After Hours in the T.O.

It's a busy time of year for our friends in the Ticket Office, what with Plans and Groups already on sale, and the season just a few months away. Yet somehow, the T.O. crew always seems unusually cool, calm, and collected.

And I want to know why.

Somewhere along the way, it hits me. They must be blowing off steam after hours to make up for the stressful days spent on the phones and at the windows. I ask them what their secret is, but no one wants to let me inside the inner circle. So, I decide it's time for a little investigative work.

Late one night, I followed a couple of them after work and much to my surprise, this is what I saw:

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Now that explains it! Nothing like a little breakin' to wash away all your worries.

Next time you call 718-37-BKLYN and wonder how they're all keeping it together in there, just remember what it's like after hours for the T.O.!

-- Dave

(Happy early April Fool's Day, guys!)

For the Birds

Sandy and Pee Wee are truly the faces of the Cyclones. Since the players changes every year -- and in some cases, every week -- the Brooklyn Birds are the team's one true constant, and therefore our most marketable identities.

That's why we're excited to announce a great opportunity for someone who wants to be the face behind the face, and spend a summer entertaining hundreds of thousands of fans inside one of the most popular costumes in Brooklyn.

It's no easy task. You have to have the right moves, the right personality, and the right tolerance for pain (those little kids can pack quite a punch below the belt!). Your headgear is top-heavy, your hips shake like jello and don't fit through most normal spaces, and your feet flop, shuffle, and trip you up at every turn (basically, you're Gary, but without the ability to talk).

But, if you have what it takes to soldier through the mascobstacles listed above, endless glory awaits you. Sure, they won't know your name, or know your face, but they'll remember that feeling the time they beat Sandy around the bases. Or the time Pee Wee gave them a foul (fowl?) ball. Your picture will be framed, your autograph will be priceless, and your impact will be felt around the borough.

So strap on those oversized shoes, start working on your dance moves, and figure out what it will take to thrill a Coney Island crowd. We're looking for the best of the best to take on the mantles of the Brooklyn Birds!

Read our official release and job description here.

-- Dave

Grub Wow

OK, by now, loyal readers know that I have an unhealthy obsession with the ShamWow commercial. I can't help it. Vince (the ShamWow guy) is hysterical (whether he means to be or not) and the product is great (or, at least, it seems like it is).

So...we talked it over a bit in the office, and thought, hey...we are (occasionally) hysterical, and we definitely have a great product. Why don't we do our own ShamWow infomercial? So, we put Tim (the Marty Scorsese of the minor leagues) on the case, and here's what we came up with:

Remember, we can't do this all day, so act now, and join the Grub Club today!

UPDATE: Yes, I know Vince ran into some trouble over the weekend. Bad timing...but it doesn't make his commercial any less funny!

-- Dave

At Home With...

One of our favorite journalists, Ben Hill from milb.com and Ben's Biz Blog (bookmark it, it's full of great stuff) recently checked in for some Cyclones info to be featured on the last installment of milb.com's At Home With... segment.

I think it turned out pretty well, even though Kevin M. just correctly pointed out that we are so cutting edge that my answer regarding the ways we use the internet is already outdated.

Check it out.

-- Dave

Putting the "twit" in Twitter

Kevin Mahoney is the Cyclones' Assistant GM. Today, he is also beefing up his resume as a guest blogger!

It has been mentioned several times in past blogs that this space is really Dave’s opportunity to make fun of other people on the staff, and get away with it by calling it work-related. My personal favorite is Steve looking a lot like Britney Spears. Now that the Cyclones are on Facebook, Dave also handles most of that and just the other day he started acting like Tweetie Bird, since we are also now on Twitter. I have no idea how he keeps it all straight. I mean, last night he tweeted from his phone at the HeartShare dinner to tell people that Paulie Walnuts was a scary guy and that the Seasoned Chickens were still clucking.

By now you are wondering what my point is…well, Dave is always looking for other people to write something for the blog. A while back, I took him up on his offer, but it never made it as a live post. My effort was upstaged by Milk Boy and Dave’s other opportunities to make fun of me. I've found ways to outsmart him, though...notice there is no photo of me in a sash!

