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They love LA too. Anaheim Angels owner Arte Moreno has been in discussions with Major League Baseball to change the team's name to the Los Angeles Angels.
Moreno has already done everything he can to LAize the team by removing the word "Anaheim" from team uniforms, schedules, tickets, and its web site. The Angels are also marketing heavily in the Los Angeles-area with billboards all over the city. And now a giant "Los Angeles Times" sign stands above scoreboard. (Could partially explain the Times' blatant pro-Angel, anti-Dodger bias this year?)
Such a change would not be unpredecented. The team was initially enfranchised as the Los Angeles Angels in 1961, named after the old Pacific Coast League team. They were known as the California Angels from 1966-1997. The Los Angeles Rams kept its LA moniker even while playing in Anaheim Stadium for 14 years.
Moreno has an uphill battle, because as a condition of the Angels' stadium lease, they are required to have "Anaheim" in their name and the Anaheim City Council will not let any change go forward without a fight. While LAist sympathizes with Moreno in recognizing that Anaheim is a nondescript suburb that only Disneyland should really be associated with, we can't help but think that such a move would alienate the impressive Orange County fan base the Angels have built recently.
If Moreno wants the Angels gain more popularity among America's young hip generation, LAist suggests renaming the team "The O.C. Angels."
