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Timber Rattlers Baseball Celebrates UP Connection
 APPLETON, Wis.---The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball team held a special promotion over the weekend in an effort to expand its Upper Peninsula fan base. The team is an affiliate of the Miwaukee Brewers, playing its games in Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton. And Saturday was Yooper Day, where people from the U-P could get a ticket and a specially-designed T-Shirt for $20.  "We have probably over 1,500 people from the U.P., or who were originally from the U.P., come out for the game," Zerjav said. "We had about 400 people sign up in advance, so we knew we were going to be around 400 or 500. But to have over a thousand, 15-hundred people come out for the game, it was great." He noted that Appleton is a much easier drive for U.P. baseball fans than to drive to Milwaukee or Detroit to see a professional game. "This is pretty much as close as it gets," Zerjav said. "So, we do take a lot of pride. Our reading program extends up into the U.P., so we're really trying to expand the fan base there. We've tried the last handful to five years, and this year, the Yooper Day idea came up, and I really think that's going to help the whole process." The 1,500 Yoopers who showed up for Saturday’s game wasn’t the only U-P presence at Fox Cities Stadium. Girl Scouts were the honored guests at Sunday’s game, and Carney Rodeo Showdown Princess Mattie Prestin of Cedar River threw out the first pitch. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to hear our full interview with the team president, and see pictures.  |
