Sparrowhawk
10-20-02, 07:26 AM
I've been thinking, we need a rally point at times, and a leatherneck mascot, much like the angel's have their rally monkey.
I thought of Chesty, but he keeps drinking all my beer, he's already part of the crew, and I can't see him getting very excitied about anything, except when Sophora forgets to pour him a beer in his bowl.
But a leatherneck mascot for this site?
No, Roger, it can't be Bones!
I bought my daughter's a rally monkey last night for the game, and learned how he came into being.
Here's how the Angels rally monkey came about.
<hr>
Angels fans go ape over 'Rally Monkey'
CHELSEA J. CARTER
Associated Press Writer
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pictures/a/1.jpg
ANAHEIM, Calif. - At the House of Mouse, folks are going ape over a monkey.
The Anaheim Angels' Rally Monkey, with his power to inspire the team and its fans, has become the club's mascot.
"You kind of liken him to a baseball role player. He only comes out when he's needed," Angels' entertainment manager Peter Bull said. "Ultimately, the Rally Monkey is the belief that we can come back."
He's also supplanted Mickey Mouse as the most popular plush toy in town, where the Anaheim Angels are battling the Minnesota Twins in the AL championship series this weekend.
The Angels are owned by The Walt Disney Co., but none of the studio's creatures, featured prominently at nearby Disneyland, ever became allied with the team. That paved the way for this monkey business.
Rally Monkey was born on June 6, 2000, on the stadium's giant video monitor when the Angels were playing the San Francisco Giants.
With the team trailing in the sixth inning, Angels staffers played some canned video from the 1994 movie "Ace Ventura, Pet Detective" featuring a monkey jumping up and down. Then they flashed the words "Rally Monkey" on the screen. The crowd roared, the team went on to win and the monkey became the mascot.
Today, fans haul Rally Monkey to the stadium and keep him under wraps unless he is needed. Then he pops up everywhere - out of pockets, purses and from under hats.
Rally Monkey has become so popular he's appeared on ESPN, had a banana drink named after him and even spawned a Web site where devotees can post messages like "I believe in the power of the monkey!"
The monkey's success has even spawned knockoffs, including the Indianapolis Colts' "Touchdown Monkey."
Building on the appeal, the club hired Animal Actors to provide Katie, a white-faced capuchin monkey featured on NBC's "Friends" and in the movie "Outbreak," to film spots for the games.
Katie was replaced this year by Abbie, a 6-year-old capuchin monkey who held the "Rally Time" sign during the Angels pivotal comeback in Game 3 against the New York Yankees.
The monkey went 27-11 this season in games when the Angels trailed. The monkey's lifetime record is 57-41.
"He doesn't go beyond his boundaries. He has a time and a place to come out, and he does when he's needed," Bull said.
The Angels staff tried bringing a live monkey to Edison Field. But the Angels lost, prompting pitcher Jarrod Washburn to accuse management of "making a mockery of the game."
So Rally Monkey got House rules, the team got wins and now nearly everybody connected to the Angels is promoting the power of the monkey.
"It's nice. It gets the fans pumped up, something to cheer about. It's become known across the country. When you come to Anaheim, you're going to see the Rally Monkey," Angels shortstop David Eckstein said.
Minnesota center fielder Torii Hunter even acknowledged Rally Monkey is a "star."
"Every time we go to their place, in the eighth or ninth inning, they always have a movie with him in it. I forget I'm playing, I crack up. I turn and watch the whole show," Hunter said.
Angels reliever Troy Percival said as long as the fans like it, "I like it."
Seven-year-old fan Jillian Rock of Anaheim Hills went Percival one better, however. She doesn't just like Rally Monkey - she loves him.
"It makes the crowd all riled up," she said.
And, no, she wouldn't trade her Rally Monkey for a stuffed Mickey Mouse.http://www.rallymonkey.com/images/dancing.gif
I thought of Chesty, but he keeps drinking all my beer, he's already part of the crew, and I can't see him getting very excitied about anything, except when Sophora forgets to pour him a beer in his bowl.
But a leatherneck mascot for this site?
No, Roger, it can't be Bones!
I bought my daughter's a rally monkey last night for the game, and learned how he came into being.
Here's how the Angels rally monkey came about.
<hr>
Angels fans go ape over 'Rally Monkey'
CHELSEA J. CARTER
Associated Press Writer
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pictures/a/1.jpg
ANAHEIM, Calif. - At the House of Mouse, folks are going ape over a monkey.
The Anaheim Angels' Rally Monkey, with his power to inspire the team and its fans, has become the club's mascot.
"You kind of liken him to a baseball role player. He only comes out when he's needed," Angels' entertainment manager Peter Bull said. "Ultimately, the Rally Monkey is the belief that we can come back."
He's also supplanted Mickey Mouse as the most popular plush toy in town, where the Anaheim Angels are battling the Minnesota Twins in the AL championship series this weekend.
The Angels are owned by The Walt Disney Co., but none of the studio's creatures, featured prominently at nearby Disneyland, ever became allied with the team. That paved the way for this monkey business.
Rally Monkey was born on June 6, 2000, on the stadium's giant video monitor when the Angels were playing the San Francisco Giants.
With the team trailing in the sixth inning, Angels staffers played some canned video from the 1994 movie "Ace Ventura, Pet Detective" featuring a monkey jumping up and down. Then they flashed the words "Rally Monkey" on the screen. The crowd roared, the team went on to win and the monkey became the mascot.
Today, fans haul Rally Monkey to the stadium and keep him under wraps unless he is needed. Then he pops up everywhere - out of pockets, purses and from under hats.
Rally Monkey has become so popular he's appeared on ESPN, had a banana drink named after him and even spawned a Web site where devotees can post messages like "I believe in the power of the monkey!"
The monkey's success has even spawned knockoffs, including the Indianapolis Colts' "Touchdown Monkey."
Building on the appeal, the club hired Animal Actors to provide Katie, a white-faced capuchin monkey featured on NBC's "Friends" and in the movie "Outbreak," to film spots for the games.
Katie was replaced this year by Abbie, a 6-year-old capuchin monkey who held the "Rally Time" sign during the Angels pivotal comeback in Game 3 against the New York Yankees.
The monkey went 27-11 this season in games when the Angels trailed. The monkey's lifetime record is 57-41.
"He doesn't go beyond his boundaries. He has a time and a place to come out, and he does when he's needed," Bull said.
The Angels staff tried bringing a live monkey to Edison Field. But the Angels lost, prompting pitcher Jarrod Washburn to accuse management of "making a mockery of the game."
So Rally Monkey got House rules, the team got wins and now nearly everybody connected to the Angels is promoting the power of the monkey.
"It's nice. It gets the fans pumped up, something to cheer about. It's become known across the country. When you come to Anaheim, you're going to see the Rally Monkey," Angels shortstop David Eckstein said.
Minnesota center fielder Torii Hunter even acknowledged Rally Monkey is a "star."
"Every time we go to their place, in the eighth or ninth inning, they always have a movie with him in it. I forget I'm playing, I crack up. I turn and watch the whole show," Hunter said.
Angels reliever Troy Percival said as long as the fans like it, "I like it."
Seven-year-old fan Jillian Rock of Anaheim Hills went Percival one better, however. She doesn't just like Rally Monkey - she loves him.
"It makes the crowd all riled up," she said.
And, no, she wouldn't trade her Rally Monkey for a stuffed Mickey Mouse.http://www.rallymonkey.com/images/dancing.gif