Take Me Out To The Ball Game ... A Jackals Game, That Is

On Father's Day weekend in the beautiful Yogi Berra Stadium at the tip of the Montclair State University campus, we watched the New Jersey Jackals lose three consecutive games to the Quebec Capitales who, at the time, were solidifying their hold on 1st place while the NJ Jackals struggled to maintain 3rd. But I can honestly say I have never seen  so many people have more fun at a ball park.

Part of the reason is the Jackals organization. They understand baseball tradition and fun and they deliver it in abundance. 

Baseball is steeped in father-son tradition, but the NJ Jackals take it a step further providing entertainment value to surely please everyone. The schedule says it all. Friday night was "soccer night" featuring soccer star Yael Averbuch of Sky Blue FC, water bottle giveaways, and the 1st in a series of Cub Scout and Boy Scout camp outs on the baseball field overnight.  

Saturday night featured a super fireworks show, which is done every Saturday night during the season. There were also games and prizes such as t-shirt giveaways and assorted ball tosses.

On Father's day Sunday there were NJ Jackals baseball cap giveaways at the ticket gate and all you could eat 50-cent hotdogs. Add to that, a basketball hoop contest, open playing for the kids on huge rolling hills, great pizza and also zeppoles (deep-fried doughnut nuggets that are served hot with confectioners sugar and rarely seen outside the major Italian feasts  in the city). The ballplayers liberally give free autographs  and the hardworking funny mascot Jack the Jackal interacted with the kids in the stands all night. A day or night at a Jackals baseball game seems to have something for everyone. 

The NJ Jackals play in the Can-Am League, an independent, professional minor league baseball operation of eight teams. The season is 92 games. The playoffs consist of a divisional best of five-game series to determine the league championship. The Jackals joined the league in 1998 and impressed many winning 4 out of seven championships.

The players are in either one or two categories: pre-major league rookies, those that are trying to make the cut of the major league teams, or returns and veterans from the majors - the ones that did not quite measure up to the high major league standards. Usually however, the players are young. The leagues are a happy compromise for the players and the fans that love baseball.

It is also a very pleasant throwback to the days when baseball was less corporate and more community and family oriented. While you sit in the open-space design of the stadium many can not help but think about the memories old timers have of Ebbets Field and the Brooklyn Dodgers or the early days of Shea stadium with the New York Mets. The fans and players seem to be drawn closer together by the design of the stadium and the atmosphere created by the Jackals friendly energetic staff. 

The New Jersey Jackals organization approaches baseball in a special way and the surrounding communities and especially Montclair are very lucky indeed to have them. Here is an opportunity to enjoy the full baseball experience for under $20 per ticket compared to the very inflated $50 to $100 ticket prices of Yankee Stadium. 

Also you can't help noticing  the the regal presence of  The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning center overlooking the stadium. The association with Yogi Berra adds a level of prestige to the New Jersey Jackals.  As host of his own free signature night, Yogi Berra continues to delight fans with his generous down to earth manner.

You also have to take your hat off to Mr. Floyd Hall, founder and chairman of Floyd Hall enterprises and manager of the Jackals organization and the adjoining Floyd Hall Arena. Mr. Hall donated all of the facilities to Montclair State University to benefit the surrounding communities. His organization is steadily finding new ways to market the Jackals to the business community as well as to the fans, and it's working.

Saturday night was sold out with only seats on the lawn available. The Jackals have more camp out nights and fireworks shows coming up on their schedule with almost every other kind of party you can think of in between including a Pirate night, Beatles night, and Mardi Gras night.  So get hold of a schedule and take someone out to the ball game on the Montclair University campus. Win or lose, the NJ Jackals show you a pretty good time.