One lucky fan will now get $10,000 thanks to UMBC win over Virginia
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Friday upset over top-seeded Virginia is having far-reaching ramifications.
Obviously, th pre-tournament favorite will not win the title.
Brackets around the country have been crumpled up and destroyed.
And for a short time, at least, sports fans around the world know that “Retrievers” are not just a breed of dog.
Oh, and thanks to a minor league baseball stunt, a lucky fan will be feeling the effects of the upset for a long time.
The St. Paul Saints, a member of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, announced before the tournament started that they’d give away $10,000 if a No. 16 seed took down a No. 1 seed.
All fans had to do if they wanted a chance to win was retweet the announcement, and they’d be entered in a drawing for the money — that is, if the upset ended up happening.
We don't have a billion dollars like @WarrenBuffett, but our GM @DerekSharrer has officially gone mad. The Saints will give away $10,000 if a 16 seed beats a 1 seed in #MarchMadness2018. All you have to do is retweet this to enter & we'll choose one winner if it happens.
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) March 12, 2018
The Saints had to figure this was a pretty safe publicity stunt. Unlike a half-court shot that could actually happen, no 16 seed had ever beat a number one seed in the NCAA tournament.
EVER.
So, the team was actually excited that nearly 15,000 fans retweeted its message.
“I tell you what: Watching that retweet ticker was like the Jerry Lewis telethon when I was a kid,” team general manager Derek Sharrer told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “The number just kept going up.”
Single-game tickets for the upcoming season were set to go on sale Saturday, so the more publicity, the better, right?
Sharrer didn’t think he’d be giving away $10,000 — and certainly not because a team like UMBC decided to shock the country.
“Absolutely crazy. I don’t even know if you’d call this a mid-major,” he said. “It’s a low-major going up and beating one of the blue bloods and a top seed. We can relate a little bit to those guys being the small team in a big market and we’re excited to pull a winner.”
Unlike the bettor who placed $800 on the game and won $16,000, there was no risk involved for fans who entered the Saints’ contest.
On Tuesday afternoon, the team will take to Facebook, Twitter and Periscope to announce the winner.
“This is one of the more rewarding payouts we’ve ever been involved with,” Sharrer said. “I look at this as it being very much in line with the Saints Way. This is the kid of fun we’ve always enjoyed having and providing for the fans.”
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