Springfield Bloggers night at a Sliders game?

There appears to be at least some small measure of interest in an unofficial Springfield Bloggers night at a Sliders game. I’m not necessarily spearheading the effort to coordinate this, but I’m just going to throw the home games dates out there and then we can use this forum (or any other of your choosing…) to banter back and forth on what dates work and what dates don’t, and if there is enough interest, we can pick a night and call it “Springfield Bloggers” Night at the Ballpark. (And of course, this is all contingent on the weather.)

+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|

Remaining Sliders home game dates and day of week, along with any special nightly promotions, according to the Sliders website:

JUNE:

• 6/19 Thurs- double header (first game starts at 5:30), T-shirt giveaway to first 500 fans;
• 6/23 Mon- Fredbird at the park; free ice cream sandwich giveaway to first 400 kids <12
• 6/30 Mon- free hot dog and soda to first 500 kids <12

JULY:

• 7/2 Wed- post-game FIREWORKS display for Independence Day
• 7/7 Mon- first 500 fans will receive an envelope containing cash from $1 to $20
• 7/11 Fri- Jimmy Buffett night: first 500 fans >21 receive a can coozie; $2 cheeseburgers and “Landsharks” all night, whatever those are
• 7/12 Sat- team poster to first 750 fans
• 7/13 Sun- ice cream sandwiches to first 400 kids <12
• 7/15 Tue- two Reserved tickets for $5
• 7/17 Thurs- logo baseball for first 500 fans; $2 admission for fans wearing Chicago Cubs apparel
• 7/18 Fri
• 7/24 Thurs- Throw Cancer a Curveball Ladies Night: $1 for each ticket purchased will go toward cancer research; specials all night for ladies; ladies can run the bases after the game (wooo-hoooo! )
• 7/25 Fri- Guns vs. Hoses (po-po vs. firefighters) charity softball game; $3 admission
• 7/26 Sat- mini-bat to first 500 kids <12; $2 admission for fans wearing Cubs OR White Sox apparel
• 7/27 Sun

AUGUST:

• 8/2 Sat- Speedy the Slider bobblehead to first 500 fans
• 8/3 Sun
• 8/4 Mon- Dog Days of Summer: doggie bandana to first 500 fans, also bring your dog to the park; $2 admission for fans wearing Illini apparel- full price for fans sporting other Big 10 schools (BURN!)
• 8/8 Fri- free children’s book to first 500 kids <12
• 8/9 Sat- Fan Appreciation Night- ice cream sandwiches to first 400 kids <12; giveaways all night long

*** WEEKLY PROMOTIONS: ***

• EVERY MONDAY: Paint the Park Red- $2 admission for fans wearing St. Louis Cardinals apparel
• EVERY TUESDAY: Two-For Tuesday- two-for-one concessions
• EVERY WEDNESDAY: Guaranteed Win Night- if the Sliders lose, redeem your ticket for a free ticket to a future home game
• EVERY THURSDAY: Bang For Your Buck Night- $1 beer and soda (I’m guessing this will likely be the most popular promotion…)
• EVERY FRIDAY: post-game fireworks; kids run the bases after the game (charity softball game on 7/25 not included)
• EVERY SATURDAY: Giveaway Saturdays; kids run the bases after the game
• EVERY SUNDAY: Family Fun Day- free game tickets available at County Market stores

Dang… I sound like I work in the Promotions Dept. for Springfield Sliders Inc., don’t I?!

Anyway, that’s the remaining schedule for Sliders games, if anyone’s {seriously} interested. As I said, we can kind of kick dates around and see what nights work best for the most people. Of course, I suppose there’s nothing saying we only have to do one night, but we can jump off that bridge when we get to it.

UPDATE (6/18 2:45pm): So far, we have a vote from Allie for “mid-July or later”, and then we have votes (all from Mr. Cacciatore) for any of the following:

• July 2
• July 7
• July 11
• July 12
• July 13

Again, understand that I’m not necessarily assuming the role of Julie McCoy, your cruise director, and putting all of this together, but if we can get enough interest and decide on a date or two, hopefully we can all work it out. Who knows- it might actually be fun to meet the faces behind the blogs for a night of baseball and beers* and what not.

* The question was posed by Dan at BFS as to whether this was to be a Bloggers ‘n Beer night or a Family (i.e. bring the kids along) Night. I suggested in return that we could at least in theory have one of each, but I also know how difficult it potentially will be to decide on ONE date, let alone two. What are everyone’s thoughts on the kids-or-no-kids, spouses-or-no-spouses, etc. thing?

UPDATE (6/19 8:53am):  Apparently, July is the overwhelming preference.  I’m not suggesting we chisel this in granite yet, but how do people feel about the Sunday the 13th game?  Or maybe Saturday the 12th?  Or maybe other suggestions?

(And thanks for all the interest and the great comments!!!)