Tonight at Angel Stadium felt less like a team trudging through a rough season and more like a fan base finally getting to exhale.
The Angels were back home for the first time since the news of the team sale broke, and the mood at the Big A matched the moment. Smiles were everywhere, the noise was up, and for a night that could have been swallowed by the weight of a looming 100-loss season, the crowd instead leaned into celebration. The sense in the ballpark was that the dark cloud of Arte Moreno had finally been lifted.
That shift showed up immediately in the right-field seats, where the Halo Boys returned in force. For the first time in months, the familiar group was back in their trademark angel costumes and halos, reclaiming their spot in the outfield pavilion after a season defined by “Sell the Team” chants.
“It feels incredible,” beamed group leader John. “We came back the night they sold and the energy was so strong it encouraged us to run it back.”
Four full rows of Halo Boys packed the right-field pavilion, and John said the group intends to keep showing up through the rest of the home stand.
“We'll have people here each night, for sure,” confirmed John.
Austin, another group member dressed in a white angel costume with a halo, was smiling and capturing the scene on his camera. He said the crowd felt noticeably different from what had been on display at recent home games.
“Definitely. We planned this event to bring back the angels in the outfield,” explained Austin.
“This calls for a celebration. We're all here, we're celebrating.”
Even with Arte Moreno still owning the Angels, the atmosphere around the stadium felt like a reset. Fans were loud, upbeat, and ready to talk about what comes next.
“Very. Extremely.
It's overdue,” stated Austin of the Halo Boys. “Kroenke, it's a new era, we're ready.”
Longtime fan Paul showed up in an Angels jersey and a Rams hat, and he saw a clear parallel between the two franchises because of the shared Anaheim connection. In his view, the same kind of leadership that worked for one team could work for the other.
“Seeing how he's run the Rams and going to that stadium I think he can do the same thing for the Angels,” said Paul. “We (the Rams) already won one (Super Bowl) with him and go the playoffs every year. That's all you can ask.”
“We believe in Kroenke,” stated John. “He has a record of success and we couldn't be more excited, seriously.”
The energy in the stands only grew once the Angels got Mariners starter Kade Anderson for some early runs. The Halo Boys kept the chants going, leading “Let's go Angels” and helping turn the night into a full-on celebration.
Rebuilding the roster will take time, but the vibe around the ballpark already looks different.
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