Let’s rise to the occasion

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an Angels fan. My earlier memories date back to the golden days of Angels baseball: Scioscia-led ragtag, always in-motion offenses of the mid-to-late ’00s, Chone Figgins rising from a nobody to a nuisance, Vladdy and his generational bad-ball contact skills, and the Angels’ entire lineup hitting .300 or better.

By the time high school began to wrap up, I had begun following the team religiously once again and wanted to share my musings with others. After a couple Facebook groups didn’t do enough to scratch the itch, I stumbled upon Halos Heaven and quickly settled into the community, writing a few Fanposts before eventually joining the masthead. It would be an understatement to say that I enjoyed it (nearly 350 posts of Angels analysis, commentary, and news across 3.5 years is a testament to me being a special kind of crazy), and I hope you enjoyed it, too.

After a ramrodding decision by SB Nation left an unsavory taste in the mouths of our masthead, we’ve made a collective decision to save the site and community we hold so dear.

While we realize there are steep challenges ahead of us, from adoption to marketing to monetization, we are well equipped to handle what comes our way with a talented masthead, strong leadership, and an intensely supportive community behind us. It’s only a matter of time until CtPG is a force to be reckoned with.

I’ve written for some incredible sites before, having had the opportunity to write for a national publication at FanGraphs, for Halos Heaven, even for the sports section of my university’s paper. And despite all that, I can truly say that I’ve never felt more excited to write than I do right now.

When the pearly gates of our heaven are crashed, there will be hell to pay. And I hope you’ll join us.