The Major Little League

April 7, 2008 1:34 PM

Improv Everywhere turned a little league baseball game into a major league event. Jumbotron & all.

Improv Everywhere has been linked on MeFi before.

posted by prefpara (92 comments total)

Good to see them not using their powers for evil.

That was pretty awesome.
posted by seanyboy at 1:43 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

Best prank *evar*. These guys are my new heroes.
posted by pjern at 1:44 PM on April 7

Wow, that is great.
posted by Ohdemah at 1:44 PM on April 7

Just coming here to post this. I love that they first had the crazy fans, then the Jumbotron, then an actual announcer from NBC, then the frikkin Goodyear Blimp.

Great work, IE. I'll have to try to participate in one of your missions sometime.
posted by flatluigi at 1:45 PM on April 7

Pretty awesome really...they got the F-ing Goodyear Blimp out there?
posted by schyler523 at 1:45 PM on April 7

I like that I get a notification via Metafilter everytime they do something.
posted by jeffamaphone at 1:45 PM on April 7 [2 favorites]

This made me happier. +1 would click again
posted by sonic meat machine at 1:46 PM on April 7

This is totally awesome.
_{disclaimer: I have met nearly all the agents involved in real life and may be biased towards them}
posted by infinitewindow at 1:46 PM on April 7

I think this was one of their better missions in that it didn't just confuse the bystanders, but was also a really nice thing to do for the children and parents. Reminds me in a way of this, when Make a Wish Foundation allowed a child to experience being president for the day.

The Jumbotron and the blimp? Awesome details.
posted by djgh at 1:47 PM on April 7

I was kind of surprised when I read this one and the mall musical one, probably because I hadn't checked them out in a long time and I was used to them doing things that felt a little different; I think it was the scale of the events and the cooperation of management/others to pull these off. Huge efforts such as this have a slightly different feel than just pulling off random things that no one was in on, but I suppose it allows for a lot more possibilities.

This must have been an absolutely fantastic and surreal day for the teams. Definitely awesome.
posted by Stunt at 1:47 PM on April 7

I'd heard these guys had filmed a pilot, so when I saw NBC and the Goodyear f-ing blimp was involved I figured this was for their TV show. But then the FAQ says the pilot didn't get picked up. So how on earth did these guys manage to convince all these people to pony up the blimp and the Jumbotron and the announcer and...

As usual, though, funny stunt—and pretty awesome for the kids and parents involved, too.
posted by chrominance at 1:49 PM on April 7

Those kids will never forget that game. This made my afternoon.
posted by YFiB at 1:50 PM on April 7

Don't forget their Food Court Musical:

We’ve had tons of ideas emailed to us over the years. Out of all of them, one stands out as the absolute most suggested: “You know how it’s weird in musicals that people just break out into song for no reason? You guys should stage a musical like that in a public place.” We’ve probably gotten over 100 emails just like that. Well, we finally decided it was time to make it happen.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:53 PM on April 7

Friggin' sweet.

Love the reactions of the kids!
posted by BobFrapples at 1:54 PM on April 7

I'm pretty tepid on a bunch of IE's stuff, but this was pretty great.
posted by boo_radley at 1:54 PM on April 7

But then the FAQ says the pilot didn't get picked up.

Maybe they're just slowly releasing the stuff from the pilot? I doubt it was just one mission. The Grand Central one was also part of the pilot, I believe.
posted by smackfu at 1:54 PM on April 7

This is what MeFi is all about. Thank you. This post is so densely packed with awesome.
posted by not_on_display at 1:55 PM on April 7

I cried here at work reading that. Fantastic.
posted by infinityjinx at 1:56 PM on April 7

Fantastic! I got goose-bumps when they showed the blimp moving toward the field. A day those kids, their friends and families will never forget.
posted by ericb at 1:57 PM on April 7

Yeah but who won the frickin' game!?!

