This is SOOOO Dumb. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim????

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ANAHEIM Orange County’s decades-long effort to emerge from the shadow of Los Angeles regressed Monday when Angels owner Arte Moreno carried through with his promise to change the name of the region’s beloved baseball team to "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim."
Angst poured out of Orange County’s office towers, government halls and sports bars as people either blasted the move or acquiesced to the change as a necessary step toward more championship seasons.
The "Los Angeles" label disappointed business leaders who believe Orange County has developed plenty of economic and social clout to stand on its own. Orange County is one of the most densely populated places in the nation and, if it were a nation, would rank close to No. 35 in the world in gross domestic product.
The city of Anaheim protested Moreno’s action and plans to request a temporary restraining order by the end of the week to prevent the elimination of "Anaheim Angels" from Major League Baseball.
Some fans said a team’s record is far more important than its name. They listened to Moreno explain how the team might boost revenue by presenting itself as a player in Los Angeles, the secondlargest television market in the nation. If the "L.A." tag means that Moreno can pay better players to win more games, those fans were willing to support the change.
Regional economists wondered why Moreno, in the face of community opposition, didn’t call them "The O.C." Angels if he wanted more national visibility. And people who have spent their careers promoting the region as one of the major U.S. tourist destinations fretted over what they see as a step backward.
"This is really a heartbreaker for us, a place that has worked so hard to establish its identity," said Charles Ahlers, the 12-year president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau. "For years, we’ve worked to separate ourselves from Los Angeles. We’re different. We have different products. And frankly, O.C. is niftier than L.A.
"As a marketing destination, this is like losing an asset. It’s like moving Disneyland to San Diego."
James Fallon, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology at UC Irvine’s school of medicine, said he will continue to use his season tickets, but he doesn’t understand why Moreno wants to "be like L.A."
"Arte had us locked in. He had Orange County in love with him, and now they’re just really ticked off. People here have antibodies built up against L.A.," Fallon said.
Added Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle: "The city’s moving forward. That’s the oddity of all of this. The National Football League and other major entities are looking at the center of the Southland being in Anaheim.
"This is just disrespect – unawareness of the changes of the Los Angeles marketplace."
The city contributed $30 million, mostly in stadium renovations, in exchange for the name change from California Angels in 1996. Moreno assumed that contract in 2003.
Ironically, the Angels’ stature as world champions was one of the factors that helped the county stand on its own and gain national status. The team became "part of our personality and the complexion of the community," Ahlers said.
Other assets Orange County has used to sell itself include the largest convention center on the West Coast, a world-class "shopping resort" (South Coast Plaza has that trademarked), 42 miles of prime beaches, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the Disneyland Resort that now includes a second theme park, a professional hockey team and a world champion baseball team.
The Angels have the potential to thrust "Anaheim" into the news throughout the baseball season, and that name recognition goes a long way when people are making vacation decisions. It’s particularly significant to Anaheim, which generates most of its revenue from hotel bed taxes.
Some say Moreno, who grew up in Tucson, Ariz., might have underestimated how the World Series victory unified the county in a way that had never happened.
"Once we got that World Series, we were our own identifiable sports monster," said UCI’s Fallon. "We arrived. So, the idea that people don’t know us or where we are is absurd. I watched the last two games of the World Series in New Zealand, and people there knew what O.C. was."
Some people resigned as Angels fans Monday.
Allan Moline of Garden Grove, a 30-year county resident, said he will quit his two-decade tradition of going to games with his family.
"We are the Anaheim Angels, and that’s the way it has to be," said Moline, 73, a planning consultant.
Natalie Caldera said she and her children are "disappointed" but they’ll still go to games and buy new jerseys and hats with the team logo.
"It’s just going to be different. It’s not going to be ours anymore. Now, they belong to the world, or they want to be."