Sleepover @ the Cell [long rant]

[CaptainJinks]

Last year, my brother and I attended the sleepover@Comiskey. For $250 each we had one of the greatest Sox-themed weekends ever! It went something like this:

Saturday, June 8th:

Noon - 4:30 pm arrive at ballpark, park in special reserved area, tailgate/play catch/visit with other arriving sleepover guests

4:30 pm check in at gate #1 with sleeping bags, knapsacks, pillows, cameras, balls + glove

5:00 pm welcome reception and orientation @ Conference and Learning Center

6:00 pm Sox vs. Expos

9:00 pm post game FIREWORKS

9:30 pm escorted to patio area for post-game reception and White Sox Charities auction. Free beer, wine, soda and games for the kiddies while grounds crew readied the field for us

10:30 pm head out onto the field.... stake out a spot in left-center, unroll sleeping bags, take off shoes, and play more catch - giggling like schoolgirls at the thrill of it all! get free souvenir photos taken, watch our names scroll by on scoreboard, refill our beers, check out bullpens, dugouts, batter's box etc...

11:30 pm free Connies Pizza, other snacks and more beverages served, prepare for midnight movie, meet Roland Hemond (completely decked out in a 'Mr. Sandman' costume)

Midnight Field of Dreams shown on Jumbotron , followed with a video goodnight message from Jerry Manuel and the Sox players.

Sunday, June 9th:

6:30 am Reveille! Everyone off the field by 7:00 so grounds crew can prepare for game

7:00 - 9:00 am breakfast in Bullpen Sports Bar, meet and greet Bill Melton, Moose Skowron and Carlos May

9:00 - 10:30 am workout and instruction @ Sox Fundamentals, play more catch, stretch out and snooze in the sun.

11:00- 11:30 am line up for early access to Kid's Day autograph lines (I got Konerko, Biddle, Graffanino, Clayton, Durham, Manuel, Wunsch & Lofton)

11:30 am gates open to the public, more napping and lazing about until 1:05 game time.

4:30 pm head home happy, can't wait till next year to do it again!



Now, for the rant: I got an invitation the other day for this year's sleepover. What's new for this year? The event is being held while the team is out of town! You can show up to watch the Sat night game on the Jumbotron, followed by the pizza and midnight movie. Sunday, breakfast with "former Sox All-Stars" and then the bum's rush out of the park, I guess.

I know that there were some complaints about the noise made by the cleanup crew's leaf blowers in the stands all night long, but the people who complained about being kept awake all night were (for the most part) people to whom the idea of "roughing it" meant having to use a public restroom not attached to their luxury suite. Arrangements were made for those who didn't wish to sleep on the field to sleep indoors (a couple of folks even asked to go home overnight and return in the morning). LOSERS!

I realize that at $250, this event is not for everyone - heck, my brother and I had to beg, borrow, and steal to afford tickets. What mental midget in the marketing dept. decided to RUIN this promotion by taking the baseball games and autographs out of the picture? What we were hoping to make a Sox fan family tradition father/son baseball event is now going to turn out to be a glorified charity dinner/auction for uppity yuppies who wouldn't know Moose Skowron and Carlos May from Bullwinkle and Rocky.

Sorry, Gallas & Co, we won't be back this year. We'll never forget the awesome time we had at the inaugural sleepover. Remember that most people spending their hard-earned dollars at a ballpark prefer to see live baseball games and have a chance to meet their favorite players. It's these people (sometimes referred to as baseball fans) that have kept the game alive and folks like you employed. Keep delivering less product for more money. Keep shifting the focus of your marketing away from the love of the team and the game of baseball and more towards the game of competing for the public's "entertainment dollars". Keep alienating the fans and see how long it takes before America's Pastime completely self-destructs.

[steff]

Captain... why not forward your post/letter to the Sox? I know for a fact that while last years events was a success, there were a LOT of complaints about how things could have/should have been done differently. I'm guessing not too many sent praise (likely didn't think it was necessary). But you know those that were ticked about something were on the phone before the game ended the next day. A lot of things the Sox do gets dissected and hardly none of the good stuff made an issue of. Maybe your letter will make a difference? Try it.

[MHOUSE]

Yeah send it in. Sounds like this year will suck. I thought it was a great idea and would become a tradition of sorts but sounds like now it's a sleepover in an empty park. Doesn't make a lot of sense. But send in your letter.

[whitesoxwilkes]

Originally posted by CaptainJinks
What we were hoping to make a Sox fan family tradition father/son baseball event is now going to turn out to be a glorified charity dinner/auction for uppity yuppies who wouldn't know Moose Skowron and Carlos May from Bullwinkle and Rocky.



Ummm....I'm fairly Yuppified and recognized both of them right away when thay walked into the bullpen bar at the sleepover last year. There is no need for class warfare on the boards. :)

[doublem23]

Sounds like a blast... I can waste enough money to go to like 13 games just for a night in an empty stadium.

By the way... You're stuck in Peoria, too? I thought I was the only one.

[steff]

Umm.. not to get nit pickey here.. but aside from the other attendees, the stadium IS empty during the "sleep over".. :D:

[Juan Pizarro]

I heard someone from the club talk about this on the radio with Farmio and it sounded like it was too much to handle logistically while also getting the games and Kids' Day together.

I work in promotions, and it does sound like a headache to juggle all those happenings in such short order. I'm not saying the new way is a good idea, just that I can understand why they did it, took a step back and said, "Whoa!"

