Miracle having a blast with promotions

By DAVE DEVEREUX
Cape Coral Daily Breeze

The Fort Myers Miracle promotions team will be here all week — or rather, all summer.

As the Miracle wrapped up the first half of their Florida State League season Wednesday night, fans at Hammond Stadium were treated to “Billy Donovan Night.”

It was the latest in a series of “tongue-and-cheek” promotional events organized by Andrew Seymour, assistant general manager and promotions director, along with several other members of the Miracle staff.

“It was all about silly giggles,” said Seymour, who has been with the organization for 10 years. “We always try to have some fun, making our environment family-oriented, affordable and entertaining.”

Billy Donovan Night poked fun at the University of Florida coach who made a U-turn after agreeing to a five-year $27.5 million contract with the NBA’s Orlando Magic, then decided to change his mind and return to Florida.

The event at Hammond Stadium Wednesday night gave fans, who purchased a ticket to the game against the Tampa Yankees, an opportunity to negotiate a release from their ticket purchase if they were not sure if they wanted to be at Hammond Stadium.

A local Billy Donovan look-alike was scheduled to throw out the first pitch but backed out at the last minute, and a local attorney was present to help the fans work out an “out clause.”

Waffles were served at the concession stand to represent Donovan “waffling” on his decision.

Seymour said he couldn’t take credit for this idea. He said Gary Sharp, an account executive and ticket manager for the Miracle, came up with the gimmick when he was on his honeymoon.

“We gave him a week reprieve and he came back with a fresh idea, he said ‘I got the hook,’” Seymour said. “The story was there for awhile, it was topical. We were wondering how we could have fun with with him and honor him at the same time.

“No matter what, the guy was a champ, we were just addressing something topical in a slap-on-the-back kind of way.”

In recent weeks, the Miracle have drawn national attention for some of their outrageous ideas, poking fun at sports and pop culture, including “Don’t Be a Bengal, Be a Good Citizen” night, which was held on June 14.

The NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, who have had 10 players arrested in the past 14 months, became the fodder for another night of comedy at Hammond Stadium.

Each staff member arrived at the ballpark with a single handcuff, paper bags were offered to fans for headgear and a local Chad Johnson impersonator threw out the first pitch, wearing a jersey with the name “Ocho Cinco” on the back.

“Some are just spontaneous,” Seymour said. “You come out, enjoy some great baseball, and in the meantime, you get a good laugh.”

On June 28, the Miracle are planning “Mike Tyson Ear Night,” in reference to the Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield heavyweight boxing fight that took place June 28, 1997.

The highly anticipated fight ended in bizarre fashion in the third round when Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield in the ear.

“We’ll be giving out ears to the first 1,000 fans. We have an ear decorating station if you want to put blood or a couple tattoos on them.” Seymour said.

“It’s the 10-year anniversary of that fight which was called, ‘The Sound and The Fury.’ We’ve earmarked that date.”