com is celebrating its 10 year anniversary in 2014.  It’s an online community of Angels fans spread across not only the country, but the globe.  About 7 years ago, someone on the board had the idea of getting together in Tempe to watch some Angels Spring Training games.  It was from this initial gathering that our Spring Training Fanfest was born.  Ultimately, our Fanfest events are done to provide our online community with an opportunity to get together in person, celebrate the team that we love and the start of their season.  

FG - Is it sponsored by the Angels in any way?
 
G - The Angels organization and AngelsWin.com have a wonderful working relationship.  Their involvement in our Fanfest events (through both their attendance and assistance in helping us to obtain guest speakers) has allowed us to grow the event in a ways we never dreamed possible.  Over the years we’ve welcome Angels owner Arte Moreno, team executives Tim Mead, John Carpino and Dennis Kuhl, General Manger Jerry Dipoto (who will be back again this year), and Angels broadcasters Victor Rojas, Terry Smith and Jose Mota.  We’ve also had players like Kole Calhoun and Jerome Williams, team prospects Matt Shoemaker, Randal Grichuk, Travis Witherspoon and Mike Piazza, and Angels legend Tim Salmon.  Our Fanfest events also raise money for one of the team’s official charities, the Angels RBI League.

FG - I understand the Angels used to host their Fan Fest. Do you when they stopped and why? Is that when you jumped into with your event?
 
G - The Angels continue to have a season kickoff event called the Angels 5K & 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk (details here: http://mlb.mlb.com/ana/community/5k_funrun.jsp)  I believe that 2012 was the last time they referred to this as a â€œFanfest.”  I’m not sure why they dropped the Fanfest title or if they plan to bring it back.

FG - Why hold it in Tempe during spring training and not in southern California?
 
G - In a nutshell, we hold the Spring Training Fanfest in Tempe because that’s where the Angels do Spring Training!  Our community of fans are pretty Angels baseball obsessed.  The smell of the freshly cut grass, the crack of the bat, the pop of a catcher’s mitt â€¦ it’s in our blood.  We spend the offseason jonesing for the day Pitchers and Catchers report to camp.  That said, we also do an AngelsWin.com Summer Fanfest each year.  It’s typically done in August and provides our community an opportunity to get together in Southern California.  Last summer's Fanfest included an entire weekend of activities including:  a golf tournament, a softball tournament, tailgating under the Big A and attending a game together.  The activities that weekend raised over $6,000 for the Orange County Miracle League.  Here’s a write-up on last year’s Summer Fanfest:  http://angelswinblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/angelswincoms-2013-summer-fanfest.html?spref=tw

FG - What kind of turnout do you get?
 
G - When we first started doing our Spring Training Fanfests, they were â€¦ how should I say â€¦ intimate gatherings.  We held them in a local sports bar close to Tempe Diablo stadium.  Each year the events grew bigger and bigger.  20 attendees turned into 35.  35 turned into 50.  50 turned into 75.  Before we knew it, we had outgrown the sports bar and needed to upgrade.  This will be our third year at the Tempe Doubletree (formerly the Fiesta Resort & Conference Center).  We had about 200 people for the sit-down dinner event last year and expect to top that this year.

FG - What activities are included in your event?
 
G - There are two primary activities with our Spring Training Fanfest:  The first is our Saturday evening Fanfest Dinner.  It consists of a sit-down dinner, special guest speakers, and charity auctions & raffles.  The second part of Fanfest is Sunday morning at the stadium.  The team opens up the ballpark to us about 2-3 hours prior to the doors being opened to the public.  Angels Vice President of Communications, Tim Mead, gives us his annual â€œState of the Team” address and does a Q&A with the fans in attendance.  After he’s done, we are allowed to stick around and watch the team take fielding and batting practice.  This is also an opportunity for the kids in our group (in age and at heart) to get player autographs and take pictures.

FG - Do you charge a fee? How much?
 
G - The cost of the event is: Adults - $40, Children (14 and younger) $15

FG - Any other background info would be great.
 
G - As I mentioned before, AngelsWin.com is an online community of Angels fans spread throughout the United States (and the world!).  The Spring Training Fanfest events were born to provide us with an opportunity to get together in person.  While that remains one of the cornerstone reasons for having the events, this year we’re really excited to make it about something more.  This year we’re doing it for charity!  (Just as we did with last year’s AngelsWin.com Summer Fanfest.)  All the proceeds from the event's drawings and auctions will go to benefit our friends at the Angels RBI League and the Miracle League of Orange County!
 
Additional details about the site can be found here: http://angelswinblog.blogspot.com/p/about-us_20.html
 
Additional details about me and other members of the AngelsWin.com team:  http://angelswinblog.blogspot.com/p/angelswin-roster_20.html
 

 

Geoff Stoddart

AngelsWin.com, Director of Social Media   (Not Editor in Chief) 

Edited by Geoff
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Chuck President / Commissioner

Chuck

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Here's the actually "interview" I did with Fan Graphs ...

Fan Graph -How did your event get started?

Geoff - AngelsWin.com is celebrating its 10 year anniversary in 2014. It’s an online community of Angels fans spread across not only the country, but the globe. About 7 years ago, someone on the board had the idea of getting together in Tempe to watch some Angels Spring Training games. It was from this initial gathering that our Spring Training Fanfest was born. Ultimately, our Fanfest events are done to provide our online community with an opportunity to get together in person, celebrate the team that we love and the start of their season.

