Every team needs a hero. The Rally Monkey has been there for the Anaheim Angels Major League Baseball club for over two years. He is believed to be a driving force behind their unprecedented American League Division Series win in October 2002, as the Angels upset the New York Yankees.1 In fact, the Rally Monkey has taken much of the credit for Anaheim's 2002 Major League Baseball World Series win.
History
The Rally Monkey got its start on June 6, 2000 as the Angels were losing to the San Francisco Giants. To whip the crowd into a frenzy, video operators found a clip from the movie "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" showing a monkey jumping up and down. They superimposed the words "RALLY MONKEY" over the video and showed it on the Jumbotron. The crowd loved it, the commentators on Fox Sports Net were laughing uncontrollably, and the Angels rallied to win the game.
Since then, the Angels have hired a capuchin monkey named Katie and filmed their own series of original Rally Monkey promos. The Rally Monkey concept has won over the fans: many fans now take plush monkey toys to the stadium with them. The most popular monkey song is "Jump Around" by House of Pain, which accompanies the monkey's feverish jumping. The monkey has also been used in a number of movie parodies, such as King Kong and The Matrix, which are shown during stoppages of play.
Etiquette
As with any show of support, the Rally Monkey has its limits. Please observe proper monkey etiquette.
- The Rally Monkey may quietly watch the Angels only while they are at bat. That way, he
can put his full attention on the way the pitcher delivers and pass the scoop on to the
Angels batters.
- Rally Monkeys are not to watch or go crazy when the Angels are pitching. Troy Percival once said this emphatically on a TV interview.
- Rally Monkeys are to be "saved" until at least the 7th inning, after which we
should expect a lot of monkey business. Remember, baseball is a marathon.
- At least one Angel runner has to be on base before the Rally Monkey can go into
hysterics.
- Never stick the Rally Monkey in a plastic bag or it will kill the rally. The little guy needs respect!
Information liberally taken from http://www.rallymonkey.com.
1 Igloowhite says what i witnessed yesterday at edison field was nothing less than pagan idolatry. it was voodoo. they mezmerized the yanks with that damn monkey (hardlinks added by me)