Is any person here a marine biologist?
Hope that concern to be requested repeatedly on Saturday for the duration of the once-a-year Seinfeld Night time at the Brooklyn Cyclones small league baseball recreation at Maimonides Park in Coney Island. Just after all, the function will consider location just miles from where Cosmo Kramer sank one thing of a gap-in-one off the shore of Rockaway Seaside, foremost to George Costanza coming into an indignant sea to effectively get rid of a golfing ball from a whale’s blowhole.
That second from the iconic sitcom will be immortalized by this year’s advertising giveaway at the stadium: a bobblehead of Costanza holding a golf ball though sitting atop a whale.
That merchandise, provided to the initial 2,500 followers and other ticket bundle holders, is in these types of demand that this year’s Seinfeld Evening, the eighth iteration of the function considering the fact that it began in 2014, was the to start with to market out right before the working day of. Standing area only tickets will go on sale at the stadium’s box place of work at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
“Tickets for the match are on StubHub and SeatGeek, which is not a ordinary point for a slight league baseball team,” reported Billy Harner, the Cyclones assistant standard supervisor who to start with arrived up with the notion of Seinfeld Night. “That’s since it’s Seinfeld from get started to end.”
Actual baseball will of course be played as the Cyclones, a Significant-A affiliate of the New York Mets, consider on the Hudson Valley Renegades. But the teams will be renamed the Brooklyn Fairly Boys, an ode to Keith Hernandez’s Seinfeld cameo, and the Wappingers Falls Bubble Boys, in reference to the hometown of the bubble boy who receives into a Trivial Pursuit debate with George. “It’s Moops!”
There will be Seinfeld-themed contests ahead of, through and immediately after the game. That includes the grand finale acknowledged as the Elaine Dancing Contest exactly where individuals recreate Elaine Benes’ infamous “little kicks” dance regimen which is “more like a entire-entire body dry heave established to new music.”
There will be an visual appearance by John O’Hurley, who portrayed the character J. Peterman. O’Hurley will toss out the ceremonial 1st pitch, take care of PA asserting duties in his Peterman voice through the to start with inning and then signal autographs and get pics at the 3rd foundation picnic area.
There will be admirers carrying puffy shirts and crimson-dotted sweaters, foul poles renamed Festivus Poles, and menu offerings like Beef-a-rino, a large salad and chocolate babka.
“It’s in essence a Seinfeld supporter convention with a baseball game in the qualifications,” Harner reported.
Harner grew up in Brooklyn viewing “Seinfeld” just about every Thursday evening on NBC with his father. In 2014 as the team’s director of communications, he was brainstorming with team for the Cyclones’ approaching promotional program and browse in the New Year’s Working day edition of Newsday that the 25-12 months anniversary of the show’s premiere would take position on July 5.
He came up with an plan that worked out considerably superior than Kramer’s system to open up a pizza put the place you make your very own pie.
“The two or three of us that had viewed the demonstrate appeared at each individual other and were being like, ‘We have to do this!’” Harner stated.
When information broke of the very first Seinfeld Night in Brooklyn, and the Keith Hernandez “Magic Loogie” bobblehead giveaway, the Cyclones’ website crashed. Term had quickly spread from WFAN to ESPN to Del Boca Vista.
“The tale appeared on the area information in all 50 states,” Harner mentioned. “One of these media monitoring companies said we bought the equal of a few Super Bowl commercials of publicity.”
Fans, he said, came to the game from 26 various states and 7 various nations around the world. 1 who traveled from Winnipeg slept in his rental car or truck in the stadium’s parking whole lot so he could be initially in line on gameday the following morning. He then overslept like Jean-Paul and was 2nd in line.
“I imagined that was incredibly ideal for Seinfeld Night time,” Harner stated.
The function has evolved and grown in recognition, with tickets now more challenging to get than a residence to lease in Tuscany. Contests have integrated the Junior Mint toss (It is a small mint!), the operate all-around the bases where by anybody named Jerry receives a head get started (I opt for not to run!) and a race to eat a Snickers bar the quickest with a knife and fork (How do you consume it? With your palms?).
“It’s gotten to the level in which people today plan their summer months and journeys to New York just to be in this article for this,” Harner explained.
There have been cast member appearances by the actors who portrayed Soup Nazi, Kenny Bania, Jean Paul, Mulva, Lloyd Braun, Bizarro Jerry/Kevin and Jackie Chiles.
“When we had Jackie Chiles listed here, it was like we experienced the Beatles for Seinfeld supporters,” Harner said.
The dream is that just one of the big four – Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer – or other recurring figures who have been invited will exhibit up upcoming yr for the 35th anniversary of the show’s premiere and the 10th anniversary of the to start with Seinfeld Night time in Brooklyn.
“This has form of turn out to be what we’re recognised for,” Harner claimed. “It puts a minimal strain on us to try out to top ourselves each individual calendar year. But it’s a seriously neat night time since there is so lots of individuals in the ballpark that like the present.”
And so a lot of people today that will talk to, “Is any one right here a marine biologist?”
