freeze your water like the pros do
someone just tipped us off to the fact that tomorrow is "Ice Cube Tray Night" at Shea, which has to be one of the lamest yet coolest promotions ever (and it's certainly funnier than anything in this rather lame piece of satire). the trays come in the thick of a series of giveaways by the Mets, culminating in the Kaz Matsui bobbleheads being handed out on Sunday. no word on whether the Jose Reyes bobbleheads on July 17th will feature realistic hamstring-pullin', back-strainin' action.
but bobbleheads are well past being played out, so it's time to find some new, exciting shit to give away especially in light of the recent Superman 2 fiasco. the ice cube trays are a step in the right direction, and "Hello Kitty Day" on 8/15 is sure to pack the place with pre-teen girls (but couldn't they have gone for something a little cooler - Pochacco maybe?), but other than that it's a steady stream of sports bags and ceramic stadium replicas. yawwwn.
moving on, we were excited to see that the Phillies are using July 4 to hand out Turkey Hill Phillies Wiffle Ball Sets. t.s.o.a. will even be in attendance that day. alas, the promotion is for those 14 and under only, but maybe Shmoo can work some of her magic in the bathroom like she did in Seattle a few years back to score a set or two. their Bull's BBQ apron (6/20) deserves some praise, but otherwise the slate is highly dull.
so what about the other local club? hey, they're doing the ice cube tray promotion on the same night as the Mets! lame. shame on you Dunkin' Donuts. at least give fans the opportunity to collect 'em all. the Bronx Boys have little more to offer throughout the year: a pennant pillow? next. a bronze statuette of Phil Rizzuto? that'll certainly keep those pesky papers from flying away. soft Elmo plush dolls? soon to be clogging up thrift store shelves near you. but credit must be given to the "Yankees Pinstriped Happi Coat" (8/7, 14 & under) if only because we have no idea what that is. it appears to be some sort of bathrobe.
here's a few other worthy efforts:
Belated Father's Day Present - Cloverdale Grill Set (6/25, Seattle - there's other teams doing similar things as well)
Mitchell & NessŪ Cooperstown Authentic Collection 1984 Ryne Sandberg Home Jersey (100 random winners)* (6/30, Cubs)
CD/DVD Holder (9/8, Anaheim)
Interleague Trucker Caps (they're Kutcher-tastic!; 6/27, White Sox)
Money Clip Night (7/19, Colorado)
Marlins World Champion Electric Fish Fan (7/4, Florida)
Blue Wig sponsored by Las Vegas (6/29, Los Angeles)
Fernando Talking Mini Keychain (9/16, Los Angeles)
Expos Blood Drive (get drunk faster! 8/13, Montreal)
Padres Swinging Friar 3-D Puzzles for Kids (check the picture; 6/20, San Diego)
Oven Mitts and Pot Holders Night (8/27, Texas)
Comments
during yesterday's game, they showed a promo of the mets ice cube trays and they look hot! the resevoirs are traditionally shaped, but imbedded with the NY logo. i want one, but i'm going to the game on satuday. what peeves me most about these stadium giveaways is that all the good ones are for kids 14 and under and somehow mysteriously appear in bulk on ebay BEFORE the game date (search Kaz Matsui bobbledhead as an example). I don't want a pink Mets visor. I want a tom galvine kahn's replica jersey. I want a 20th anniversay ET doll wearing a mets shirt. I'm also tired of bobbleheads. dan and i have more than we know what to do with them. or at least make more of those "talking" bobbleheads. dan got stonegroove a talking chuck thompson one off ebay and it's pretty cool.
Posted by: sujan | June 3, 2004 01:30 PM
Superman 2 promotion? Oh man, how did I miss that? I love that movie and for my money is the best of the Superman movies! How strange that they would promote a movie that is 23 years old!
Speaking of Yankees promotions- they are so so so lame. They only give out free shit to the first 18,000 fans most of the time. They average 47,000 fans a game or something like that. They can't pony up for more than 18,000 free trinkets? As George said before this season, the Yankees are New York's team, but he'll only give out free things to a third to the people who bother to show up to "New York's ballpark."
Posted by: Dan | June 3, 2004 02:52 PM
i gotta fire that fact checker/copy editor.
Posted by: jamie | June 3, 2004 03:28 PM
At least you didn't use Darkman 2.
Posted by: jake | June 3, 2004 03:35 PM
At least I now know for certain what this promotion was all about. I had presumed, what with the Mets and Yankees doing it on the same night, that perhaps every home team in the majors was paying tribute to the musical and cinematic oeuvre of Ice Cube. 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' has stood the test of time better than most rock or hip hop recordings of the same era. And those "Barbershop" movies are great, even if Cube has to be the straight man most of the time.
Posted by: Gerard | June 6, 2004 07:09 AM
last night i pulled the rubbery ice cube trays out of the dishwasher, filled them with water and shoved them in the freezer. before bed i decided it was time to try one out. i grappled with the orange mass for five minutes before finally retreiving a single ice cube. i had to twist and pry and push. and, yeah, that ice cube did have the mets logo but it had started to melt before i even got it into my glass. these ice cube trays are novelty items, at best. they certainly aren't meant for people who use six cubes just for a glass of water.
i tried the second tray this morning, thinking that the ice would be more frozen and thus easier to remove from the rubber coating. no luck! things were just as tough as last night.
does anyone have any ideas that don't involve coating the tray with baby powder before putting it in the freezer?
Posted by: marc | June 8, 2004 06:06 PM
Marc, I think the solution is to give your tray to Sujan and me. We'll fix the problem.
Posted by: dan | June 9, 2004 12:40 AM