The Angels aren’t short on fans, but the fact is that the people who support them with the most fervor also suffer the most when the team consistently fails to meet expectations by the time the season draws to a close. It puts fans in a difficult position, because their loyalty is contingent on hope above all else. That’s what leaves them on the lookout for some kind of turning-point year after year, even though, based on past form, it’s unlikely to arrive. So, what exactly drives this, and will the Angels ever make the ascent to greatness they’re theoretically capable of?
Getting Off to a Good Start
In order for hopes to be dashed, there has to be some inciting incident that creates them in the first place, and that’s something the Angels seem to manage year in, year out, with the first glut of games defined by impressive performances, and young stars often adding fuel to the fire. Plus, because the division often feels winnable, it takes very little early-season success to convince fans that this is the year the pieces finally click. By the time the inevitable regression hits, the emotional investment has already been made.
Of course, savvy fans can take a more logical view of the likelihood of an Angels run of form by checking out the likes of PowerPlay’s sports bets and seeing how the odds stand for upcoming games. That way, you aren’t relying on your gut senses that the team has got great things ahead due to its solid start in a given season, but rather on the probabilities calculated by neutral parties, which might be a bit of a reality check.
Banking on Big Stars
Another of the Angels’ hangups that fans have to fight to get around comes from how many world-class players the team has had, and continues to attract. The presence of Mike Trout is enough to leave anyone open to the argument that at some point a turnaround is possible in even the most dire of circumstances.
Unfortunately, while individual players can be difference makers on a game-by-game basis, there are too many variables involved to make them a reliable sign of potential season success in the long run. An injury here and a bad patch of form there can scupper this type of prediction entirely.
The Uncertainty of Young Talent
Finally, the blessing and the curse of the Angels is its proclivity for bringing in young, comparatively green players and throwing them out into big games with abandon, meaning that they can sometimes pull off some amazing feats, and thus give fans the impression that some brave new era for the team is beginning before their very eyes. Young players can do great things, but in the marathon of a season, these short-term flashes of brilliance won’t always translate into anything meaningful.
Essentially, Angels fans do have a lot of reasons to love their team. It’s just that they also have to add a dash of realism to the predictions they make each time a season begins, as a turning point might never come.
