The morning after winning their third straight American League West title, you would think that the Angels had violated some sort of federal law by celebrating their latest division crown. According to local media, the Angels should be stricken from enjoying in their success this year because of their post-season failures in years past. Everyone wants this Halo squad to treat last night’s win like any other so that they can keep their eyes on the World Series prize.
I say let them celebrate.
Let the boys have their fun.
I fail to see how it is the Angels are automatically precluded from being real championship contenders because they had a little bit of fun winning their division title. How does it hurt them to loosen up and enjoy their success? Last time I checked, the reason the Angels have fallen short in the post-season wasn’t because they were too busy goofing around, but rather because they were so uptight that they would practically have a collective nervous breakdown anytime the tiniest thing went wrong in the post-season. Shouldn’t we be encouraging them to relax rather than scolding them for it?
You might be shocked to see what happens with this club if they start playing with a “nothing to lose attitude” in the ALDS. They’ve been uber-serious the last few years and it hasn’t gotten them anywhere nor has the mindset worked for others in recent memory. Why else do you think the Yankees haven’t won a title despite a massive amount of talent (and a payroll to match)?
Guess who has been going to the World Series lately? The “Idiot” Red Sox, the Tampa Bay Rays and their mohawks and the “nobody believes in us” Colorado Rockies, just to name a few. None of those teams put pressure on themselves to succeed, and yet they did. Frankly, it is almost embarrassing that the Angels never realized that this might be the only change they need to break their post-season jinx. It was only seven years ago that the franchise won their only title while embracing that same attitude.
So how about instead of lambasting the team for cutting loose for a night, we encourage them to party down. Screw the professional, mercenary-like attitude the media wants them to portray. I’ll take the guys who have fun over that crew any day of the week and frankly, I’m tired of the fun team NOT being the Angels.