Meet a Blogger: Rev Halofan of Halos Heaven
By Joe K
I am running a segment here at SoCal Sports Hub where I will be interviewing some of the best and brightest bloggers in all of Southern California. So, what’s the point of this little feature? Well, these guys spend countless hours writing and promoting their blogs so a little recognition is well-deserved. So without further ado, the first edition goes to Rev Halofan of Halos Heaven.
Q: When did you start your blog? What are your goals for the site?
A: October 2003, the final few days as the Angels reigning as World Champions. I moved to SBN in March of 2005. The goal is to do what we are doing, talk about the Angels and be independent about celebrating and lamenting the team without devolving into little suckups in order to get an interview with Steve Physioc or the guy who cleans the stadium toilets.
Q: In your opinion, what is the point of a sports blog?
A: To procrastinate on doing the real work in one’s life. For example, my front yard is a total mess, I have so much to just clean up out there, oh wait Scot Shields went on the disabled list, better get on the blog. See, it works pretty cool!
Q: After each Angels’ victory, you and the community nominate a “Panther of the Game,” which is essentially the player of the game. What is the significance of the panther?
A: We post random song lyrics in the game threads. We initially did this when the community was ten or twenty posters so we could all talk about music while we posted about the game. I would post lyrics and people would discuss the band or make fun of me for being an old punk rocker. So we posted a verse one night that had the line “I came into this world like a puzzled panther” (from “Manimal” by The Germs) and then in the part of the game thread where one might ordinarily call for the rally monkey, one guy, a poster named CUPIE, started posting “PANTHER”, and it caught on. It ended up as the site’s mascot; someone told me fans of soccer teams in Europe have clubs that end up doing similar things – they have their own mascots independent of the team, songs, traditions, and they fight with supporters of the same team from different clubs, so watch out if you post on a different Angels blog, the Panther is growling!
Q: A couple of years ago, you released a ranking of the top 100 players in Angels history and are now almost complete with a “second edition.” Talk a little bit about your involvement with the series and when the number one player will be released.
A: The offseason can be dreadfully slow, so I did it initially to have a daily feature after the 2005 offseason and revisited the list after 2008. I should have already posted the top three, I was going to post Brian Downing #3 on the night he was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame but that was the cancelled game after the Nick Adenhart tragedy and I will get around to it on an off-day soon, maybe after I finish up some yard work…
Q: About two years ago, during the 2007 ALDS, the folks over at Over the Monster, called the users at Halos Heaven bitter, whiny fans and some even accused you of setting the tone. What is/was your take on the whole situation? Were the claims at all accurate?
A: Every season the fans of 29 teams are bitter and most of them, given an outlet, are whiny. The only exception is when the Red Sox win the World Series. Than it is fans of ALL 30 teams. How can I set the tone for an inherent part of the tradition of being a fan? Red Sox fans always have to have an enemy. They are a Nation, you know, Pumpsie Green has a seat at the United Nations I hear….
Q: In a recent post, you said that you were glad the Angels did not heavily pursue a guy like Jake Peavy, because of the minor league prospects that would be needed to acquire a guy, who has been helped tremendously by pitching in the National League. In your opinion, is the Angels’ front office too conservative, too aggressive, or just right?
A: I wish I knew because it is impossible to assess. I wish baseball would make each front office keep copious notes about the trades they turned down, the ones we never hear about. Then release the files ten years later. Then we could accurately judge which GMs were truly great. The best trade is the one you do not make.
Q: Before I let you go, what are the chances that the Angels can actually win a World Series title in 2009? I know it sounds crazy, but last year’s team had the best regular season record, and this year’s bunch looks comparable on paper.
A: You are catching me after two terrible losses to the White Sox, so I am a little pessimistic. Look… it more comes down to winning the division, which comes down to Texas, which comes down to how healthy the Rangers stay. Vicente Padilla has already gone on the disabled list. Texas’ architect is Nolan Ryan and he is going to get a harsh lesson on pitch counts by the end of the season, the Angels are going to take the division with 88 wins and the playoffs are a roll of the dice. It is like the Cardinals in 2006 – LaRussa had some great clubs that could not do it, but the remnants of those teams backed up into the playoffs and won 11 games.