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CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Chomp! Roger Bernadina "Shark-A-rine" Impact Has Big Bite

August 12, 2013 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


Woodbridge, VA - On Sunday, August 3rd, Pfitzner Stadium morphed into a shark tank as the Potomac Nationals were invaded by flocks of fans who came out to capture the Roger Bernadina "Shark-A-rine" figure giveaway sponsored by: Little Caesars Team Dumfries and Haymarket.

A feeding frenzy of 6,361 fans supported the night of Bernadina appreciation filling the sold out gallery as the Nationals chomped down on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for a 6-3 triumph.

As a tribute to the Washington Nationals outfielder nicknamed "The Shark," Roger Bernadina, the P-Nats memorialized the fan favorite with a half-man, half-shark figurine dubbed by the Potomac Nationals front office team as ‘The Shark-A-rine'.

Bernadina played with the P-Nats during the 2006 campaign in which the speedy outfield prowler bit to the tune of a .270 batting clip and swallowed 19 doubles, three triples, six home runs, and 42 RBIs. Bernadina also grinded out 28 stolen bases and gobbled 60 runs scored.

This part-human, part-predator collectable figurine rendering of Bernadina is a one-of-a-kind, never before seen player figurine which serves as a depiction of Bernadina's days hunting down fly balls in the outfield gaps at The Pfitz like a starving shark chases down its prey.

One of the most unique giveaways within the 2013 Minor League Baseball landscape was handed out to the first 1,000 fans at Pfitzner Stadium in just nine minutes.

A lengthy line of fans began to form three hours before gates open and stretched all the way down the driveway and into the stadium parking lot as early as 4:00pm.

Paying credence to the original Washington Nationals fan duo that were responsible for the inception of Roger Bernadina's nickname, the "Sharkadina" crew of Terry and Tyler threw out the ceremonial first pitches at The Pfitz on the night of the Shark-A-rine giveaway. Terry and Tyler can be seen lurking around at Nationals Park rooting on Bernadina and the Nats while wearing hooded shark heads complete with full sets of pearly teeth to show their Sharkadina pride. The duo wore their shark heads on the night of the P-Nats Shark-A-rine giveaway.

In the months and weeks leading up to the promotion, the Shark-A-rine appeared on USAToday.com and WashingtonPost.com as well as in upcoming homestand features during Washington Nationals games televised on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. (MASN)

Fittingly, the Shark-A-rine giveaway preceded the official start of "Shark Week" on the Discovery channel by one day. Nationals fans to sank their teeth into the annual Discovery Channel shark-filled programming staple by infesting Pfitzner Stadium to stalk the Shark-A-rine giveaway in a big way.

Furthermore, the Shark-A-rine was swept up in a perfect storm as the television motion picture, Sharknado (2013), starring Tara Reid and featured on the SyFy channel this year, garnered national attention in the weeks surrounding the giveaway and the film was linked to the Shark-A-rine on various blog sites. USAToday.com recently described the Shark-A-rine as "the Sharknado of bobbleheads."

"We wanted to honor Roger in a unique and fitting way. He has been nicknamed ‘The Shark' for his unbelievable defensive skills, so we did the obvious by morphing Bernadina and his shark alter-ego into the figurine we deemed, The Shark-A-rine," said Potomac Nationals Vice President/General Manager, Josh Olerud.

"The reception both from our fans and the media made this a truly distinctive hallmark of our promotional schedule so far this season."

Following the distribution of the Shark-A-rine to the public, ESPN's Paul Lukas featured the transformative figurine on his uni-watch.com blog.

Nationals Fans offered to sell the Shark-A-rine online using eBay immediately after receiving the treasured promo item at The Pfitz and sales were final before the final out of Potomac's game that night.

Most notably, thrusting the Roger Bernadina Shark-A-rine into the national spotlight, Mike and Mike in the Morning televised on ESPN selected the Shark-A-rine to be displayed on their front desk within a cornucopia of other creative bobbleheads and figurines.

It is safe to say that the Potomac Nationals presentation of the Roger Bernadina "Shark-A-rine" sponsored by: Little Caesars Team Dumfries and Haymarket made a huge splash and there is an ocean of possibilities for the next trademark promo in P-Nats land.

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Carolina League Stories from August 12, 2013


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