Thanks in part to a new campaign by John Oliver of HBO's "Last Week Tonight," Yankees have had some unusual fans cheering for them from behind home plate so far this season. Two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, two turquoise unicorns and two Left Sharks, originally from Katy Perry's Super Bowl halftime performance have sat in premium seats provided by Oliver.
A couple Ninja Turtles are in premium seats at Yankees game, and I think it's all thanks to @iamjohnoliver. pic.twitter.com/hWUY6SniTl
On Sunday's show, Oliver dedicated a few minutes to addressing comments Yankees COO Lon Trost made back in February, when the team instituted a new policy preventing tickets from being sold for less than an established minimum price. At the time, Trost defended ticket holders who pay full price for premium tickets, asserting they get frustrated when fans who paid substantially less sit in the same section.
“And quite frankly,” he continued, stoking the flames of egalitarian-minded Twitter users, “the fan may be someone who has never sat in a premium location. So that’s a frustration to our existing fan base.”
Taking that as a challenge, "Last Week Tonight" snapped up two tickets to each of the Yankees’ first three home games for seats right behind home plate and offered to sell them for a quarter — vastly cheaper than their per seat price — to baseball aficionados who'd dress, as Oliver put it, “like [they had] never sat in a premium location before."
Viewers tweeted pictures of what they'd wear with the hashtag #IHaveNeverSatInAPremiumLocation, beasts of three different kinds winning tickets to Opening Day and the Yankees' second home game.
Who's going to Yankee Stadium tonight? The contest is now closed, but we think these New Yorkers who threw their hats into the ring are strong contenders: