Rally Monkey
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The Rally Monkey is a mascot of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Major League Baseball team.
The character debuted on June 6, 2000, when the Angels were trailing the San Francisco Giants 5–4 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Two video board operators, Dean Fraulino and Jaysen Humes, took a clip of a monkey jumping around from the 1994 Jim Carrey movie comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and superimposed the words "RALLY MONKEY!" on top of it.[1] The Angels scored two runs and won the game. The video clip proved to be so popular that the team hired Katie, a white-haired capuchin monkey, to star in original clips for later games.[citation needed] When seen, she bounces to the House of Pain song "Jump Around" and sometimes holds a sign proclaiming that it is "RALLY TIME!" Additional videos featuring the Rally Monkey show it edited into popular films such as The Brady Bunch Movie, Signs, Jurassic Park, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Scream, Dumb and Dumber, and The Ring.[1] The team also started selling plush monkeys that fans bring to games.
ESPN also did a "This is Sportscenter" commercial in which it showed one of the executives having to make "budget cuts", leading to the release of the monkey. The monkey pleaded by raising the "It's Rally Time" sign. The commercial is available on NFL 2K4.[citation needed]
As of 2008, a number of other teams have begun selling plush Rally Monkeys in their own team colors and uniforms, including the Angels' "Freeway Series" rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
[edit] Stats
Provided by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim marketing department.
- Height: Twenty-four inches (0.6 meter) plus tail.
- Weight: Fifteen ounces (425 grams)
- Jumps: A lot.
