If you haven't been to the Saints game at Midway Stadium, I highly recommend it . . . unless you can't laugh at things that are politically incorrect! Every time I go, it's a breath of fresh air. The Saints know how to have fun and make fun. It's all about the fans. Playing baseball is important, but the fan experience seems even more important. The owners, Mike Veeck, son of major league promoter Bill Veeck, and Bill Murray, the comedian, don't hesitate to make fun of the latest events and of themselves! One game had bathroom stall bobblefeet given to the first 2500 fans. Drag queens rake the field at the 7th inning stretch. A REAL nun gives massages in the stands for a fee. Every inning has an interlude with some kind of entertainment, but the game still progresses quickly. A pig (this year's pig has the last name Ohama . . . ) brings the new balls to the umpire every inning. Mudonna, a large pink pig, is one team mascot that roams the stands. Beer . . . , yep, the beer guys are there . . . and the hot dogs . . . and the snow cones . . . and don't forget the popcorn and peanuts. Super Fan goads the audience to scream and shout, and this year is often accompanied by a mini-super fan (maybe his son?). Seigo Masubuchi in a green sequin lapelled white tuxedo coat and leather cowboy hat lead karoake. The dirtiest car in the parking lot is honored with a free car wash and its picture on the scoreboard! Some years a fan was velcroed to a bulletin board hoping to catch a fly ball and win $10,000!
Last year's attendance at the Saints games was 297,000 . . . 102% of capacity. It seems they've got a good thing going!
Thanks to Carmen's comment below I've found out who Mini Super Fan is. You can read about Cole at Cathy Zielske's blog.
Thought you might be interested in knowing the story behind mini-Super Fan (aka Cole Zielske, a fan of Super Fan, not his son) -- you can find it on his mother's blog: http://cathyzielske.typepad.com :)
Posted by: Carmen | August 05, 2008 at 11:05 AM