The Los Angeles Angels turned to Nickelback walk-up music to try to break their slump

TheAngelswere reeling in unfathomable fashion, having lost a franchise-record 13 consecutive games to ruin a thrilling, dominant start to this season. Their manager was gone. Their best player was hurt. Their season was unraveling. They needed something. Anything.

They turned to Nickelback.

In a desperate attempt to lighten the mood within a beleaguered dugout, one of the Angels' coaches thought it might be fun for all of the hitters to spend Wednesday night walking up to a different song from the Canadian rock band that peaked in the early 2000s.

The players didn't know this was happening until Shohei Ohtani, the leadoff hitter du jour, strolled to the batter's box and "Photograph," the 2005 hit, blared from the Angel Stadium speakers. Jo Adell followed with "Rockstar." Then Jared Walsh with "How You Remind Me." And Matt Duffy with "Someday." And Juan Lagares with "If Today Was Your Last Day." And Brandon Marsh with "When We Stand Together." And Jack Mayfield with "What Are You Waiting For?" And Kurt Suzuki with "This Afternoon." And Tyler Wade with "Animals."

Alas, the Angels never had a "Hero." They lost1-0to the visiting Boston Red Sox, extending their losing streak to 14 games and dropping to four games below .500, a stunning predicament for a team that sat 27-17 a little more than two weeks ago. Seven of those 14 losses have been decided by a single run, including each of the past three. To quote the infamous Chad Kroeger, Nickelback's lead singer:

It's like the bottom of the ninth and I'm never gonna win.


This life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be.

Cheesy? Basic? Campy? This is a team that has spent more than a decade beginning home games with Train's "Calling All Angels." This is who they are. And at their worst, it seems they figured it's best to just lean in to that. It's respectable. But it didn't produce a win.

"Someday," maybe.