On Saturday, Aug. 10, the loudspeaker at Maimonides Park boomed, “in the episode where Elaine Benes takes too many muscle relaxants, what ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ reference does she keep saying?”
Fans screamed back at the loudspeaker enthusiastically: ““STELLAAA!”
It was “Seinfeld Night” at the Brooklyn Cyclones game, where superfans and sort-of-fans came together to celebrate the popular sitcom more than 25 years after it finished airing.
“I was just getting made fun of because I’ve probably rewatched the whole thing 25 times,” said Liz Schader, who was celebrating her birthday at the ballpark. The Brooklyn resident said the show’s seventh season is her favorite, even though she admitted to “sometimes skipping the parts with Susan.”
The date of the event felt kismet, she said.
“It feels right, I was like Seinfeld Night, at the same time as my birthday?”
The team’s jerseys did not read “Cyclones,” but instead, “Bubble Boys,” in reference to season four episode “The Bubble Boy.” George Costanza bobbleheads were distributed to the first 2,000 fans to arrive at Maimonides Park, featuring a recreation of Costanza’s season 5 episode 13 outfit, the iconic black puffer. The bobblehead read, ‘George Costanza: The Original Bubble Boy’. The 6 p.m. game start time saw its first fan arrive just after 1:30 p.m. to collect the bobblehead.
When asking fans about their favorite characters, some responses were more abstract than others.
“Donna Chang, because my last name is Lee and people always meet me and are confused,” said Meredith Lee, uncovering some deeper Seinfeld lore of the woman who appeared in the episode, “The Chinese Woman.” “I came to Seinfeld Night 10 years ago, and I’ve been meaning to come back. This is the first year it has worked out.”
Most fans, however, found comfort in one Seinfeld character in particular. “I mean this is not original, but I love Elaine just because I relate to her so much,” said Kristen McGuire, who traveled from the Bronx to Coney Island for the game.
“My favorite character is Elaine, because she does that dance that everyone is going to do,” said another fan. The night did in fact end with an “Elaine’s Dance” competition, where contestants did their best impression of her famous moves. Shannon, a contestant dressed in Elaine’s iconic attire and hair bump, won gold with overwhelming support from the crowd who chanted her name as she danced.
“This is why we came out here, and this is the only game we came to this year,” said Tyler McIdsky. The Crown Heights resident appreciated the vibe of the crowd more than anything. Attendance at the 3-0 loss to the Hudson Valley Renegades peaked at 7,221 people.
The Brooklyn Cyclones will return to Maimonides Park to host “Friends Night” on Aug. 25.
