Exactly where in Anaheim is Los Angeles?
In a quest for dollars, and at the edge of geographic absurdity, the Anaheim Angels Ñ formerly known as the California Angels and Los Angeles Angels Ñ said Monday they would now call themselves the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The move drew ridicule on national radio shows and scorn from the Dodgers, provoked outrage from Orange County fans opposed to the change and prompted a stern message from the city of Anaheim to Angel owner Arte Moreno: See you in court.
“I don’t believe there’s a compromise on the name,” Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle said. “They’re trying to have it both ways with the silly name they chose.”
Moreno originally proposed that his team be called the Los Angeles Angels, a name rejected by the city of Anaheim but one that team executives hope will be popularly adopted. He believes the “of Anaheim” suffix, also dismissed by the city, will satisfy the stadium lease.
City Manager Dave Morgan said the city would seek a temporary restraining order this week, which would block the name change pending a trial, and would then file a lawsuit charging the Angels with violating the lease.
The team is blanketing what it considers its territory Ñ Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties Ñ with 480 billboards this week proclaiming “City of Angels,” a play on the nickname of Los Angeles.
The team also sent an e-mail to every other major league club on Monday, asking to be called “Los Angeles” instead of “Anaheim” and listed in abbreviations as “LA” or “LAA” instead of “ANA.”
The Dodgers, powerless under baseball rules to stop the change, issued a statement denouncing it without mentioning the Angels by name.
“Regardless of any attempt at a public relations or marketing spin, true Angelenos know there is only one baseball team in Los Angeles, and that is the Dodgers,” read the unattributed statement.
Dude, have some hometown pride. Not to mention the fact that “Los Angeles Angels” is redundant if you think about it.
This is really dumb.
Go Blue.