Get me all jacked up and then nothin'.
posted by paddysat at 1:58 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

Ah, yes:

We actually have been executing missions, but they’ve been for the new NBC “Improv Everywhere” pilot we’re producing. ... Thanks to all New York and Los Angeles Agents who helped us out with the pilot missions - it was a blast to do.

posted by smackfu at 1:58 PM on April 7

That's so great.
posted by maxwelton at 1:58 PM on April 7

Kidding! I cried with happiness watching that.
posted by paddysat at 1:58 PM on April 7

This is pretty much fantastic, +1 to the general good vibe fuzziness going on.
posted by asterisk at 1:59 PM on April 7

The Goodyear blimp has a base that's not very far from Hermosa Beach. Which by no means denegrates this totally awesome accomplishment.
posted by Slothrup at 2:00 PM on April 7

Ah, the NBC Sports connection is explained then.

fwiw, the airship's base is like 10 miles away. . .
posted by tachikaze at 2:00 PM on April 7

The Goodyear blimp has a base that's not very far from Hermosa Beach.

Doh! I just noticed that they mention this on the site. Sorry for the redundancy :(.
posted by Slothrup at 2:04 PM on April 7

Yeah but who won the frickin' game!?!

That, and I can't find a box score. Tell me I didn't take TNT in the eighth round of my fantasy draft as a sleeper for nothing!
posted by Ufez Jones at 2:05 PM on April 7 [5 favorites]

I was all set to snark at another Improv Everywhere post, but this brought tears to my eyes. This is TEH AWESUM.
posted by desjardins at 2:07 PM on April 7

Wow. I think this makes me like them again.
posted by 23skidoo at 2:07 PM on April 7

That was wonderful!
posted by amyms at 2:07 PM on April 7

The younger brothers and sisters of the players on the field had a great time interacting with our mascots, although some Lugnut fans got a little violent with the Mudcat bear– chasing and hitting him repeatedly.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR YOUTH? WILL VIOLENCE DESTROY LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL? FILM AT 11!

That was great. Made my day. Thanks, prefpara!
posted by languagehat at 2:08 PM on April 7

Very cute, I approve.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:11 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

But then the FAQ says the pilot didn't get picked up.
Maybe they're just slowly releasing the stuff from the pilot?

I was still thinking about the blimp when I read that.
posted by hal9k at 2:11 PM on April 7 [4 favorites]

warm fuzzies all around!
posted by kitkatcathy at 2:12 PM on April 7

Awesome stunt to pull...kind of a reverse on all the "cruel" hidden camera pranks that have been done for years.
posted by never used baby shoes at 2:22 PM on April 7 [2 favorites]

I liked it but am a bit baffled by them having all the high end stuff and then the stands being empty. When I read the initial description I just assumed they were gonna bring a couple hundred agents to cheer. They brought like 30. Weird.
posted by dobbs at 2:24 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

This is Punkd's antimatter, which means it's great and not shit.
posted by aerotive at 2:32 PM on April 7 [4 favorites]

It's like a big-budget version of Best Gig Ever, except about a TV-friendly little league game.
posted by mattbucher at 2:33 PM on April 7

Yeah but who won the frickin' game!?!

From the looks of it, everyone involved.

As someone who really doesn't enjoy sports in general, and baseball in particular, I have to day, that this would have been a fantastic event to attend. Just to see the reactions of everyone as the next big unexpected thing rolled up.

Getting the Goodyear Blimp was an inspired idea.
posted by quin at 2:38 PM on April 7

Go, Team!
posted by inconsequentialist at 2:38 PM on April 7

This made me smile. It is nice to see that IE isn't just into freaking people out.
posted by doctor_negative at 2:41 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

Delightful!
Great find, pref!
posted by Dizzy at 2:47 PM on April 7

I'm glad we don't know who won the game. About the only negative aspect here is that half of these kids suddenly had to lose the surreally hyped phenomenon.
posted by gurple at 2:56 PM on April 7

Ah, so that's what the goodness of humanity looks like.

A++++ WOULD CLICK AGAIN!!!!1
posted by butterstick at 3:08 PM on April 7

Speaking as a member of the Grounds Crew (swept the field between every inning, replaced the bases in the fourth), and a member of the crack journalistic squad at the post-game press conference, this was one of the best things I've ever done.

