West Michigan Celebrates Alien Cultures, Foreign Lands

June 30, 2011

Tonight is “Thrifty Thursday” in West Michigan, featuring a plethora of food and beverage discounts.  It is also “Space Alien Night.”

And judging by the looks of jersey the team is wearing, it looks like they might want  offer a special on hamburgers and Jim “Beam.”

“Space Alien Night” appears to be an ambitious endeavor, as the team has the following events planned:

Pregame interview with an alien…Video clips and music from famous alien movies…Inflatable Aliens decorating the ballpark and given away as prizes…Space alien jerseys for the team and alien costumes for the staff…Recreation of the mashed potato sculpture from Close Encounters of the Third Kind…A $5 reserved seat offer ($4.50 off the normal price) to anyone that lives on Jupiter Ave….Alien themed promotions on the field…An alien autopsy display…We will reveal the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything…Alien trivia.

I like that penultimate initiative, thrown in there like it’s no big deal: “We will reveal the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything.” Of course, the best way to advertise such a spectacular event is through a series of absurdist no-budget comedic vignettes.

The WhiteCaps are strong proponents of the absurd comedic video, as evidenced by this recent ad for “Japanese Baseball Night”:

Japanese Baseball Night was more than just a celebration of dubious b-movie dialogue that may or may not have been of Japanese origin in the first place. Promotions manager Brian Oropallo writes that

We served some hot dog sushi, played Japanese music and baseball highlights, had a Japanese announcer for the starting lineups and an inning of PA announcing and, as seen in the video, some animal mascots from Japanese league teams. The balloon launch was the highlight of the evening.

Ah, yes, seventh-inning stretch balloons. Just one of many, many, many things I have written about through the years. Here’s how it looked:

In closing, I once again urge you to send me your introspective mascot photos.  Since self-respect is an “alien” concept to me, I will continue to beg for them until I have attained at least 10.

benjamin.hill@mlb.com

twitter.com/bensbiz

Written by BensBiz Posted in Minor League Baseball, Promotions Tagged with absurdist vignettes, Aliens, booze, Japanese Baseball, Seventh-Inning Stretch Balloons, The Meaning of Life, theme jerseys, Theme Nights, Thrifty Thursday, West Michigan Whitecaps