Rock Cats Select 2011 Fans of the Year

Published on November 2, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
New Britain Rock Cats News Release


New Britain, CT - The New Britain Rock Cats and their presenting sponsor, Stanley Black & Decker - along with the good people at the Hilton Garden Inn of Ft. Myers, FL - conducted an exciting in-stadium contest over last September's Labor Day Weekend to determine the Eastern League club's 2011 Fans of the Year. The fun competition took place over the final four days of the Season - the Rock Cats very appropriately designated their concluding home series "Fan Appreciation Weekend" - and asked participating fans to submit photos of themselves enjoying one of those final five games at New Britain Stadium.

After carefully reviewing hundreds of entries, a panel recently selected 25-year-old Windsor, CT resident Elisabeth Cage and her infant nephew, Oliver Cage, as the Rock Cats' 2011 Fans of the Year. As the Grand Prize winners, Elisabeth ("Liz") and 7-month-old Oliver - who lives with his mom and dad in Manchester (CT) - will now have the opportunity to attend the Minnesota Twins' 2012 Spring Training Camp in Ft. Myers, Florida as guests of the Rock Cats, Stanley Black & Decker, and the Hilton Garden Inn of Ft. Myers. While the two New Britain-based partners will underwrite Liz and Oliver's round-trip airfare and provide tickets to Spring Training games that the six-time American League Central Division Champion Twins will play at Hammond Field, the Hilton Garden Inn of Fort Myers will provide the complimentary Sunshine State accommodations.

As luck would have it, Elisabeth is a Minnesota native and devoted Twins fan - she casually offered that she and fianc Barry attended the team's Metrodome finale in 2009 - before relocating to Connecticut earlier this year. Liz was introduced to the Rock Cats by Oliver's parents - Gemma and Will - and looks forward to continuing to get her Minnesota baseball fix by attending `Cats games next year. Oliver's parents are loyal Rock Cats supporters who frequently make the short trip from their Manchester home to New Britain Stadium to watch their favorite team in action; they are very excited about "accompanying" son Oliver to sunny Florida next Spring!

After sorting through all the entries submitted after the final five games of 2011, Rock Cats staff posted the top ten photos on the team's Facebook Fan page, using a joint panel to select Elisabeth and Oliver as the 2011 Season's Fans of the Year! The happy duo's winning photo is attached below.

"On behalf of Oliver and myself", Liz said, "I want to give a huge thanks to Stanley Black & Decker, the Hilton Garden Inn and, of course, the Rock Cats for this great opportunity. I've been a Twins fan all my life and am super excited about attending Spring Training. Although new to the area, Barry and I look forward to becoming loyal Rock Cats fans and remaining tied to our baseball tradition. Thank you!"

Even though the 2011 Rock Cats fell just short of making the 2011 Playoffs, the team's fabulous fans never missed a beat in extending their support. Accordingly, appreciative players from both the `Cats and Twins will be looking to warmly meet and greet Liz, Oliver, and all members of the Cage extended family when they arrived in sunny Ft. Myers next Spring! With the start of another New England winter now just weeks away, the happy prospect of jetting off to Florida next March will keep the Cages smiling through the Connecticut snows.

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Eastern League Stories from November 2, 2011


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