And those kids were SO F'ing STOKED.
posted by YoungAmerican at 3:11 PM on April 7 [3 favorites]

The jumbotron and blimp, cool. The fake fans, not so much. Though, it doesn't look like it bothered the kids. If this had happen in my little league days, I would have thought the fans weird and kind of strange.
posted by Atreides at 3:11 PM on April 7

Oh, and yeah, this was originally filmed for the NBC pilot (hence the participation of Jim Gray), but the pilot didn't go to series. Since it was network, they (we, only I was only involved in execution, not planning at all) were looking for stuff that was indeed bigger in scale -- things IE could only do if they had the resources of network TV behind them.
posted by YoungAmerican at 3:12 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

That is the neatest thing I've seen all week. What a fantastic idea!
posted by LeeJay at 3:26 PM on April 7

YoungAmerican, can you comment as to whether it was hard for the "losing" team? (gurple was not alone in concern for whether the "losing" team would feel extra bad for losing on the jumbotron)

Or was everyone pretty much stoked regardless of the score?
posted by CitizenD at 3:26 PM on April 7

Every was really, really stoked. Super, super stoked. Like jumping up and down and laughing.

And the little brothers (and some sisters) did spend a few innings beating up the mascots, though I'm not sure if they discriminated between them. That was pretty hilarious.

And yes, they thought we were strange, but that the whole thing was the greatest thing ever.
posted by YoungAmerican at 3:32 PM on April 7 [3 favorites]

Wow. Improv Everywhere has hit the big time to get NBC and the blimp people involved in this.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:51 PM on April 7

What I love about this one is the build, the programs, the fans, the peanuts, the mascots, the hidden JUMBOTRON! THE ANNOUNCERS! THE BLIMP! Whaa!!
posted by cockeyed at 3:51 PM on April 7

That was awesome.

Perhaps I should root for the Mudcats or the Lugnuts this year, instead of the Giants...
posted by rtha at 4:00 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

I... I wanted to be annoyed that there was another Improv Everywhere post up, because it seems like we get one every other week, but this made me smile. And get a little teary-eyed. I mean, did you see that kid dancing in the dugout? C'mon!

God, that rocked. Thanks. I am hereby ashamed of that pre-emptive urge to disapprove.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 4:01 PM on April 7

I used to love baseball. Then it got waaaay too money-rific for me. It went too far from the community.

This...this is everything wonderful about baseball AND comedy. I love this. I love this with all of my black, cynical little heart.

It made me want to be an Agent. If I can help put a look of glee on someone's face like those in the pics from this outing, it would be worth any level of effort.
posted by batmonkey at 4:11 PM on April 7

This is the sort of thing I'd do with my time if I were a Crazy Billionaire. Awesome.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:32 PM on April 7

This is tear to the eye awesomeness.

Major ::bow:: props!
posted by PhiBetaKappa at 4:49 PM on April 7

absolutely beautiful.
posted by subaruwrx at 5:18 PM on April 7

This is the greatest thing that has the word "Improv" in it that has ever been done.

OK, that's not saying much, but this was really, really awesome.
posted by dirigibleman at 5:33 PM on April 7

I fully support my taxpayer dollars being used to commission random acts of heartwarming awesome. I'm sending this to my congress-dude.

Also, I hope IE sends the "NBC" footage to all the player's families, otherwise NO ONE in Mrs. Johnston's homeroom is going to believe this, even through, it totally really happened, you guys, honest hope-to-die, seriously.
posted by krippledkonscious at 5:51 PM on April 7

What happened at the kids' next game when the TV crew, the jumbotron, the blimp and raving fans were gone? TAL discussed the "Best Gig Ever" skit from both sides. The band was not as amused as the EI folks thought they would be. How did the kids feel about it?
posted by humanfont at 6:08 PM on April 7

It seems like such an obvious pickup for at least a cable channel
posted by Megafly at 6:27 PM on April 7

Humanfont: Again, I was there. Unless the kids were all putting on an act every bit as elaborate as IE's, the kids fucking loved it.
posted by YoungAmerican at 6:33 PM on April 7

