NEW YORK — More than four hours before the first pitch, thousands of fans were lined up outside Yankee Stadium, waiting for the gates to open Friday night.
Yes, it was a game against the rival Red Sox, with the Yankees trying to end a three-game losing streak and keep pace with Baltimore in the AL East race.
And, yes, it was a Friday night in the middle of an extended holiday weekend.
But, no, none of those reasons explained why lines snaked around the stadium long before the gates opened at 5 p.m. A vendor selling bottled water on the street said it was the best day he'd ever had for sales outside the ballpark.
Friday was the Yankees' first "Seinfeld" night, and the first 18,000 fans walked away with a George Costanza bobblehead, depicting Jerry's famous sidekick during his stint as the assistant to the Yankees' traveling secretary.
The first of its kind promotion for the Yankees has been in the works since the offseason, and cllct ranked it in the spring as one of the most anticipated promotional giveaways of the MLB calendar. The bobbleheads have sold for as high as $250 on ebay since the giveaway.
Why do such a hot promotion against your most fierce rival and on a holiday weekend that was already sure to make for a hot ticket? Well, Friday marked the 35th anniversary of the premiere of "Seinfeld," and the Yanks wanted to commemorate the historic day for the iconic sitcom.
The team had to get actor Jason Alexander's permission for the promotion, but when he heard the plans, "George was not gettin' upset."
“(Alexander) said he’s not really a big baseball fan,” Craig Cartmell, the Yankees senior associate marketing director, told cllct in the spring. “But he understood the importance of the character of George Costanzna ... and was on board with it.”
The fans couldn't have been more onboard as well, lining up on a muggy night in the Bronx to make sure they weren't shut out of the promotion.
cllct was on the scene, and worked the lines to meet the masses who couldn't get enough of a "show about nothing."
Here's who we met.
Mike and Jen Schimmenti from Washington
Favorite team: Yankees
Seinfeld fans: Yes
Favorite episode: "The Contest" (51st episode, 11th episode of fourth season)
Bobblehead collectors: They own hundreds, including the "Frank Costanza" given out at the Potomac Nationals game
Keep or sell Costanza bobblehead: Keep
Frank Scordo from New Jersey
Favorite team: Yankees
Seinfeld fan: Yes
Favorite episode: "The Keys" (40th episode, last episode of third season)
Bobblehead collector: No
Keep or sell Costanza bobblehead: Keep
Matt Marks and Mike Raymond from Pennsylvania
Favorite team: Phillies
Seinfeld fans: Yes
Favorite episodes: "Marine Biologist" (78th episode, fourth episode of fifth season) and "The Strike" (166th episode, 10th episode of the final season)
Bobblehead collectors: No, though they did get the Seinfeld bobblehead at the Brooklyn Cyclones game last year.
Keep or sell Costanza bobblehead? Keep
Dave Amdur from New Jersey
Favorite team: Mets
Seinfeld fan: Sort of
Bobblehead collector: Yes
Keep of sell Costanza bobblehead: Keep his, sell the bobblehead of the person he came with (Amanda)
Ralph Ottaviano from North Carolina via New York
Favorite team: Yankees
Seinfeld fan: Yes
Favorite episode: "The Librarian" (22nd episode, fifth episode of third season)
**Bobblehead collector: **No
Keep or sell Costanza bobblehead: Keep
Ryan Arbesfeld from Washington
Favorite team: Nationals
Seinfeld fan? Yes
Favorite episode: "The Strike" (166th episode, 10th episode of final season)
Bobblehead collector? Yes, 200+, mostly Nationals
Keep or sell Costanza bobblehead: Keep.
Dan Smith from New Hampshire
Favorite team: Yankees
Seinfeld Fan: Yes. Even shares a birthday with Larry David
Favorite episode: "The Face Painter" (109th episode, 23rd of the sixth season)
Bobblehead collector: Has about 30
Keep or sell Costanza bobblehead: Keep, but praying he gets one. He missed the Suzyn Waldman/John Sterling talking bobblehead recently by a couple of people.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.
cllct earns a commission on any sales driven from the ebay link in this story.