Cornell takes over Citizens Bank Park in Philly again (1/20/07)

[Yes, I know this post's links to "other Cornell sports" are thin, but check out some of the memorabilia that will be auctioned.]

Cornellians are taking over Philadelphia again next weekend. Please join us as at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies' fabulous home stadium, as we celebrate Ezra Cornell's 200th birthday on Saturday, January 20, from 6 to 10 p.m.

If you live anywhere in the mid-Atlantic, or if you're in town for the Cornell Association of Class Officers' annual meeting, this is a great event -- just ask any of the 450+ folks who attended last year. Highlights:

* Behind-the-scenes tours of the ballpark, including locker rooms.
* Meet host Joe Giles '84 of the Phillies.
* Bid for cool stuff, from hotel packages to killer sports memorabilia (more on that below), to benefit the Cornell Club of Greater Philadelphia's Scholarship Fund.
* Hang with the Phillie Phanatic.
* Excellent food.
* Tons of kids' activities, from a science show to face-painting.
* Free parking.

The list of goodies that has been donated for the benefit auction is eye-popping, but the sports-related items are particularly juicy: a bat autographed by NL MVP Ryan Howard of the Phillies, Phillies tickets, Eagles tickets, Flyers tickets, NY Giants tickets, an autographed Flyers stick...and Cornell-related stuff including two Philadelphia Wings jerseys autographed by Cornellian and NLL Rookie of the Year Sean Greenhalgh '05 and club seats to the Wings (donated by Cornell lax legend Mike French '76, who was just inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame). And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

To register, get more info, or see who's coming, go to [alumni.cornell.edu]

Some excellent additions to the list of stuff that will be auctioned: a Cornell hockey jersey and a stick signed by the entire 2006-07 team.

Except for a minor telecommunications hassle (harrumph), the event last year was awesome and we'll be back. Lots of food and enough to drink that you really need to watch yourself or have a designated driver.

If you haven't seen a modern stadium such as Citizens Bank Park or the Tigers' Comerica Park in Detroit, it's amazing how nice pro stadiums can be. You can't beat Fenway on a warm summer night, but as an all-round place to have fun, take the kids, keep a bored spouse happy, stadiums like this are incredible.

Hillel -- Any chance of getting Ugarte to come down and reprise his battle-of-the-Ivy-comics act from Thursday night in New York?

billhoward
Hillel -- Any chance of getting Ugarte to come down and reprise his battle-of-the-Ivy-comics act from Thursday night in New York?

No, but I would have loved to have done it. (Though I'm probably not family-friendly enough for the event. I haven't started developing all-audiences material yet.)

Awesome night, Hillel. What a deal on some of the charity auction sports items - we won a Cornell hockey jersey signed by the entire team for about the cost of a game-worn, signed-by-nobody home jersey. (Okay, maybe it was a down night for Cornell hockey futures.) See you again next year.