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Updated: 10/26/02



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"Runaway Jury"
by John Grisham

business

monkeys


Saturday, 26 October, 2002

"Believe in the power of the Rally Monkey." So read the scoreboard at Angels' Stadium at the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Giants leading 5-0. The Rally Monkeys came out, the Thunder Sticks, well, thundered, and the Angels won the game 6-5. What a team!

The Rally Monkey

For those not "in the know," the Rally Monkey is the unofficial mascot of the come-from-behind Angels. Here is the official history from Rallymonkey.com:

The legend of the Rally Monkey began June 6, 2000 as the Anaheim Angels were losing to the San Francisco Giants. Video crew members were pulling out all the stops in their attempt to whip up some crowd support.

They came across a video clip from the 1994 hit movie "Ace Ventura, Pet Detective," staring Jim Carrey, that showed a monkey jumping up and down. They superimposed the words "Rally Monkey" over it and flashed it on the JumboTron. The crowd roared.

The Angels rallied, scoring two runs in the last inning to win.

Before long, the Angels needed their own monkey and hired Katie, the white-face capuchin monkey featured on "Friends," to film a series of new Rally Monkey promos. Katie filmed a series of spots including the standard "Jump Around" clip that is now shown. She also filmed the legendary "Believe in the Power of the Rally Monkey" clip.

There are specific rules as to when the Rally Monkey (and its thousands of stuffed simulacra) may make an appearance:

It must be at least the seventh inning.
The Angels must have at least one runner on base.
The Rally Monkey is NOT to watch or go into hysterics when the Angels are pitching.

[Sarah would HATE this - she has an aversion to monkeys.]

Since I'm here at Mom and Dad's in Orange County, I walked outside on the patio to see if I could hear the cheers from the stadium. I couldn't, but I bet if the wind was right, I might. The fans out there are amazing, and the players have said that it really helps when they have 44,000 people behind every single pitch.

I flew out here on Friday night. Jennifer and I caught the US Airways non-stop to LAX, rented a car and drove down to Orange County. She dropped me off and then went to Mission Viejo to visit her sister, Nicki. I spent a relaxing day here filled with sports - football, Breeders' Cup and the World Series. Mom made pork chops, potatoes, salad and spinach for dinner. It was delicious!

Tomorrow we're going up to LA to have lunch with Maura after she arrives from Washington. Then it's three days of meetings and meals.

[Yea.]

But in the meantime, here's a snippet from the Orange County Register yesterday:

Joe Manzella, owner of The Catch Restaurant in Anaheim, created this cocktail to compliment Angels' fans newest mascot, the Rally Monkey. Tradition at the bar dictates that every time the Angels hit a home run, bar patrons get a miniature Rally Monkey Martini on the house.

Rally Monkey Martini
2 ounces Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur
2 ounces Malibu Coconut Rum
1 ounce creme de banana

Shake vigorously in an individual martini shaker with ice. Pour into chilled martinin glass. Garnish with a small plastic monkey.

[Go Angels!]

~ ~ ~

Quote du jour:

"By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree."

-- Cameroonian Proverb ( - ____)

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