FG - Is it sponsored by the Angels in any way?

G - The Angels organization and AngelsWin.com have a wonderful working relationship. Their involvement in our Fanfest events (through both their attendance and assistance in helping us to obtain guest speakers) has allowed us to grow the event in a ways we never dreamed possible. Over the years we’ve welcome Angels owner Arte Moreno, team executives Tim Mead, John Carpino and Dennis Kuhl, General Manger Jerry Dipoto (who will be back again this year), and Angels broadcasters Victor Rojas, Terry Smith and Jose Mota. We’ve also had players like Kole Calhoun and Jerome Williams, team prospects Matt Shoemaker, Randal Grichuk, Travis Witherspoon and Mike Piazza, and Angels legend Tim Salmon. Our Fanfest events also raise money for one of the team’s official charities, the Angels RBI League.

FG - I understand the Angels used to host their Fan Fest. Do you when they stopped and why? Is that when you jumped into with your event?

G - The Angels continue to have a season kickoff event called the Angels 5K & 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk (details here: http://mlb.mlb.com/ana/community/5k_funrun.jsp) I believe that 2012 was the last time they referred to this as a “Fanfest.” I’m not sure why they dropped the Fanfest title or if they plan to bring it back.

FG - Why hold it in Tempe during spring training and not in southern California?

G - In a nutshell, we hold the Spring Training Fanfest in Tempe because that’s where the Angels do Spring Training! Our community of fans are pretty Angels baseball obsessed. The smell of the freshly cut grass, the crack of the bat, the pop of a catcher’s mitt … it’s in our blood. We spend the offseason jonesing for the day Pitchers and Catchers report to camp. That said, we also do an AngelsWin.com Summer Fanfest each year. It’s typically done in August and provides our community an opportunity to get together in Southern California. Last summer's Fanfest included an entire weekend of activities including: a golf tournament, a softball tournament, tailgating under the Big A and attending a game together. The activities that weekend raised over $6,000 for the Orange County Miracle League. Here’s a write-up on last year’s Summer Fanfest: http://angelswinblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/angelswincoms-2013-summer-fanfest.html?spref=tw

FG - What kind of turnout do you get?

G - When we first started doing our Spring Training Fanfests, they were … how should I say … intimate gatherings. We held them in a local sports bar close to Tempe Diablo stadium. Each year the events grew bigger and bigger. 20 attendees turned into 35. 35 turned into 50. 50 turned into 75. Before we knew it, we had outgrown the sports bar and needed to upgrade. This will be our third year at the Tempe Doubletree (formerly the Fiesta Resort & Conference Center). We had about 200 people for the sit-down dinner event last year and expect to top that this year.

FG - What activities are included in your event?

G - There are two primary activities with our Spring Training Fanfest: The first is our Saturday evening Fanfest Dinner. It consists of a sit-down dinner, special guest speakers, and charity auctions & raffles. The second part of Fanfest is Sunday morning at the stadium. The team opens up the ballpark to us about 2-3 hours prior to the doors being opened to the public. Angels Vice President of Communications, Tim Mead, gives us his annual “State of the Team” address and does a Q&A with the fans in attendance. After he’s done, we are allowed to stick around and watch the team take fielding and batting practice. This is also an opportunity for the kids in our group (in age and at heart) to get player autographs and take pictures.

FG - Do you charge a fee? How much?

G - The cost of the event is: Adults - $40, Children (14 and younger) $15

FG - Any other background info would be great.

G - As I mentioned before, AngelsWin.com is an online community of Angels fans spread throughout the United States (and the world!). The Spring Training Fanfest events were born to provide us with an opportunity to get together in person. While that remains one of the cornerstone reasons for having the events, this year we’re really excited to make it about something more. This year we’re doing it for charity! (Just as we did with last year’s AngelsWin.com Summer Fanfest.) All the proceeds from the event's drawings and auctions will go to benefit our friends at the Angels RBI League and the Miracle League of Orange County!

Additional details about the site can be found here: http://angelswinblog.blogspot.com/p/about-us_20.html

Additional details about me and other members of the AngelsWin.com team: http://angelswinblog.blogspot.com/p/angelswin-roster_20.html

Geoff Stoddart

AngelsWin.com, Director of Social Media (Not Editor in Chief)

Well done Geoff!

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Chuck President / Commissioner

Chuck

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Listening to sports radio while driving around town today and the Mariners are having their Fanfest today and tomorrow. Robinson Cano is there as is a ton of Mariners prospects to sign and take pictures with the fans.

Mariners fans can also run the bases, go into the club house and all throughout Safeco Field.

Just got me thinking how awesome out Spring events really are and how they've evolved over the years. We're creating some even more special in that we're providing an intimate setting over dinner that allows the fans to hear our guests speak and then get some personal time in with the players and guests during intermission and when the event is over.

Then the next day we get to get in early to hear Tim Mead speak to a large group of fans near the dugout while the players filter on to the field and practice behind us as a backdrop.

The best part about it for me however is meeting our new members and fans who follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the first time, and our times we spend together over the weekend. Our 30-50 person informal dinner on Friday is always a lot of fun as well.

Anyhow, how awesome is this?

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