The Delaware 87ers (the Philadelphia 76ers’ G League affiliate) will celebrate Nickelodeon Night on Wednesday when they host the Erie Bayhawks, because minor league sports teams have the very best gimmicks.
Soak in the New Year with SpongeBob Squarepants as the @Sevens & @ReyboldGroup celebrate Nickelodeon Night on Jan. 3! Ticket sales and jersey auction to benefit CHILD, Inc. :: TIX: https://t.co/IrWecgtHAk pic.twitter.com/vw7aCPkclh
— Delaware Blue Coats (@blue_coats) December 30, 2017
Nickelodeon Night isn’t just a way to target families and tap into 90’s kid nostalgia to fill the arena, as the 87ers will be donating some of the proceeds from ticket sales and a jersey auction to charity in the form of Child, Inc. To celebrate the occasion, Delaware will rock some incredible Spongebob themed uniforms with players donning yellow jerseys and shorts that look like Spongebob’s clothing. If they have yellow socks it will really pull it all together.
FIRST LOOK: 76ers G League team, @Sevens, wearing Spongebob uniforms for Nickelodeon Night tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Vs1xeipkvb
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 2, 2018
This is one thing minor league sports teams do that’s significantly better than their major pro league counterparts. No NBA team could go all in on a promotional night like this, and that’s a shame. Maybe in the future, with Nike already making four uniform combinations for each team, clubs could prepare in advance for something like this and do a unique, one-night only uniform for something like a Nickelodeon Night.
Can you imagine Joel Embiid wearing this? It’d be fantastic. It’s not as though the NBA couldn’t make money off of something like this (its why they make as many jerseys as they do as is) and if each team was allotted one “promo night” jersey of their choosing it would be fun to watch teams get creative with designs and partnerships.