[Hangar18]

Wait a second. Did I just read this right? One of the more Novel Baseball Promotions in History, the Sox have yet again Figured out a Way to Ruin it? Are You Kidding Me? Theyre having it when the SOX are out of town? I dont know....Sounds Like a Bad Idea. Would be cool to I guess if the Sox are on the West Coast, that way, the game would be on Late, around 9:30pm followed by a midnite Movie. But the more I think about it, they Dropped The Ball Again on this one. how do they mess things up like this??

[mike squires]

Originally posted by Juan Pizarro
I heard someone from the club talk about this on the radio with Farmio and it sounded like it was too much to handle logistically while also getting the games and Kids' Day together.

I work in promotions, and it does sound like a headache to juggle all those happenings in such short order. I'm not saying the new way is a good idea, just that I can understand why they did it, took a step back and said, "Whoa!"


Headache? Too much too much to handle?!!!

This is the big leagues and it's supposed to be for the fans...right?

If promotions do their job right they should have more than one night of headaches a season.

I'm predicting next season they'll go back to the old way after low ticket sales this year...

[steff]

Originally posted by Hangar18
Wait a second. Did I just read this right? One of the more Novel Baseball Promotions in History, the Sox have yet again Figured out a Way to Ruin it? Are You Kidding Me? Theyre having it when the SOX are out of town? I dont know....Sounds Like a Bad Idea. Would be cool to I guess if the Sox are on the West Coast, that way, the game would be on Late, around 9:30pm followed by a midnite Movie. But the more I think about it, they Dropped The Ball Again on this one. how do they mess things up like this??



Waaa, waaa, waaaa, you're such a whiner :D:

By the way.. don't forget 6pm in the bar. Kris and I will be there getting bombed. :gulp: :gulp: :gulp:

Mike "thinks" we're keeping score.. hehehehehe!!

[whitesoxwilkes]

Originally posted by steff3603
Waaa, waaa, waaaa, you're such a whiner :D:

By the way.. don't forget 6pm in the bar. Kris and I will be there getting bombed. :gulp: :gulp: :gulp:

Mike "thinks" we're keeping score.. hehehehehe!!

Stef, if the integrity of my scorebook is in any way compromised, I am holding you responsible.

[Stoky44]

Originally posted by Juan Pizarro


I work in promotions, and it does sound like a headache to juggle all those happenings in such short order. I'm not saying the new way is a good idea, just that I can understand why they did it, took a step back and said, "Whoa!"

"Whoa" it is $250 a head. So what if it is a headache. THey are getting a lot from it, I know much of it was given to charities, but come on for 250 I think they can buy some aspirin.

[CaptainJinks]

Originally posted by steff3603
Captain... why not forward your post/letter to the Sox? I know for a fact that while last years events was a success, there were a LOT of complaints about how things could have/should have been done differently. I'm guessing not too many sent praise (likely didn't think it was necessary). But you know those that were ticked about something were on the phone before the game ended the next day. A lot of things the Sox do gets dissected and hardly none of the good stuff made an issue of. Maybe your letter will make a difference? Try it.

A point well-taken steff. Of course we were falling all over ourselves to tell everyone at the park (especially Christine Makowski and Nicole Arceneaux from Community Relations) what a great experience the sleepover was, but we should have both followed up with a quick letter or e-mail. Our bad.

I did consider sending my rant to the powers that be this morning after I composed and posted it here, but I assumed that if my letter had any merit, it would find its way into the appropriate hands.

originally posted by doublem23
By the way... You're stuck in Peoria, too? I thought I was the only one .

Heck doublem23, we're practically next-door neighbors! Drive around West Peoria until you find the house with the two SOX signs in the front yard. Come on over and catch a game on the big-screen. We might even let ya sit in the coveted 'old Comiskey' chair.

[duke of dorwood]

OK-have it when there's an off day the next day during a homestand. There would still be a game on the front end, players would be available-. The way its done now, I'd never pay 250.00 for that.

[BooBoosDaddy]

Yo Captain!

No need to be so hard on those eletist wussies that complained about the garbage blowers and probably ruined a once-great promotional idea. They would no doubt have something to complain about no matter what.

As I remember, I was DEAD TIRED by the end of the day from the VIP treatment, ballgame, beer, pizza, movie, fireworks, games of catch, and social interaction with other similarly excited fans. I fell asleep right away. The sound of the blowers droning was not disturbing...they really weren't that loud!

Sox marketing truly blew it this time! Meeting the players at the pre-game autograph session was something special. It's tough enough to get an autograph at a regular game, and impossible in an empty stadium.

BTW Captain...see you at Easter dinner!

Yer bro,

BooBoosDaddy

[Daver]

Originally posted by BooBoosDaddy



Hey welcome aboard! :redneck

[voodoochile]

Originally posted by BooBoosDaddy
Yo Captain!

No need to be so hard on those eletist wussies that complained about the garbage blowers and probably ruined a once-great promotional idea. They would no doubt have something to complain about no matter what.

As I remember, I was DEAD TIRED by the end of the day from the VIP treatment, ballgame, beer, pizza, movie, fireworks, games of catch, and social interaction with other similarly excited fans. I fell asleep right away. The sound of the blowers droning was not disturbing...they really weren't that loud!

Sox marketing truly blew it this time! Meeting the players at the pre-game autograph session was something special. It's tough enough to get an autograph at a regular game, and impossible in an empty stadium.

BTW Captain...see you at Easter dinner!

Yer bro,

BooBoosDaddy

Welcome Aboard! :)

Cute picture...