Winter may be coming to Westeros, but a "Game of Thrones" battle is set to take place in Staten Island this summer.The Staten Island Yankees will wear GoT-inspired uniforms for a game with the Hudson Valley Renegades on Aug. 8 for George R.R. Martin Night at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Staten Island's North Shore. The Baby Bombers will be the Direwolves — a nod to the Starks, aka the good guys — while the Renegades will represent the nefarious Lannisters.
But a tribal rift — what else? — threatened to derail the event before it even began."I saw an interview with (show creator Martin) and he was talking about how his view of Staten Island from where he grew up (in Bayonne) became the inspiration for King's Landing in his universe," SI Yanks Director of Marketing and Fan Experience Mike Holley told the Daily News.Holley said that he reached out to Martin via email and pitched the author on his idea — the teams would represent the two families from the show, wear Thrones-style uniforms and raise money for charity — one of Martin's choice, of course."He responded very quickly, in a matter of hours," Holley said, "and he said 'This sounds fun, but I can't come out to a Yankees game because I'm a Mets fan.'"That's when Holley went into deal-making mode and told Martin that the team wouldn't be called the Yankees on the night in question, and instead would be known as the Direwolves, which is part of the Stark family's crest. Ultimately, he won Martin over and the “Game” was on.
The visiting Hudson Valley Renegades, aka the bad guys, will dress in the colors of the House of Lannister.
The "Direwolves" will wear chainmail and animal pelt-print uniforms while the the Renegades uniforms will be crimson and gold to represent the Lannisters. The uniforms were designed by OT Sports and jerseys from both teams will be auctioned off — some auctions will be held that night, while others will be done online — with proceeds going to Martin's charity of choice, the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary."We're bringing a wolf out to the ballpark that night ... it's going out onto the field," Holley said, adding that he checked with the proper city agencies to make sure they could even do that. He also noted that the sanctuary has the proper insurance permits for a visit like this. "I guess they're used to this sort of thing."A limited number of tickets for the game are still available, but Holley notes it's easily the best-selling game for the upcoming season. The first 2,500 fans will also receive a Staten Island Direwolves cap.Martin will sign autographs for fans, but the author won't be throwing out a first pitch."I asked him if he was interested," Holley said," and he said 'No, thanks. I don't want to do the first pitch because I don't want to end up on YouTube like 50 Cent." Bernie Augustine/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
