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With 99 NCAA titles, unmatched athletic success and a football and basketball program on the rise, there is no question that UCLA is a great place to be for a sports nut.

But one of the coolest things about being a sports fan at UCLA has nothing to do with the Bruin athletic program.

If you are entering campus as a fan of any of the in-state major league baseball teams, you’ve got it made.

There are few other places in the world where you can find plenty of ardent supporters of five major league baseball teams. The fact that all of these teams are either competing against each other for a division title or have some sort of history with each other provides for a great setting for passionate conversation and debate.

As a die-hard Angels fan coming into UCLA in 2003, I had spent most of my life thinking I was the only person who even cared about the team (until they won the World Series in 2002).

As a freshman at UCLA, not only was I surrounded by bandwagon fans who suddenly loved the Angels, but also by people who absolutely hated them. Giants fans were steaming over a crushing World Series loss, while A’s fans couldn’t seem to stop complaining about the Angels’ new crew of supporters. For the first time in my life, I felt truly alive with baseball.

Fortunately, these tensions have not died down as time has passed. There is nothing I enjoy more than listening to a Giants fan whine about Scott Spiezio’s cheap home run in Game Six and countering with the unbelievable moment when Darin Erstad made the final catch of the series and Troy Percival pumped his fist in victorious triumph.

The exception to all of the hoopla about baseball on the UCLA campus is the Padres. Apart from the fact that they are obstacles in the division for the Giants and Dodgers, no one really gives a darn about the Padres except their own fans.

But on the bright side, there are enough people from San Diego at UCLA to at least let the rest of the student body know that there is a team in San Diego and that it has some supporters. That’s just about as much as anyone who’s a Padres fan can ask for as far as recognition is concerned. The fact that the Fathers are likely to be a contender when school resumes in the fall doesn’t hurt either.

But for the other four teams, there are just so many storylines that make it fun to be at a place where baseball enthusiasts flock like the salmon of Capistrano.

For A’s and Angels fans, there is “Moneyball” versus, well, not “Moneyball.” The two teams with their respective styles of play have been competing for supremacy in the AL West almost exclusively since 2002.

For Giants and Dodger fans, there exists a long-standing history that goes all the way back to both teams’ New York days in the ’40s.

There is also a hero/villain named Bonds who is larger than the game itself and stands firmly rooted in the center of the rivalry.

Going to Dodger Stadium for a Dodgers-Giants game with a group of friends who have equally divided loyalties is a very worthwhile venture, and UCLA provides a golden opportunity to do so.

Listening to the Dodgers fans boo and heckle the lying cheater while the Giants fans cheer on their innocent savior and make vehement attempts to defend him throughout the game is hilarious for an outsider and engaging for someone who is passionate about either team.

Come September, it is likely that all of the California teams will be battling each other for something meaningful. If that is indeed the case, campus is going to be a pretty exciting place to be for a baseball fan when the school year begins.

E-mail Azar at bazar@media.ucla.edu if you are still baffled by the Angels’ decision to send Jered Weaver back to the minors.

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