In Section 533 of Angel Stadium, high above the foul pole in right field, where fans enjoying pretzels and helmet nachos wore Angels caps and Mike Trout shirts, a kindly usher approached.
RONALDO BOLAÑOS Los Angeles Times SHIRTLESS FANS have implored Angels owner Arte Moreno to “sell the team” at home games.
As a row of kids delighted in mixing cotton candy and frozen lemonade into an only-at-the-ballpark dessert, the usher alerted the parents that a mass of boisterous and predominantly shirtless men soon would be assembling in a nearby section.
Sure enough, as Wednesday’s game reached the fifth inning, a few dozen young men ran to the very back of Section 535, removed their shirts, twirled them over their heads, and chanted “Sell the team!” As the chants continued, fans flocked from all corners of the stadium like moths to a flame, and the group grew from a few dozen to a few hundred. The “Sell the team” chants dominated, but there were others: “MV-P” for Trout, “U-S-A,” “We want beer,” two we cannot print about Angels owner Arte Moreno and, for the young men that dared approach with a shirt on, “Take it off!” Five friends lined up next to one another, their chests painted red, each with a different character in white: S, E, L, Land an exclamation point. I asked the guy wearing the exclamation point on his chest whether he thought the protests would have any impact upon Moreno.
“I would hope it would have an impact,” said Carson Taff, 16, of Laguna Hills, “but it’s really fun to see people out here.” Indeed, in a stadium that could generously be described as half-empty, the Angels had themselves a new attraction, an organic display of audience participation.
The now-nightly ritual died down an inning after it started. Other kindly ushers, who had directed people to an adjacent section after Section 535 filled up, politely asked everyone to please put their shirts back on before returning to the general stadium population.