Successful "Giant" Steps Lead the Angels to Round Two of the Freeway Series

Post date: Jun 21, 2012 7:01:10 PM

It's that time again; round two of the Freeway Series begins tomorrow night. The Angels successfully took two out of three games from the San Francisco Giants and they continue to demonstrate that they are the team that every Angels' fan was hoping to get in the beginning of April. Now all that needs to happen is to patiently wait until the Texas Rangers cool off.

I woke up this morning to the most gorgeous and beautiful Dodgers' fan in the world talking trash on Facebook. Her fanaticism for the Dodgers goes back to Fernando mania when her grandfather used to take her to Dodger Stadium to watch their beloved team play.

To me, the Angels versus Dodgers rivalry is very special. You see, the collective history of both teams has always been interconnected. When the Angels joined Major League Baseball in 1961 the Angels played at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles .(not to be confused with Wrigley Field home of the Chicago Cubs) one year later the Angels moved into Dodgers Stadium and would continue to share this Stadium until Angel Stadium was built and opened in 1966.

The animosity between these two teams has become more apparent in recent years since the Angels have become successful. The Angels were no longer "the little brother" to the Dodgers, this was evident in 2003; when the Dodgers believed that signing Vladimir Guerrero was all but a formality for the boys in blue will need to have the Angels come out of nowhere to sign him before the Dodgers could finalize or negotiate any sort of deal. There are Dodgers' fans to this day that still believe that the Dodgers were "cheated" and that Guerrero belonged in blue.

For me personally, there's rivalry is also very special, most of my extended family grew up in East Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. We agree on basketball we are all big a fans of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles and the surrounding area doesn't have a football team to speak of just yet, so we don't really agree or disagree on a football team. But when it comes to baseball, we are in definite disagreement, I grew up about 3 miles away from Angel Stadium so to me, the Angels are truly a "home" team. I feel an attachment to the Angels, as I feel I must respectfully hate the Dodgers because of their intertwined history with the Angels. Besides, it makes very interesting conversations when my family and my extended family visit each other, the Angels versus Dodgers rivalry is a topic that never gets boring; especially when both teams are playing well.

Yes indeed, it is that time again. That time of year where the Goodyear blimp that flies over Angel Stadium doesn't see red or blue, it sees more a blurred shade of purple; and at least for Southern California that 30 mile stretch of Interstate 5 that separates Anaheim from Los Angeles becomes the center of the baseball universe, for the set of six games that we affectionately call "The Freeway Series."

-ICE