On Sunday I traveled with a group from downtown Pomona to Dodger Stadium for the Dodgers-Angels game. The awkwardly named Downtown Pomona Owners Association (a business improvement district funded by property owners) arranged the getaway and chartered a bus. I paid my $42 ($32 for the ticket, $10 for the ride) and climbed aboard.

You can see photos on the Metro Pomona blog in the May 23 entry “Freeway Series.”

I went through a baseball phase as a boy, one summer buying bubblegum packs right and left in my futile attempt to collect every Topps card, but my interest cooled by the early ’80s. (The Cardinals were my team. These were the days when Joe Torre was a player.)

I’ve been to a total of four Dodgers games in my dozen years here — although two have been this season, including Sunday’s game, which was my first-ever day game. That’s what made the invitation irresistible.

So I was there more for the experience than having any rooting interest. Dodgers, Angels, whichever. Most of the 40-some people in our group were Dodgers fans, leading to incessant kidding of DPOA executive director Larry Egan and his wife, who were in Angels caps. The kidding began sticking in everyone’s throat as the Angels overcame a 4-0 deficit and eventually won 10-7.

Two Pomona council members, Tim Saunders and Danielle Soto, were in attendance. Saunders was cheering for the Dodgers while Soto was observed cheering for both teams. She was also overheard talking about “points.” Maybe she was there more for the experience too.

Food-wise, some of us got our Dodger Dogs grilled; the stands for the grilled version are on the levels behind home plate, near where we were (blue reserved section). While I always get a hot dog at any ballpark, including the Epicenter, I’m going to be controversial by asserting the unspeakable: Dodger Dogs, grilled or boiled, are very standard, if not substandard, hot dogs. There, I’ve said it, and I feel better.

Speaking of insults, Dodger fans certainly can be boorish, if harmlessly so. As their team slipped to defeat, occasional pouting cries of “Angels suck!” rent the air. One has to wonder what it says about the Dodgers if a team that sucks was able to beat them.

But the experience was a lot of fun, the company splendid, and Dodger Stadium remains an old-school gem.

On the way to the bus, Saunders lent a hand to some strangers by taking their photo. The group of six was evenly split between Dodgers and Angels fans. Saunders was in a Dodger cap.

A passerby exclaimed, “You’re not a real Dodger fan if you’re taking photos of Angels fans!”

Tough crowd.