If you don't like Orange County, you don't like America.
They are happy here, "Hi, how are ya" happy. I wasn't welcomed with such passion at my own wedding, by my own bride. (It was an arranged marriage. She arranged it; I pretty much just showed up.)
Yes, it's good to be in Orange County, the county that never sleeps. We are here to see how the other half lives, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, to be precise, the team that won all those accolades last week for the way it treats its fans.
In case you missed it -- absorbed as you were with Michael Jackson's pharmacology -- ESPN rated the Angels the most fan-friendly team in the nation. That's not just in baseball, either. That's in all four major sports. Who's No. 1 when it comes to treating fans well? The Angels.
"WELCOME TO ANAHEIM!" says the lady at the parking gate, and for a moment I think she might jump in my lap.
As I said, they are happy here. Texas happy, and not just because they are in a playoff-caliber tussle with those longhorns. They are happy to live and play in God's County. Who wouldn't be?
"You can park over there," the nice lady says, pointing to 5,000 empty spots.
Right away, I am liking Angel Stadium, for there are not those swirling, flushing traffic circles you suffer at some other local venues. (Hey, Frank, you've got some good things going, but how about some pedestrian bridges?)
In Anaheim, the parking grid is more sensible. Five minutes after leaving the freeway, my date and I are walking toward the front door.
"This is nice," says my young son.
"Don't jump to conclusions," I say.
What does he know from nice? All he has ever seen is Dodger Stadium, which finished 50th in the survey. I like Dodger Stadium, Heck, on many nights, I love Dodger Stadium. Yet, evidently, it has a ways to go in terms of affordability and atmosphere.
But life is good for Angels fans. Not perfect, just very good. Angels fans still have the 57 Freeway to stare at every night. And that crazy Flintstones waterfall.
Yet the place is well scrubbed, the concession lines a dream, vendors everywhere. The food? Well, we'll get to that in a moment. Meanwhile, there are summer tans and pregnant women in halter tops. At least I think it was a pregnant woman. Might have been a guy.
Indeed, this is a very handsome ballpark, though I prefer a bit more symmetry to a stadium -- that's just me. A pleasing ballpark is like a good-looking face, everything in proper proportion. Angel Stadium, meanwhile, is strong-side right.