Dave, since you are so busy updating our sites with important information like "Steve is looking for a restroom," do me a favor and post my blog.

Oh and by the way, Villanova will beat Duke tomorrow night. (editor's note: No. No, they will not.)

-- Kevin M.

Tweet ,Tweet

OK, the ball is fully rolling on our Twitter page. A little early snafu with our design, but I think we're back on track.

Yesterday, I got a crash course from our friend Carrie at the Kbuzz (who, incidentally, became a legend around the Cyclones hallways when she compared Steve to Eeyore and Britney Spears in the same meeting) on the best ways to use Twitter, so for the foreseeable future I'll be tweeting my days away, reaching out to fans from around the internet.

It's pretty crazy...I can take a look at what people are talking about, and if they mention the Cyclones, I can reach out and drop them a line. Fun stuff...and a great way to communicate quickly with a big group of people.

If you're a Cyclones fan, or a Twitter-head, or just want to tweet about Brooklyn, baseball, or anything else Cyclones-related, check us out on Twitter.

-- Dave

All Atwitter

Our latest foray into the wild world of 21st century technology has the Cyclones tweeting on Twitter, and has Steve all atwitter at the thought.

For those who don't know, Twitter is a "microblogging" site that allows you to post (or "tweet") quick messages and updates to anyone interested in hearing what you're up to. For the Cyclones, it'll be yet another way for us to communicate with our fans, and for our fans to provide feedback. (For those keeping score at home, there's brooklyncyclones.com, the Blog, Facebook, and now Twitter. We're going worldwide, baby!) Celebs like Shaq, Jessica Alba, and Ashton Kutcher have made their Twitter pages real destinations for breaking info, tweeting about almost anything they think their fans might be interested in, and doing it from almost anywhere, at any time.

We're jumping on the bandwagon, too, so follow us on Twitter for even more wackiness from Brooklyn's favorite team.

This internet thing is going to be huge...we should, like, get a website or something.

-- Dave

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Sure and begorrah, everyone's a little Irish today, and the Cyclones would like to wish a very happy St. Patrick's Day to all. From the Emerald Isle to Coney Isle, may the luck of the Irish shine down upon you today, and may there be a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow. Erin Go Bragh!

Don't forget to check out our Irish Heritage ticket special on Facebook, or to cheer on our very own Grand Poobah Deputy Marshall of the Bay Ridge St. Patrick's Day Parade this Sunday -- Kevin Mahoney! (pictured...he's the one in the middle)

-- Dave

Facebook Fans

If you're not a Cyclones Facbeook Fan yet, what are you waiting for? Starting today, we've made a limited number of tickets to the most high-demand game of the year available exclusively for our Facebook fans!

It's free, it's easy, and it's fun. Just click here to join the action and take advantage of today's special deal!

-- Dave

Baseball Bachelor Party

As I am writing this blog entry (which, as per usual, will be a poorly disguised attempt at selling tickets), Steve is currently feeling a little salty towards me. This is because, during the middle of the busy ticket sales period, I recently took time off to fly to California to attend my sister’s bachelorette party at the Big Bear ski resort.

In my defense, I was thinking of work the whole time we were snowboarding/ hot-tubbing/ eating, drinking and being merry. What I noticed during the party was that all of my sister’s friends had extremely different backgrounds, but were all there in unison in a show of support and to shower her with attention before sending her off to the endless dark abyss that we fondly call marriage.* And, as usual, my mind functioned along tangential lines of logic and immediately wandered to the new Bachelor Party concept the Cyclones have developed for our Luxury Suites.

We basically thought of two main elements of a bachelor party: the opportunity to gather with friends (drink responsibly) and to make the man of the hour the center of attention, whether that spotlight is actually wanted or otherwise. To that end, our bachelor party includes a first pitch for the groom-to-be, a personalized Cyclones jersey (embarrassing nicknames are encouraged), an all-inclusive alcohol package with ballpark fare, and a special PA announcement with a submitted photo for the video board (again, clean but embarrassing is what we’re going for). The total price for 22 people for the night is $2,250. This leaves more than enough in the wallet for any late-night bachelor party activities, which I understand from my male friends involves drinking tea, watching documentaries on the aborigines of New Guinea, and discussing the current socioeconomic climates of the member countries of NAFTA.