I think the difference between the Best Gig Ever skit is that the band members were convinced that people had come and shown an incredible appreciation for something they had centered their lives around. For the kids, they're centering their enjoyment around baseball, not the presence of the jumbotron, etc...etc. More so, from the start, it was pretty obvious that it was something out of the ordinary, where as the band members were led to believe that these were just people who had chosen to show up at the show. On retrospect for the band, it might have been obvious that it was somewhat odd that that many people had shown up with such dedication to their play book, but it wasn't any where near as up front and obvious as what happened for the kiddos.
posted by Atreides at 6:34 PM on April 7

Megafly: I'm pretty sure it was not taken up. Lame, 'cause I was in the Grand Central one, pretty prominently.
posted by Mach5 at 7:15 PM on April 7

This is the sort of thing I'd do with my time if I were a Crazy Billionaire. Awesome.

I did not see any crazy bilionaires
posted by longsleeves at 7:21 PM on April 7

I thought this would be a boring re-do of the best gig ever prank they did in NYC but oh man, by the time I got to the end of this I was teary eyed.
posted by mathowie at 7:52 PM on April 7

I wasn't going to admit that I got weepy when the blimp showed up, but since you all wussed out too, I can. I thought maybe I was borderline depressed or something, but I guess not. This post is a snark killer.
posted by mecran01 at 8:18 PM on April 7

This was the most astonishing thing I have ever seen on the Internet. I am a changed man, dehydrated from an evening of weeping.

Hah proved you wrong mecran
posted by sixswitch at 8:51 PM on April 7

What made Improv Everywhere good was that their pranks were genuine interventions that brought into question everyday practices in a given space. If the pranks were inspirational, or magical, or whatever, it was only because they were, at their core, kind of scary. They walked the tightrope between creating a sense of the sublime and a sense of unease.

These latest pranks, though—this baseball game, and the Mall musical—are milquetoast acts of suburban public theatre, and the only unease they create comes from the sense that IE is mocking people for being banal. The kids don't come away with a feeling that anything is possible, and that rules can and should be challenged. Instead, there's a vague sense that this unusual event happened to them only because they were so laughably commonplace to begin with, and that other people found it amusing to juxtapose their commonplace lives with a grand and implausible theatrical gesture.

I dunno, give me Cell Phone Symphony, give me Look Up More, give me Surprise! I'm almost happy that Improv Everywhere's pilot didn't go through, since their low-budget pranks are a hundred times more thoughtful and challenging than the NBC-produced stuff.
posted by aparrish at 9:05 PM on April 7 [9 favorites]

I'm not as negative about this as aparrish, but I was completely unsurprised when it turned out that NBC was making a pilot. It didn't make sense otherwise. While I was watching it I was thinking about the reactions of the parents, and my first thought was that Improv Everywhere's missions were starting to impinge on the territory of reality television. So when people saw the Jumbotron and the Blimp they were probably thinking "Oh, we're on TV for some reason. Is somebody's career on the skids?"

So, yeah, while I'm sure it was fun for the kids it didn't have the "flash crowd" spontaneity that marked their less management-seal-of-approval activities.
posted by dhartung at 9:13 PM on April 7

All kinds of awesome, but from TFA:

A few parents mentioned they wished they were home so they could see it live on TV.

Seriously?
posted by lekvar at 9:17 PM on April 7

I agree that it is pretty cool but my first thought was that I would have been pretty wigged out as a parent. Who are all these people who know so much about my kid and why are they all here? I tend to be really over cautious about my kids so I would have probably thought about leaving. I would like to say that actually being there and experiencing it firsthand would have made a difference in my comfort level but I can't be sure. Still, I'm glad that those folks and children got a kick out of it.
posted by pearlybob at 9:28 PM on April 7

Someone once told me that a good prank is one where the prankee laughs just as hard as the pranker. This was a marvelous example.
posted by Popular Ethics at 9:31 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

Amazing. I'm glad the parents were all such good sports about it.

