Having A Little Fun

The image above, tweeted out by the Winnipeg Goldeyes, features the Goldeyes players in a promotional uniform as the American Association team winds down the season. The Goldeyes find themselves 8.5 games back of the wild card spot with eight games to play thanks to the Laredo Lemurs winning on Sunday night, so tonight's game against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks carried no pressure for the Goldeyes as their playoff dreams are over. Instead, it allows the Goldeyes to have a little fun, enjoy these promotions, and try to feed off the hockey-hungry city of Winnipeg for a few more weeks.

I'm generally against cross-sport promotions when it comes to a team celebrating another team, but the Goldeyes aren't celebrating the Jets. They legitimately hockey-fied themselves for the game with these uniforms. TV numbers on the sleeves, hockey stripes at the bottom of the jersey, and a fun logo that is a little different than the same Goldeyes logo used every day make these uniforms unique to the Goldeyes for their promotion. There are, however, some issues.

First, don't tuck. Ever. Hockey jerseys aren't meant to be tucked at all unless you're Gretzky or Ovechkin, and the look created by the players above eliminates those glorious hem stripes. If there are hem stripes, the hockey jersey stays untucked to display said stripes. However, being baseball there are dress code rules that the teams have to follow, and tucking in is one of those rules. This might be why a "hockey night" on the ball diamond isn't the best of ideas.

Otherwise, the uniforms look pretty good. The white really pops against the green field - yet another reason more hockey teams should wear green - and the Goldeyes wore the uniforms well on Hockey Night at Shaw Park. The baseball, however, was a different story as the RedHawks pummeled the Goldeyes into submission with 17 hits leading to a 9-2 victory. In other words, not a hockey score unless the word "blowout" was written on the whiteboard in the Goldeyes' dressing room. At 43-50, the Goldeyes have to win out in their remaining seven games to finish .500. Not good.

If there's one thing the Goldeyes do well, though, it's their promotional uniforms. Their recent Bacon Night was a hit, and tonight's Hockey Night looked pretty solid as well. While the 5810 people in attendance didn't go home with a smile, they did get to see two of their hockey heroes toss the first pitch as Winnipeg Jets Chris Thorburn and Mark Stuart were on-hand for the ceremonial tosses! Apparently both found the plate with their throws as well!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!