And, of course, if you want to hold a bachelorette party in our suites, you’re more than welcome, girls (we already supply plenty of guys in tight uniforms).

A Luxury Suite at KeySpan Park is the perfect spot for a party. It’s affordable, it’s fun, it’s got a great view of great baseball, and it’s in the heart of Coney Island during the summer. Can you imagine a better way to kick off a big night than with baseball, a roller coaster, a freak show, carnival prizes, and Brooklyn’s most famous hot dogs?

That’s it. That’s my sales pitch. If that doesn’t entice you, nothing will (except maybe the horribly inappropriate campaign that was thankfully dubbed unsuitable for publication, and will probably get me fired for even bringing it up again: “Throw a Bachelor Party with the Cyclones, and hit for the cycle! Drink triple. See double. Act single. The Home Run is up to you.”)

If you want to book a Bachelor Party, call me (now there’s a line I never thought I’d say while I was taking SAT prep classes, piano lessons, and parent-enforced road trips to Harvard and MIT to “get acclimated with the campus”) at 718-37-BKLYN or email me at joyce@brooklyncyclones.com

-- Joyce

* Portions of this blog entry may or may not have been edited by Dave

Take Your Base (June 21st)

A few years back, the Cyclones began an effort called Take Your Base to help raise awareness and money for cancer support and cancer research, in a partnership with the American Cancer Society. The event began as a 5k walk along the famed Coney Island boardwalk ("Take Your Base," "walk," get it? Get it?) and has since become a run/walk, opening itself up to a whole new group of athletes.

Take Your base (TYB) has grown each year, and has -- in its brief four year history -- raised over $70,000 for the American Cancer Society. This year, the TYB event takes place on June 21st, and you can sign up or donate now!

Whether you walk (or run) for yourself, to remember someone you've lost, to support someone who's struggling, or just to bond with others fighting for a common goal, TYB is a fun event for a worthy cause, and a great way to kick off the summer.

Our players and coaches walk alongside the participants, and it's great to see the impact the stories of survivors, friends, and family of those who battle cancer make on the young men wearing the Brooklyn uniform.

Join us on June 21st for the fifth annual edition of Take Your Base, and take your place in the fight against cancer!

For more information, you can also contact Elizabeth Lombardi or Sharon Lundy-Ross, who head up the TYB initiative.

-- Dave

Blarney Rubble

On Saturday, Kevin Mahoney was officially named a deputy in the Bay Ridge St. Patrick's Day Parade, and was honored as part of a dinner at the Dyker Beach Golf Club.

I walked into the cocktail hour and was pleasantly surprised (and utterly shocked) to see Kevin wearing a Miss America-styled sash made of bright, shiny green, orange and white cloth. Knowing how much Kevin loved the attention and the idea of wearing the aforementioned sash, my colleagues and I made a pact to stay low-key, avoid creating a spectacle, and treat the entire event with the utmost reverence.

As a deputy (and that, by the way, is the official title...not "Grand Poobah," as Steve was referring to him all night), Kevin was called to the center of the room, introduced (not only as the AGM of the Cyclones, but as the North American record-holder for consecutive innings/hours pitched), and then forced to stand in place for approximately 37 hours worth of speeches, step dancing, speeches, river dancing, speeches, bagpipers, and speeches. At one point, I think he lost consciousness.

In all honesty, though, it was a great night, and the parade will, of course, be incredibly fun. I grew up in Bay Ridge, and the St. Patty's Parade is a tradition not to be missed!

And although he's usually not too keen on having his picture taken (think Sean Penn vs. the paparazzi...on steroids), on this one night, at least, Kevin was in a great mood -- and I even have the picture to prove it!

See you at the parade (if Kevin doesn't kill me first)!

-- Dave