I am just working through the September Update, which is taking shape….the update will be up no later than Tuesday after Labor Day.

We have two updates on premiums spotlights, one with a new product option (Bam Bams) and the other an inexpensive supplement for a smaller scale promotion (tattoos).

Our fifth installment of the Six From Six Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates will also be posted in September.

Gameops.com also has created a new content page for YouTube videos related to game operations and mascots.  I think this could be a great centralized place to find skit ideas or just showcase your own game entertainment.  It’s a fun page….and it’s just getting started.  We encourage you to send us links to your favorite content from YouTube.

Be sure to check back next week for all the new content and updates.  If you are not on our mailing list, its the best way to get the heads up on the new content.  It’s once a month and we do not sell our mailing list to anyone.  You can opt-out anytime.  Click here to join the list.

–Cudo

The Lowell Spinners of Minor League Baseball held “Time Capsule Night” at their July 20 game. The promotion was two-part: The first 1,500 fans received a small time capsule celebrating the Spinners’ 10-year anniversary that they could take home and bury or hide. Second, the team encouraged all fans to bring one small personal item (a letter to themselves, picture, or some other small keepsake) to the game for placement in a large time capsule that the team will keep sealed and on display in the ballpark concourse until their 20th anniversary 10 years from now. (from team PR)

I will blog more about this in 20 years when the promotion reaches it’s exciting conculsion.

–Cudo

ESPN.com - Player who ran through fence gets bobblehead

He’s Rodney McCray, and when he was with the Vancouver Canadians he ran straight through the outfield fence in Portland, Ore., while chasing a fly ball during a Pacific Coast League game May 27, 1991. It’s become a fixture of sports bloopers — McCray running full speed through the Flav-R-Pac sign in right-center field at Civic Stadium.

First caught on film, then on a bobblehead, Rodney McCray’s famous fence-crashing run in 1991 is his legacy.The moment will be immortalized Saturday when the team hosts “Rodney McCray Bobblefence Night” at PGE Park, as Civic Stadium is now known. McCray will throw out the first pitch, sign autographs and witness the dedication of “McCray Alley” in right-center field.

I love this bobblehead from the Portland Beavers.  Rodney McCray was the outfielder who literally ran through the outfield wall at PGE Park in Portland….making him the star of one of the most famous video clips in sports.

As teams run out of current players or minor league teams fret about whether a player will still be on their roster.

We have talked about celebrity bobbleheads a lot recently, including an interview with the team who did the Runaway Bride and a Spotlight dicussing the use of celebrities as bobbleheads. 

It’s a trend I think will continue to grow before it shrinks.

-cudo

This is a week long review of the five biggest ovations in my memory.

1. Monday Night Raw - November 2, 1998
2. Powell’s Bookstore - Winter 2002
3. Cleveland Cavaliers v. Detroit Pistons - May 15, 2005
4. In Your House - April 1996
5. South Korea v. Brazil - Fall 1997

Number One:
As I noted in the number four ovation blog on Tuesday, professional wrestling has an inherent advantage in creating crowd reaction in that they create the situations and their shows can be more theatrical in nature. 

In the fall of 1998 a perfect storm was sweeping the WWF with their character Stone Cold Steve Austin.  The Monday Night Wrestling war was on and the two Monday night shows (RAW and Nitro) were drawing a combined 8 share (which is a shockingly high cable rating) and the live crowds where as hot as you will ever see.

Austin was feuding with Vince McMahon at the time, with characters like Big Bossman, Undertaking and Kane in the mix.  The WWF wrote the book on modern day entertainment and crowd control through music, lighting and characters, so when it all comes together the result is breath taking.

I watched this show with then Sports Magic Team Manager Joe Mulvihill.  I remember just looking at each other during that surreal moment when Austin’s glass-shattering music hit, cueing the crowd. Austin came down the ramp to a deafening roar.  Speaking was pointless since you couldn’t hear yourself, let alone someone next to you.

I have never felt anything like it.  I question if I ever will.  It was the perfect storm of production, storyline, character and passionate fans.

Thanks for indulging me on this list.  I would love comments on the ovations that are your most memorable to you.

-Cudo

This is a week long review of the five biggest ovations in my memory.

1. coming Friday
2. Powell’s Bookstore - Winter 2002
3. Cleveland Cavaliers v. Detroit Pistons - May 15, 2005
4. In Your House - April 1996
5. South Korea v. Brazil - Fall 1997

Number Two:
This one may sound ridiculous, but i still get goose bumps when I think about this.

The second most powerful ovation I have ever heard took place in a bookstore in Portland Oregon. Powell’s Books is huge bookstore that takes up over a square city block in Portland. Known for it’s amazing selection of new and used books, it also is a popular stop for author’s doing book signings. Powell’s has a small open space where chairs can be set-up for larger events. In many cases the authors will speak to the crowd and take questions prior to signing their book.

In the winter of 2002 Daniel Ellsberg was on tour promoting his book called Secrets. Ellsberg was one of the authors of the Pentagon Papers, and was responsible for leaking those papers to the New York Times. For history buffs, Ellsberg is a pivotal figure in both the end of the Vietnam Conflict and the fall of the Nixon Presidency. His book Secrets chronicles his experience in the Defense Department through his anti-war crusade. To many, the personal risks Ellsberg’s took to expose the inside story makes him the truest of American patriots.

I had a front row seat for Ellsberg’s comments and I joined the crowd standing and clapping after he was introduced by a Powell’s employee. I was immediately struck by the noise and energy of the crowd. The bookstore roared with approval and admiration. Just as the thought struck me “Damn, this place is loud” the ovation peaked even more and went on for seemingly forever.

As I sat and took my seat I realized that it was one of the most powerful ovations I had ever been a part of….despite working in sports for nearly 15 years.

I had goose bumps then…and I still get them now thinking about it.

Tomorrow in the final installment, the roof comes off in Houston.

-Cudo

This is a week long review of the five biggest ovations in my memory.

1. coming Friday
2. coming Thursday
3. Cleveland Cavaliers v. Detroit Pistons - May 15, 2005
4. In Your House - April 1996
5. South Korea v. Brazil - Fall 1997

Number Three:
Some scenarios become more powerful as they ferment over time.  This powerful reaction was years in the making.

Cleveland (a market I now live in) is the quintessential “next year” market, as in….”we’ll get them next year”.  A long playoff draught for many of the market’s teams, a longer championship draught, and years of being a hard-luck sports town has make this a market that feels snake bitten….like Red Sox fans, but it encompasses the whole town.

The Cavaliers have been surging in the market with the emergence of LeBron James and as they work they way into serious playoff contenders, the fans have some pent up emotion.  One night last May the emotion was released.

After going down 0-2 to the Pistons the fans looked to be scorned again, but the Cavs won straight 2 home games….and the fans were starting to believe.  As the final buzzer sounded the crowd went bezerk.  The noise was amazing, and you could feel the emotion that this might finally be the run the town was waiting for. 

Detroit ended up winning the series 4-3, but it gave a taste to the fans in Cleveland of what might be….and it gave me a top five ovation memory.

Tomorrow, big noise in a book store?

-Cudo