Another Pizza My Heart

Every season, it seems as if the Reds have a little quirky promotion or contest or cheer (I’m looking at you, “Woooo!”) that kind of defines the year; something that sends the social media world into a tizzy. So far this year, it’s the pizza.

The pizza promotion is (for those of you living under a rock) LaRosa’s deal with the Reds to provide a free small pizza (a $6.79 value) to every fan present at Great American Ballpark when the Reds pitchers strike out 11 batters or more per game. This year, the Reds pitchers are the Oprah Winfrey of pizza; “YOU GET A PIZZA! YOU GET A PIZZA! YOU GET A PIZZA AND EVERYBODY GETS A PIZZA!” 

Now, here’s the thing – the Reds pitchers are ON FIRE this year. Our team has the most strikeouts in the National League at 195, and is one strikeout behind the Red Sox for most strikeouts in all of Major League Baseball. The Reds have had six free pizza games so far this year, and LaRosa’s has given away over $100,000 in small pizzas. This promotion is awesome, and delicious, and I love seeing people get up in arms about the fans’ enthusiasm for pizza. I, myself, had one of my free pizzas for dinner last night, have brought another free pizza to work for lunch today, and have one more free pizza waiting in the wings. This raises many questions.

Could $100,000 worth of free pizza be sent to a Third World country or local homeless shelters? (Seriously, just for one or two games a season – instead of giving away the pizzas to fans, could they donate 40,000 small pizzas to shelters around the area?) If the Reds continue gathering this many strikeouts throughout the season, will LaRosa’s be able to keep up with the demand? Will the Cincinnati Reds bankrupt LaRosa’s? Am I going to never want to see another LaRosa’s pizza again by the end of the season? I think my biggest question is, as someone who has worked in all facets of the restaurant biz, are the people who answer the phones and the servers in the dining rooms ready to lose their marbles? (Can you just imagine having to hear, “I’ll take 7 small pizzas and I have my Reds tickets so that makes them free, right?” 30+ times a day? I would have to be institutionalized. If you are a LaRosa’s employee, please let me know your personal feelings about this.)

I love this promotion, and I can’t wait to see how many more 11+ strikeout games the Reds can play. SO MUCH FREE PIZZA.

“I love you, pizza.” – Tina
“I love you too, Tina.” – Pizza

Leave a comment