Minor league baseball teams are no strangers to hosting bizarre promotions. But the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, may have taken the cake for the most shameless for one just announced for next season.
Mark your calendars: April 26 we honor #MissUniverse2015 flub w/ "Runner-Up Night"
Details ➡ https://t.co/0kNxD9Ej3S pic.twitter.com/AtW2ZgzMlj— Frisco RoughRiders (@RidersBaseball) December 21, 2015
Remember earlier this week when Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner to the Miss Universe Pageant, accidently saying Miss Colombia was the winner instead of Miss Phillippines? The internet blew up and the video of Harvey’s flub instantly became viral with over 23 million hits. The RoughRiders see a trend and are jumping on, hosting a “Runner-Up Night.”
“Although it may appear that Miss Colombia has lost, she really has won,” said RoughRiders Executive Vice President and General Manager Jason Dambach. “In a world in which everyone competes to be first, we have decided to honor how special a second-place finish can be. It’s something to be proud of and celebrated.”
The RoughRiders says they’re going to invite Steve Harvey and Miss Colombia, aka Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo, to the event, also offering the latter a suite for the night and the chance to throw out the first pitch. No idea why she wouldn’t want to do that!
To keep with the theme, they’ve also invited other memorable runner-ups including Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, American Idol star Adam Lambert, vice president Al Gore and Darren McFadden, who twice finished second in Heisman Trophy voting. How much do you want to bet none of those people actually show up?
The RoughRiders have a bunch of other events planned for the occasion, including an in-park beauty pageant and having players appear on the video board wearing a sash, like they’re a contestant themselves.
“Runner-Up Night” is scheduled to take place April 26 at Frisco’s Dr. Pepper Ballpark, so don’t forget to save the date.