Fans' View

Fans’ View: Winner winner chicken dinner

Photo: Staci Klemmer

If you’re expecting a discussion about last Saturday’s game, stop now. Though it was a great win, I’m focusing on things I have some hope in winning, namely, Union contests.

I’m always up for sending in a photo or giving my info if its all towards getting something from the Union. And so far, I’ve been moderately successful.

Recently, the Atlantic Dairy Association ran a “Refuel with Chocolate Milk” promotion. Very simple premise: Take a picture drinking chocolate milk and tweet it with the hashtag #refuelwiththeu. Six entrants won and I was one of them. The prize was that we got to bring three people to a fitness and agility session on the field at PPL Park. Each group was run by a Union player, so my family got to “train” with Ray Gaddis, Jimmy McLaughlin, and Sebastian LeToux. We also got some goodies at the end and a photo op with the players.

While I found about the contest on Twitter, there is a “Current Contests” page on the Union website under the “Fans” tab. In fact, I just entered to win something from Acme. All I had to do was text a code to a number. I’ll let you know how I do.

Generally speaking, there are a few types of contests:

  1. You send a photo and have folks vote on it (Won a Union jersey a couple of years ago by sending in a photobomb pic and telling all my friends to vote for it.)
  2. You text a code to a sponsor (I have totally given up on the Independence Blue Cross one that has me texting a code on game day to win a meet and greet with a player.)
  3. You sign up for something (Two years ago, my husband entered via an email that the Union sent out advertising their soccer camps and we won a week of Union soccer camp. I signed up for a Horizon Services contest, didn’t win. Unless you count the phone calls I’m still getting from them as a victory.)

If you’re not in it for the stuff, you can always put your money down on the 50/50 game day. Usually I don’t have the greatest luck so I prefer games of chance that don’t cost money. However I will say that one of our tailgate buddies actually won in the beginning of the season.

And who are those folks at half time shooting goals and trying to kick a ball to the center of the Bimbo logo? A good friend of mine was one of the people shooting at targets set up in the net a few games ago. He won the opportunity because his father-in-law works for a sponsor and they often set up contests for their employees.

Finally, there are the loyalty point auctions. They’re not a true contest, but some chance is involved. I have used my points twice to try to accumulate more gear. The first time was when I went all in to get one of the original prototype jerseys with the Bimbo bear on the front. I won and will treasure that jersey forever. The following year, I saved in order to get one of the game worn jerseys at the end of the year. I was a wee bit optimistic as to how my point total stacked up to others; by the time I got the phone call, there were 8 players left, only one of which had seen any time on the pitch and/or was likely to be in blue the following year. Left with slim pickings, I took Aaron Wheeler.

Last year and again this year, I have decided to save my points. At the beginning of the season, the Union holds a special meet and greet with the players exclusively for season ticket holders with 3250 or more points per seat. A great time was had by all, in part because it was not a mad house — and in part because Fado throws a great party.

The moral of the story: You can’t win if you don’t get in the game, so tweet those photos and save those points!

3 Comments

  1. JermIsMyHomeboy says:

    I actually won one of the “VIP Fan Experiences”… after I moved to Georgia and couldn’t go to any more games.

  2. I won a $100 gift card a few years back, I think it was from a Horizon online entry.
    Also the Bud Lite challenge, but that only involved standing around the plaza before the game with a beer in my hand. My nephew won it at least 3 times, probably why they stopped doing it 🙂

  3. Great read Staci!

    You’re so right, when we played Everton, I wagered all four seats worth of priority points to get my son on the field as a ballkid. Totally worth it.

    Al Dia just tweeted me that I’ve won tickets to the game tomorrow because I’d retweeted them before. So, go follow Al Dia.

    Keep up the good work!!

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