Osprey Float Promotion Named One of MiLB’s Best in Last Decade

I grew up a baseball fan and went to a lot of games when I was younger. The excitement was always about what promotion would be happening on gameday. Would it be some sort of savings on concessions......a hat that was a size too small......a cheap t-shirt? It always felt like you hit the jackpot when it was bobblehead day!

Living in Seattle and being a fan of the Mariners - they had a great promotion they would do yearly that involved shaving your head. Jay Buhner was one of the players and his bald head was part of his trademark look. They would hold Buhner Buzz Night once a year and everyone that would undergo a quick haircut on the lowest clipper setting would get in free. It might have been the first time I ever remember cutting my hair so short. I also remember getting home after the game and HEARING my mom before I could see her as I came through the door! She was two rooms away but was yelling "DID YOU SHAVE YOUR HEAD? YOU DIDN'T SHAVE YOUR HEAD, DID YOU?" Turns out she had seen the highlights of the promotion on the news that night and had put the pieces of the puzzle together, knowing I had gone to the game. Ah, good times!

When it comes to memorable baseball promotions, Missoula gets some serious points for creativity......and some deserved praise. A writer for MiLB.com has been taking trips down memory lane and revisiting buzzworthy promotions held by Minor League Baseball teams in the last 10 years. The project ended with a list of his 10 favorites from the last decade. The Missoula Osprey made the list with their "Float to the Ballpark" promotion in 2012.

The article describes the unique day of fun for fans:

"The majority of fans rely on cars to get them to the ballpark. Others bike or take public transportation, and a lucky few can even walk. But only one team has offered aquatic transport, and that team was the Rookie Advanced Osprey (fittingly now known as the Paddleheads). Approximately 75 fans signed up for the Float to the Ballpark experience, which entailed a leisurely two-hour raft trip on the Clark Fork River that ended at a boat launch located just 100 yards from Ogren Park's left-field foul pole."

Check out an article from 2012 with more details on the event.

Can the PaddleHeads cook up the next great promotion that will put them on the list for the next decade? We'll have to wait and see. But you can make sure you're there for every promotional event at Ogren Park - Season Tickets and Membership Plans (flexible tickets) are available now for the 2021 season.