You know you've got the pennant bug when you start collecting softball.
Don't worry...I've got it too. I've added quite a few New York City travel pennants to my collection and am branching out to other places I've been and love.
That's been pretty much my experience too with that era of pennants. They improve, but not by as much as older pennants do. I think your after photos look better than the before though and that's the point. Interesting that the bleach turns the black paint in to Royal blue.
Love the new pennants too.