NEW YORK -- The riff-raff in the Yankee Stadium premium seats are starting to act like the regular customers.
Thursday's winners of comedian John Oliver's #IHaveNeverSatInAPremiumLocation contest missed the first inning of the New York Yankees' game against the Houston Astros, the same as many of the fans who paid much more for their seats.
Oliver offered prime Yankees tickets to fans for just 25 cents for three games this week, as long as they agreed to dress like they don't belong. Two fans dressed as Ninja Turtles watched Tuesday's Opening Day game from the front row, and two fans dressed as sharks and two dressed as unicorns saw Wednesday night's game from a few rows back.
The two fans Thursday appeared to be dressed as dinosaurs or dragons. They arrived late for the rain-delayed game, then put on their costumes while sitting in their second row seats, where they were visible on the television broadcast of the game. The two "Oliver" fans ended up on the video board in the seventh inning as the "fans of the game." The fans were later shown again on the video board with the message, "Thanks, John Oliver. Everyone is welcome at Yankee Stadium."
Oliver announced the contest as part of a segment on "Last Week Tonight," his Sunday night show on HBO. He criticized the Yankees for comments made by COO Lonn Trost, who said premium-seat ticket holders do not like to sit next to people "who have never sat in a premium location."
The regular ticket holders haven't seemed to mind the interlopers, though. Between innings Wednesday, many fans in the prime seats went over to have their picture taken with the sharks and unicorns.