Tigers minor league team to host 'Millennial Night', give participation trophies
(WJBK) - In an attempt to try and get younger fans to a minor league baseball game, the Tigers affiliate in west Michigan is hosting a 'Millennial Night' complete with participation trophies and thank you notes!
Not really sure if the West Michigan Whitecaps are trying to be ironic or insulting but next week, the description for Millennial Night sure comes across as condescending. It starts with the participation trophies - and somehow gets worse.
Check it out:
"Altogas Thrifty Thursday with $2.00 20oz. beers, $2.00 hot dogs and $2.00 22 oz. Pepsi Products. Get a $5.00 reserved seat ticket when you show your college or military ID at the window."
Ok wait. That's a good deal! Just $5 to get in and two bucks for beers, hot dogs, and pop? That convinces Millennials and older generations to show up. But then....
"Take a break from "Netflix and Chill" and come to the ballpark for Millennial Night. Just for showing up, the first 1,000 fans will receive a FREE participation trophy. Test out your bottle-flipping mad skillz in-between innings with our Bottle Flipping Contest. Keep calm and dab on with our Dab Cam. Or sign the petition to ban the dab because that's what all the cool kids are doing. We'll be playing the Meme Team so be sure to watch the video board for all the memes that we could steal from Reddit. Enjoy free WiFi throughout the ballpark (even though we always offer that). Participate in both the best beard and best manbun contest, bonus points to those that have both! Because the bees are dying at an alarming rate, we'll also have a Save the Bees Station to learn more about how you can help. As if all of that wasn't enough for the generation with the highest expectations, we will also have a moment of silence for Vine (RIP *tears*)."
First off - hopefully they know what 'Netflix and Chill' means (it doesn't mean watch Netflix). Second - free trophy just to come to the game plus bottle-flipping contests, dab don't, memes on the video board, free WiFi, and Save the Bees Station? Did they just Google 'Millennial activities and interests' for this list?
Also - did they REALLY need to have a best beard and manbun contest? But hey - Millennials can take a joke and that price of tickets and concessions is still convincing.
Then the description gets 'serious':
"On a more serious note, we understand the struggles that Millennials have to go through. To show our appreciation for the generation that may not get the recognition they deserve, we will have selfie stations posted around the ballpark. Take a selfie at these different locations and post them on Instagram and tag the Whitecaps. The best selfies will be chosen during the 8th inning and will win:
- Lululemon Gift Card
- Netflix Gift Card
- Amazon Prime Gift Card for Textbooks
- And more!"
Oh good - selfie stations because they 'understand the struggles Millennials go though' and give the 'recognition Millennials deserve'. That's not condescending at all. But hey - gift cards are sweet!
The team will also give out a free loaf of bread and thank you notes as people leave the game. The thank you cards are "because you deserve to be thanked for making recycling cool again!"
All told, it could be worse for Millennials at Whitecaps games. They could be offering nap stations and avocados like Tampa Bay's double A team in Alabama.