Kids of little-league age have a somewhat different sense of humor, and because they were the targets of this mission, I don't really think this even qualifies as a prank. I'm not sure that they'd see anything funny about this; to a nine or ten year old, it would probably be pure magic. Confirmation that the world really is magical, and extraordinary things can happen, even on a mundane Saturday afternoon. I'm shaking my head in amazement - I can't think of another time someone has unleashed such a tidal wave of pure fun in the world.

I just hope to god that none of those little leaguers was getting their braces adjusted or nursing the 'flu that afternoon.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 10:29 PM on April 7

What made Improv Everywhere good was that their pranks were genuine interventions that brought into question everyday practices in a given space. If the pranks were inspirational, or magical, or whatever, it was only because they were, at their core, kind of scary. They walked the tightrope between creating a sense of the sublime and a sense of unease.
These latest pranks, though—this baseball game, and the Mall musical—are milquetoast acts of suburban public theatre, and the only unease they create comes from the sense that IE is mocking people for being banal. The kids don't come away with a feeling that anything is possible, and that rules can and should be challenged. Instead, there's a vague sense that this unusual event happened to them only because they were so laughably commonplace to begin with, and that other people found it amusing to juxtapose their commonplace lives with a grand and implausible theatrical gesture.

I think that's just about right, especially your identification of exploration of the trope of social unease as the artistic lynchpin of IE's previous work, aparrish. The only thing that I disagree with is that I don't think that IE is mocking anyone at all in this latest 'prank'. Rather, this is Extreme Makeover: Little League Edition. As with that show, the goal here seems to be to associate the logo of a major media corporation with joy and wonderment that people feel towards a once in a lifetime experience, rather than plumbing any real artistic depths.
Therefore, I'm baffled that so many here had such a strong emotional reaction. I mean, I guess that Extreme Makeover: Home Edition appeals to an audience, but I didn't think that audience overlapped with MeFites to this extent. The show so obviously manufactures the emotions that it is selling that for me it falls flat.

Also, do we really need an update thread every time IE posts a new prank? I don't really care, actually...just cranky because this prank was so disappointing.
posted by Kwine at 11:07 PM on April 7

I'm just stoked to learn Hermitosis has his own beach.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:50 AM on April 8

I'm not going to call out anyone in particular, but it seems like at least some of the people
in this thread have enjoyed a concrete enema or two too many.

Whether this was perpetrated by completely unknown people or the cast from Cheers, it was good fun and the scale doesn't matter.

Craic is craic is craic, and there's never enough of it.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 1:36 AM on April 8

I bet this was pretty fantastic for most of the children, I certainly enjoyed reading about it. However the corporate involvement is described accurately by kwine:
the goal here seems to be to associate the logo of a major media corporation with joy and wonderment that people feel towards a once in a lifetime experience

The corporate permeation of life is getting progressively irritating and their vampiric tendencies actually suck the joy out of this otherwise wonderful event. This is not a comment on the event itself, but rather the society in which it takes place. This event does suggest a level of capitulation to blandness that may have been calculated to get IE the funding to do some really exciting projects, but which feels more like selling out.

If corporations simply made products that worked and were ethically minded, I would happy. However, the focus is on the 'feel good factor' rather than the 'actually good' factor. Hence the continual struggle to associate their logo with something seen to be of value to society, like sportsmanship, community or amateur talent.

Take that you plate of beans, you.
posted by asok at 6:03 AM on April 8

aparrish, I disagree...

I've liked a few IE "pranks" in the past - like the No Pants Ride, or The Amazing Hypnotist. I'm all for the "challenge the status quo" kind of thing they do. But sometimes they do things that are a little cruel (Best Buy), or cause me (and others, I'm sure) to just kind of blink and say, "Er?".

But this looked like it was an attempt to just make the kids feel a little better about playing a game they all enjoyed. Like they were in the majors for a day. Yeah, maybe the parents were a bit "non-plussed", but I think the kids got a huge kick out of it.

_{*chokes back a tiny tear*}
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 7:38 AM on April 8

Best IE prank ever.
posted by VicNebulous at 8:14 AM on April 8

I wouldn't call it a prank as it was genuinly nice of them to do but yeah, I totally dug this.
posted by krautland at 8:45 AM on April 8

"As with that show, the goal here seems to be to associate the logo of a major media corporation with joy and wonderment that people feel towards a once in a lifetime experience." - Kwine

I was there, I know Charlie, I call bullshit.

