NEW YORK -- Presumably in honor of New York Yankees opening day, comedian John Oliver staged a novel giveaway Sunday on his HBO series "Last Week Tonight" -- a pair of Legends Seats behind home plate for each of the first three games, for 25 cents each. The catch?
"You must dress like you've never sat in a premium location before," said Oliver, in a shot at Yankees COO Lonn Trost's infamous "explanation" for the Yankees policy of banning print-at-home tickets back in February. (The gist of that was the Yankees don't want folks they consider riff-raff sitting next to some swell who paid full price for Legends ticket, which go for as much as $1,595 per game.)
To win, viewers need to tweet a photo of themselves in the tacky outfit they will wear to the game using the hashtag #IHaveNeverSatInAPremiumLocation.
"Everyone is welcome at Yankee Stadium. And I thank John Oliver for buying Yankees tickets." Yankees president Randy Levine
In his four-minute evisceration of the Yankees, Oliver said, "The New York Yankees will continue to find ways to look like the biggest elitist a--h--- in all of sports," and showed a photo of Alex Rodriguez on a yacht, over which he commented, "Ahoy, a--h---!" He also showed an unflattering picture of Trost with both hands thrust forward, displaying World Series rings.
Yankees president Randy Levine said he was unaware of Oliver's segment. But Levine, a normally voluble type, had a surprisingly conciliatory reaction when informed of what the comic had said.
"Everyone is welcome at Yankee Stadium," Levine said. "And I thank John Oliver for buying Yankees tickets."