In the aftermath of the deadliest terror attack on American soil since September 11th, The Tampa Bay Rays are taking the initiative to help those affected by the tragedy.
While they are certainly not a team known for generating big crowds at their home games, the Tampa Bay Rays will take the field in front of a sold out crowd tonight, against the San Francisco Giants. Baseball, however, is not exactly the reason for the sudden attendance spike.
Less than a week removed from the unthinkable calamity, which saw suspected ISIS sympathizer, Omar Mateen, open fire on the patrons at a popular gay and lesbian nightclub in Orlando killing 49, a number with the grim potential to rise in the coming days, the Rays annual pride night comes at an quintessential time for a community profoundly affected in light of the latest cowardly attack.
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With Orlando of course being a city without a baseball team, and Tampa Bay, being geographically the closest city with a team, one would expect the Rays to be filled to capacity on this night. Seeing as they are, helps to restore any hope for humanity one might have left as a result of the latest, in what feels like an endless list of massacres. In an commendable effort to help, the Rays made the decision Tuesday morning to make all of the available seats for Friday nights game $5, with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to the families of the victims, via a gofundme.com/PulseVictimsFund, page.
When asked about the Rays rapidly selling out after the promotions announcement, Rays president Brian Auld commented:
"“We are grateful for and proud of the region’s response to our Pride Night dedication. In the wake of a terrible tragedy, and in a matter of hours, 40,000 people have chosen to come together, to stand side by side in a show of support for the victims, their families, the City of Orlando and the greater LGBT community. In this time of great sadness.”"
Aside from the donation of the discounted ticket sales, The proceeds from the 50/50 raffle will also go towards the relief effort. Additionally, the Rays will be hosting a blood drive pre-game. All of the willing donors will receive a OneBlood T-Shirt, along with a voucher for two tickets to any 2016 Rays regular-season game. Personally, I don’t believe you should have to create incentive to help a cause like this, but it is a generous offer by the Rays nonetheless.
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There is minimal grey area in sports. There are winners, and there are losers. One team will walk out of Tropicana Field on Friday night a winner, one a loser. I think its safe to say, though, with the efforts made by the public to buy every available ticket for Friday nights game, a win has already been secured.