We love greater L.A.! Thanks to Rally Monkeys and Mighty Ducks, Anaheim-Los Angeles is TSN's 2003 Best Sports City. Who says you need the NFL?

Sporting News, The, August 18, 2003 by Bob Hille

NFL or no, there's no denying just how profound Anaheim-L.A.'s impact is on the national sports scene.

Imagine, Disneyphiles, standing in line for your favorite thrill ride at the Happiest Place on Earth. You know the destination, you've gauged the queue's risk and reward; the time, beyond when sweet anticipation wanes, is less sure. Finally, you snake your way past a sign that reads: "Wait from this point: 42 seasons."

Still happy?

Who knew back in 1961, when the Angels joined an exclusive fraternity in--get this--baseball's first expansion, that it would take all those years, heartthrobs (Bo Belinsky), heartaches (1982, '86, '95), traffic jams, name changes and stadium switches. Surely when Gene Autry and partner Bob Reynolds were awarded the L.A. franchise, joining the new edition Washington Senators to give the American League 10 teams, they didn't think it would take until 2003 to get to the front of the line.

Those expansion Senators, by the way, became the Texas Rangers in 1972, and they still haven't won a title, so you've got that going for you, too, Angels fans.

On the eve of what could've been a deciding Game 6 of the 2002 World Series between the Giants and Angels, newly minted (demented?) Halos fan Robin Williams surveyed the situation at Edison Field: "The city was insane the other night, and it will be even more insane tonight. And you know, it's a city that's not all that sane to begin with)."

Stop the insanity? Not until the ninth inning of Game 7, when Darin Erstad squeezed Kenny Lofton's 2-on, 2-out fly ball on an October evening many in Anaheim thought might never come. There was as much disbelief as there was relief combined with hysteria at The Ed, a celebration ensuing that released four decades of frustration for a franchise as well as a city that long had suffered in comparison with Los Angeles.

The Angels' championship was the defining moment in a Best Sports City year, one that served as the foundation for what would come from the other contributors to No. 1.

During that World Series, a newspaper columnist explained the difference between the two host cities: San Francisco has everything but parking; Anaheim has nothing but parking. San Francisco mayor Willie Brown reportedly said he wished the Giants were facing the Yankees. "Can you imagine," he wondered aloud, "the embarrassment if we lose to Anaheim?"

As we sit on the brink of another NFL season that won't be in L.A., the Anaheim-Los Angeles summer serves as a cautionary tale to all of us as sports fans: Success is fleeting; savor the moment when it presents itself. The Angels' season after has been a struggle as the team tries to recapture 2002's magic. Kariya, cheered wildly in the Stanley Cup finals, will wear an Avalanche uniform in 2003-04. And Palmer, USC's first Heisman Trophy winner since 1981, is now a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

There always is another city building its case to be No. 1 on our Best Sports City list, and, truth be told, had the Giants won the World Series, this story might have been about a northern California megalopolis.