The Worst In-Game Giveaway You've Ever Seen?

[Goptor]

 

[Brodeur]

Everytime we would try to redeem one of those coupons at a McDonalds after the game the employee would have to fetch the manager, in which the manager would look at the coupon, then look at us, then look at the coupon again. Proceed to shrug his/her shoulders and honor the coupons.

I went to a random Bulls game years ago. We got a free Big Mac if they won (and scored over 100 points). I would just like to thank the referee again for that free meal. Rare game where I think all the home fans knew they got gifted a call.

 

[Coily]

Went to an IHL game in Long Beach like 25 years ago and the fan giveaway was a Bud Light bottle opener...

 

[Taluss]

This is football but I remember for fan appreciation day NY Giants gave out 1 free medium Pepsi to season ticket holders. It’s even a little funnier cuz no matter how many tickets you purchased as a season ticket holder they still only got 1 medium Pepsi. (Example: family of 4 with season tickets? Only 1 free drink etc, you get the point)

Ik its probably not one of the worst giveaways on here but I found it funny. 1 free medium Pepsi. Not even a large

 

[Nogatco Rd]

The wife took us to a Halloween murder mystery in the county.

About 1000 people paid $10 each to get in.

If you guess right, you are entered into a draw.

We ended up guessing right and winning the draw.

Grand prize was a 10% off coupon for their restaurant.

Who did it?

 

[beedee]

Went to an IHL game in Long Beach like 25 years ago and the fan giveaway was a Bud Light bottle opener...

I miss the LB Ice Dogs, especially IHL era! I still have my Ice Dogs jersey.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Steve Smith with the Oiler’s .

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Cody Ceci with a giveaway to a player without a stick and no-one else nearby.

Couldn’t believe my eyes.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Went to an IHL game in Long Beach like 25 years ago and the fan giveaway was a Bud Light bottle opener...

Loved those Long Beach Ice Dogs jerseys.

I miss the LB Ice Dogs, especially IHL era! I still have my Ice Dogs jersey.

Lucky. That’s the next jersey on my bucket list. Loved the 90s IHL.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I've seen too many awful ones to describe particularly, but the worst one generally is when your team passes from behind the net to an opponent coming down the middle. It's almost always a goal and just a soulcrusher when it happens.

As far as arena giveaways, nothing beats the T-shirt that only fits a small girlfriend.

 

[BlueBaron]

I have a pretty big pool of lousy Leaf teams but I think Holl once passed it to Bergeron right in front of our net. I'm sure you can guess how that ended... .at least it wasn't side show Bob....

 

[EdJovanovski]

Cody Ceci with a giveaway to a player without a stick and no-one else nearby.

Couldn’t believe my eyes.

Trouba has a way worse one in this years playoffs when he lost a puck battle to a guy with no stick lol they were legit battling for 7 seconds or so and the guy without a stick won the puck from him

 

[Lazytrout]

First thought. I'll never forget that one.

 

[DaveG]

I don't know if they ever went through with this, but the Canes had a Tomas Kaberle bobblehead night scheduled about mid-season in the 11-12 season, Kaberle had signed for 4 years that summer and sucked so bad that amazingly JR found a buyer for him in Montreal right around American Thanksgiving (late November for those who don't know) that season.

Also OT here but I gotta share anyway, the Canes also once made their rinkside TV reporter (Chantel McCabe) dress up in a military suit for some unknown reason during a home game. The whole thing was embarrassing to be blunt, poor McCabe did not seem to enjoy it either, thankfully for her it wasn't the whole game just for a after-tv timeout segment but still, pretty bad.

They ended up replacing it with a Jamie McBain bobblehead which A: ... I mean if you're drunk enough he kinda looks like Kaberle, and B: in retrospect is a highly appropriate reflection of Kaberle's stint in Carolina given the way McBain's career wound up.

Also I'll never forget the promo where an ABA team owner wrestled with a bear and it somehow got loose. The giveaway was leaving with your life on that one.

 

[bellringer77]

The Grand Rapids Griffins would drop giveaways from the Griff blimp when it existed. I remember getting one and it was for a downtown pizza place. $5 dollars off $50

 

[Hotep Numminen]

an ahl game when i was a kid, i think it was the lowell river hawks but not sure. they had a t shirt cannon shooting out merch for the film traffic. Traffic (2000) - IMDb i caught one but i wasn't allowed to wear it.

 

[Chainshot]

Not this sort of giveaway?

 

[The Pale King]

Some of these sounds like coupons you'd get in the mail and recycle.

If you're going to be that cheap, don't do anything at all. Then at least you're not drawing attention to that fact. But I didn't go to business school so what do I know?

 

[HisIceness]

Also I'll never forget the promo where an ABA team owner wrestled with a bear and it somehow got loose. The giveaway was leaving with your life on that one.

Funny enough I read in a book once about an ABA owner so desperate for fans he rented a car from the local airport and promoted fans bring paper airplanes to the game. If a fan got a paper airplane into the sunroof the fan won the car.

Problem was, yeah, he only rented the car. And yep, someone got a paper airplane through the roof of the car so he had no choice but to buy it to honor the promotion. He ended up selling his house and other things to buy this car.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

The Grand Rapids Griffins would drop giveaways from the Griff blimp when it existed.

That is awesome.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Worst ever has to be that

 

[WeaponOfChoice]

 

[JianYang]

Not hockey related, but I attended the inaugural Vancouver whitecaps match when they joined MLS.

Each seat had a free poncho waiting for them. When the visiting team scored, a mass of ponchos rained down on the feild.

 

[BlueBull]

Pierre Turgeon's goal on a certain Dale Hunter giveaway comes to mind.