Rally Monkey is the mascot of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Major League Baseball team .
The character was created on June 6, 2000, when the Angels lost to the San Francisco Giants 5-4 at the start of the ninth inning. Two videographers, Dean Frolino and Jacen Humez, demonstrated the 1994 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective clip from the 1994 Jim Carrey comedy Jumping Monkey and placed the words “RALLY MONKEY!” On top of the image [1] . "Angels" won two points and won the game [2] .
The video clip was so popular that the team acquired Katie, a capuchin with white hair, to star in the original music videos for later games. On the screen, she bounces to the House of Pain Jump Around song and sometimes holds a sign announcing that it is “RALLY TIME!” (Rally time).
Rally Monkey attracted national and international attention during the appearance of the Angels in the 2002 World Series, where they again played against the San Francisco Giants. In the sixth game, the Angels played in their own field, but lost the series 3–2 and stood on the verge of relegation. The score fell to 5-0, as the game entered the beginning of the seventh inning. Warmed up by the support of fans associated with the Rally Monkey image, the Angels won 6 unanswered points in the next two innings, winning the game and giving a good boost to the series (they went on to clinch the championship in the seventh game) [3] .
In 2009, the "Angels" once again reached the postseason, leading to the resumption of popularity of the monkey [4] [5] .
The monkey is 24 inches tall (60 centimeters) and weighs 0.2 kilograms.
Videos featuring Rally Monkey are featured in many popular films and TV shows (Friends, Jurassic Park, and so on). “Angels” began selling plush monkeys that fans bring to the games.
Notes
- ↑ RallyMonkeySays.com, Official Website Archived on August 25, 2014.
- ↑ June 6, 2000 San Francisco Giants at Anaheim Angels Play by Play and Box Score . Baseball-Reference.com (June 6, 2000). Date of treatment October 22, 2009. Archived September 15, 2012.
- ↑ 2002 World Series - ANA vs. SFG . Baseball-Reference.com (October 31, 2002). Date of treatment October 22, 2009. Archived September 15, 2012.
- ↑ Witz, Billy . Angels' Rally Monkey Comes Off the Bench , New York Times (October 7, 2009). Date of treatment October 22, 2009.
- ↑ Vecsey, George . Chamberlain Proves No Match for Rally Monkey , New York Times (October 20, 2009). Date of treatment October 22, 2009.