You know you’ve hit the big time when they put your face on one of those bobblehead dolls. Penn State’s head football coach is definitely a high-profile public figure these days. As a result, the State College Spikes will be giving away Coach O’Brien bobbleheads later this summer.
The Spikes Promotion Manager, David Wells, says the team came up with the idea for an O’Brien bobblehead during a staff retreat. What happened when they approached O’Brien? “He loved the idea but did have two guidelines: he wanted to be wearing a baseball cap and did not want to be throwing a baseball,” says Wells.
Apparently, O’Brien is excited about being immortalized as a bobblehead. Wells says, “Coach also asked if he could get one before we pass them out to the general public.”
And the Spikes are excited as well. According to Wells, “We actually increased our standard 1,000 bobble head order to 1,500 because we think this is going to be such a big night!”
The Spikes promote all kinds of fan giveaways to attract crowds to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. This year, “Schedule & Car Magnet night” will mark the home opener on June 17. A Myrtle Beach Trip Giveaway will take place on July 21 and they’ll hand out Pink Rally Towels (for women) on August 3. But it’s the bobbleheads that seemingly get the most attention.
In addition to Bill O’Brien, three local baseball heroes will be honored. A bobblehead of Bellefonte High School grad Eric Milton will be available at the July 17 game. You can grab a bobblehead of Philipsburg-Osceola grad Matt Adams on July 31. And there’ll be a bobblehead tribute to State College High School graduate Stan Belinda on August 21.
O’Brien’s bobblehead is touted as the “headliner” meaning the football coach is the king — even in baseball territory. Bill’s bobblehead is apparently multi-tasking — in the photo you can see O’Brien is wearing a Spikes ball cap and his football headset at the same time. No surprise there as Penn State says O’Brien is way too busy meeting with players and working with his assistant coaches to comment on his new-found bobblehead fame.
The Spikes, the Class-A Short-Season affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, will play its home opener against the rival Williamsport Crosscutters. There will be 38 regular season home dates between June 17 and August 30. Click here to see the complete fan giveaway schedule.