That was absolutely NOT the goal of this.

Were we plumbing artistic depths? No. But that's never been the goal of IE. IE was started accidentally, and the goal has always been to do something cool in public, to create something that people would go home and tell their friends, "you won't believe what I saw today..."

That it was associated with NBC was only because it was a TV pilot for NBC. That it was a TV pilot was only a function of the fact that there is no part of IE that is opposed to entertaining people, or to Charlie having a job doing this rather than just spending all his time doing it free. I think it would have been really awesome if it had gotten picked up. I mean, I don't really watch any non-scripted TV besides the Newshour from time to time (sad, isn't it?), but I'd watch the shit out of this show.

For gosh sake, IE is getting it from both sides here. The goal isn't to make something "feel good," and the goal isn't to make anyone a victim. The goal is to do something cool, creating something unusual in everyday life.

In this case, the goal was to make everything "big league," and having a professional announcer and graphics on the jumbotron was part and parcel of that.

Cranky indeed.

"The corporate permeation of life is getting progressively irritating and their vampiric tendencies actually suck the joy out of this otherwise wonderful event." - asok

Maybe for you, but again, having been there, certainly not for anyone there.
posted by YoungAmerican at 10:48 AM on April 8 [6 favorites]

Oh, and they're not pranks, they're missions.
posted by YoungAmerican at 10:54 AM on April 8

Don't worry, YoungAmerican, there are people here who would snark if their mothers were brought back from the brink of the grave, who have a grim dedication to the proposition that everything sucks, and who can't stand to see a thread full of happy happy joy joy. Ignore them; their anomie is its own punishment.
posted by languagehat at 11:10 AM on April 8 [3 favorites]

their anomie is its own punishment

yes, it's a vicious circle.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:05 PM on April 8

This is fantastic, thanks for posting it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:12 PM on April 8

I mean, I don't really watch any non-scripted TV besides the Newshour from time to time (sad, isn't it?), but I'd watch the shit out of this show.

What surprised me is how much it felt like every other cheap reality show once it was packaged up with fancy editing and graphics and such. Felt very much like Punk'd, but just a different focus. It's much more charming as a page on the internet with a write-up and some shaky video.
posted by smackfu at 10:17 PM on April 8 [1 favorite]

You're right, languagehat. I didn't comment on the thread because a new thing by a group whose work I'd previously enjoyed didn't do it for me, though others who I respect on a site that I enjoy seemed to like it quite a bit. Really I commented because everything sucks and since this is a thing, it follows that this sucks as well, and there's nothing that I enjoy more than telling everyone about things that (it goes (almost) without saying) suck.

I'd forgotten that Metafilter is a place where disagreement is unwelcome; where the only acceptable thumb orientation is 'up'. You've long been a champion of that ethic, and your apparent cheap shot at me is in fact a much needed course correction. In conclusion, if I have any thoughts besides unqualified praise regarding anything in the future, I will keep them to myself, as you so often do yourself, and so many others do on this website, for the greater good of all.

Young American, I didn't mean to suggest that your goal or Charlie's goal was the association of a moving event with a corporate logo. I apologize for not being clear. But that was certainly NBC's goal, and as a joint venture between NBC and IE, an important artistic element of unease, that aparrish so gracefully explicated above, has been somehow lost. The compromises required for mass distribution of art (and, again, a lot of the previous IE work is art) sometimes drown important elements, and I think that this is one of those cases. So, if this is the result of collaboration with a major media entity, then I'm not too sad that the pilot didn't get picked up, despite the financial letdown for Charlie et al., and I look forward to future independent work from IE.
posted by Kwine at 5:32 AM on April 9

^Kwine: Metafilter is a place where disagreement is unwelcome; where the only acceptable thumb orientation is 'up'.

I beg to differ.
posted by not_on_display at 2:16 AM on April 10

not_on_display is wrong.

thumbs up for Kwine!
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:11 AM on April 10