Winter is Coming early to Staten Island this summer.
The Staten Island Yankees, the short-season Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, are holding a promotional “Game of Thrones”-themed event this August. Staten Island will change its name to “Direwolves” for the evening, while their opponent, the Hudson Valley Renegades, appropriately will change its moniker to the “Lannisters.”
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, direwolves are fictional animals in both George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” and its TV adaption, HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” traditionally owned by the protagonist Stark family. The Lannisters are the main antagonists of the series and typically are despised by fans and characters in the fictional series alike.
The idea was spawned when Mike Holley, the team’s senior director of marketing and fan experience, heard Martin say he based the capital and central location of the series, King’s Landing, on Staten Island in an interview last year.
Holley reached out to Martin and HBO, who happily gave the event the green light with one exception — the name change.
“I’m a Mets fan,” Martin reportedly told Holley, according to ESPN, “so you are going to have to change the jerseys for me to come and wear it.”
The team is not technically allowed to market the event as a “Game of Thrones Night,” though, and instead are honoring Martin, a New York native, and his book series which have sold over 60 million copies worldwide.
Check out a sneak peak of the absolutely fantastic jerseys.
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Martin is also expected to sign autographs and hold a meet-and-greet with fans, according to ESPN.
