As you are reading this, I am currently on a plane on my way to visit a friend in Minnesota for the weekend. Part of my trip planning involved the home schedule of the Minnesota Twins. I wanted to see the new Target Field and I planned a trip accordingly. But if I was to go see the new park, I had to go on a day in which the team had a promotion. So I made sure that I would be in Minnesota for the opportunity to check out the new stadium and get my hands on this bobblehead this Sunday.
I'm a sucker for stadium promotions; especially bobbleheads. Last month, I woke up at 8 in the morning just to make sure that I was in line to get the Willie Mays bobblehead.
It was as cool thing to have and it honors a big part of baseball's history. I couldn't miss out on it.
Last Saturday, my friend and I grabbed 24 discounted tickets (for only 70 cents) for 70s night at the Oakland Coliseum. Then we grabbed 24 throwback jersey giveaways.
In about an hour with only three people, we were able to grab all these jerseys by entering and exiting the stadium. Security personnel knew what we were doing, but didn't give us any hassle.
Earlier this season, I was able to get the Andrew Bailey bobblehead at the Coliseum and all the giveaways they had for the homestand in which A's celebrated Dallas Braden's perfect game. At AT&T Park, I also got the Lucy Van Pelt bobblehead.
Now it sits nicely in my collection of A's bobbleheads. (You can probably tell I am an A's fan by now).
Am I the only one out there who is really into getting promotions at stadiums? Whether it's bobbleheads, jerseys, "wearable blankets" and other collectors memorabilia, do you just like to collect them?
One of the things that I have always had issues with at some stadiums is the amount of giveaways issued at a game. For both the Giants and A's, most of their promotions are given out to the first 10,000 or sometimes up to 20,000 fans in attendance. Most times, that means I have to show up at the ballpark at least a couple hours before the game starts just to ensure that I would get it.
With the Dodgers, most of their promotions are given out to the first 50,000 fans in attendance. Usually everybody that goes to a game at Dodger Stadium will get their giveaway. But then again, the Dodgers expect that many people to show up at the stadium. Depending on the opponent, some games here in Oakland average under 20,000 fans a game. Having 50,000 giveaways wouldn't work out too well.
Looking ahead, I think the next promotion I really want to go will be on August 4th when the A's will have their annual Root Beer Float Day. I got Rickey Henderson's autograph at last year's event and took pictures with some players. And all proceeds go to charity for curing diabetes. It's a double win!
Even if there were no promotions, I'd still end up going to the Coliseum to watch the A's play. But it is nice to have some giveaways. It adds a little more excitement to the experience.
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