Miracle keep the fun coming

By Deron Snyder
Fort Myers News Press

Andrew Seymour and other Fort Myers Miracle staffers don't follow the news in typical fashion. Current events, upcoming anniversaries and Hollywood's blockbuster releases aren't merely items of interest. They're also fodder for fun.

And as Miracle CEO Mike Veeck reminds us in the title of his book, "Fun is Good."

The Miracle, who play their home-opener tonight at Hammond Stadium, are celebrating their 16th season in Southwest Florida. They aim to continue their tradition of wild and wacky promotions, designed to entice fans who don't know Erik Lis from Whit Robbins.

"People come out for a team atmosphere and just good entertainment," said Seymour, the Miracle's assistant general manager and promotions director. "They're not looking at the number on a player's backs. They come out and recognize one team from another. Then it's like 'OK, that's good. What else you got?' "

So about a dozen Miracle staffers gather for "funstorming" meetings when the schedule comes out in October. Tried and true annual events — firework shows, island night, waterpark night, etc. — provide the makings for about 10 of the team's 70 home dates That leaves roughly two months' worth of games to sprinkle with attractions that drive interest and attendance.

Among this season's biggies are "Mike Tyson Ear Night," commemorating the 10th anniversary of Evander Holyfield's painful ring encounter, and "Don't be a Bengal Night," poking fun at the NFL rogues in Cincinnati.

"Those are things we can have some silly, tongue-in-check humor with," Seymour said, "hopefully all in good taste."

Making fun of real people comes with a cost sometimes. Seymour said Curt Schilling and Grady Little received charitable donations from a minor-league team that lampooned bloody socks and ill-fated decisions to stick with the starter. The Miracle didn't check with Holyfield before scheduling the June 28th promotion — a decade after the infamous ear-chomping.

"Hopefully, it'll be taken as light fun," Seymour said of plans that include elephant ears, plastic ears, create-an-ear, single earmuffs and "Can you hear me now?" jokes. He's trying to land Miracle Ear as a sponsor.

"If Holyfield was to call and be upset, we'd be sure to move in the right direction with a donation to his foundation," Seymour said.

Movie characters are much easier to work with. Though the cinema is a natural competitor for folks' entertainment budget, the Miracle work with the movie industry as much as possible. The team has several promotional themes tied to characters in big summer releases, including Shrek, Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Simpsons.

"At some point kids want to see those movies," Seymour said. "We pony up with theatres that are trying to promote the movies. It's nice way for everybody to win."

The Miracle suffered a home loss before tonight's first pitch, their popular Opening Night fireworks cancelled due to dry weather conditions. But the game goes on, with free general-admission tickets available at Publix stores.

"We can't control the climate in the air but we can control the climate in the stadium," Seymour said. "Keeping it light, fun and friendly — those are things we can play a role in."

Just trying sounds like a lot of fun.