We’ve already taken a look at some of the best minor league hockey promotions from this season. The Providence Bruins had a “Family Guy” themed weekend. The Toledo Walleye had a wedding on the ice for long-time season ticket holders. The AHL is very good at stuff like this.
The San Diego Gulls are not only one of the AHL’s most popular teams but they put on some pretty unique theme nights.
Last season we reviewed their St. Patrick’s Day jersey as well as reported on their 1970’s themed night. The Gulls are back with another unique promotion to close out the season with “Emo Night”.
For those of you who don’t what “emo” is, Merriam-Webster describes it as “a style of rock music influenced by punk rock and featuring introspective and emotionally fraught lyrics”.
The San Diego Gulls are going to have a special weekend theme
Anyone who grew up in the mid-2000s remembers the heyday of “My Chemical Romance”, “Blink 182”, and “Fall Out Boy” along with the skinny jeans and black hair that came with it.
The Gulls are bringing us back to those times. As their in-arena DJ put it, they’re going to 'listen to sad music” and play hockey.
Fans will get a special “emo night” t-shirt and the team will wear special “emo night” jerseys with what has been described as “emo Gulliver”.
The normal San Diego Gulls logo has been changed to have their mascot holding a guitar instead of a hockey stick and sporting the signature emo black bangs haircut. The San Diego Gulls wordmark is also replaced with a font reminiscent of famous emo bands.
Last month the team held a contest for fans to dress up in their best “emo night” outfit. The prize was not tickets to the Gulls’ emo night, but tickets to “emo night” being held at the San Diego location for House of Blues.
The Gulls released a closer look at their special jerseys on Wednesday. The previously mentioned “emo Gulliver” logo is front and center. The shoulder patches are replaced with a smiling face with “X” eyes and a bleeding heart.
The jerseys are completely black, white, and grey, with grey-colored inseams. While other teams like to auction off their few special edition jerseys, the Gulls are currently offering theirs for sale on their team website for $275.
It’s one of those things you never gave much thought to but there probably is an overlap between fans who had an “emo phase” and those who consider themselves hockey fans.
It’s a unique promotion but one that people can get excited about because of the way people connect with their music.
There are sure to be some fans in attendance who don’t know anything about hockey but were drawn to the “emo night” theme. Those “emo Gulliver” shirts are sure to be a hot ticket item as far as promotional items go. Hopefully, they don’t get stolen, like the since recovered Jagr bobbleheads.