It isn't often that sports and nerd interests collide, but St. Louis will play host to this weird Venn diagram Wednesday, Aug. 7, when the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate George Lucas' Star Wars saga with a game that may cast the visiting L.A. Dodgers as evil Sith lords.
Wait, scratch that. It'll be sports, nerd interests and pretty people, as Ashley Eckstein and her husband David will form the ceremonial first-pitch battery before the game. You may know Ashley as the voice of Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano from the Cartoon Network series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars as well as the force (or "Force?") behind chic-geek fashion empire Her Universe. Hubby is slightly less famous, having wielded only a bat instead of a lightsaber as a former Cardinals shortstop and 2006 World Series MVP.
The Cardinals' ticketing sales and marketing team still is finalizing details for the special evening at Busch Stadium, but they're already promising enough nerdy fire power to blow up Alderaan.
"Our hopes are to transform the ballpark into a complete Star Wars experience," says Megan Sommer, corporate sales and marketing for the Cardinals.
So far, Sommer says, fans at "Star Wars Night at Busch Stadium" can expect to take photos with members of the 501st Legion (a Star Wars costuming enthusiast group that features plenty of stormtroopers), listen to "pew pew" laser sounds and lightsaber hums, and watch Star Wars clips between innings, thanks to a licensing agreement with Lucasfilm. DailyRFT has its fingers crossed for "You're all clear, kid! Now let's blow this thing and go home!" when Mujica's mowin' 'em down during the ninth.
Tickets start at $25.80 and include a t-shirt featuring Fredbird and Darth Vader in a lightsaber battle. Fans also can purchase VIP tickets for a photo op with Ashley Eckstein and other goodies.
Star Wars night is just one of several theme nights the Cardinals are implementing this year. Others include hunting & fishing night (with promotional fishing lures or camouflage beanies!), "Christmas in July" (Santa Fredbird!) and Nelly night (Nelly bobblehead, yo!). The Force definitely is strong with this one, with no Trekkies in sight.
