Winnipegger Howie Prociuk got quite the surprise after last Friday’s Blue Jays game when a picture of him at the game went somewhat viral via Winnipeg’s Smitty’s restaurant Facebook page.
Prociuk said the aim was to get on the jumbotron but he really did not expect the amount of attention he received.
“Our goal was to get on Sportsnet. That was the goal. What happened after that was crazy.” he said.
The notoriety for the Winnipeg resident happened because of a homemade sign he was holding which read, “My wife thinks I’m watching the game at Smitty’s in Winnipeg, let’s go Jays.”
Prociuk said the sign was made to be comedic and his wife was fully aware of the joke. “She was actually in Edmonton for the weekend, so yes, she knew about it.”
“She knew we were going to do something. She didn’t know what the sign was going to say,” he added.
After Prociuk and his sign made it on the jumbotron, the Winnipeg restaurant took notice and posted on Facebook in an attempt to track down the sign’s creator.
After a few days, the restaurant was able to get in touch with Prociuk and he said he walked away with quite a lot of swag for himself and his family.
“They gave us a bag of t-shirts, glasses, softballs that were signed by Smitty’s, like Smitty’s softballs,” he said. “The big one was the coupon for free wings for a year. So, yeah. So my son I know is licking his chops already.”
Prociuk said he had a great time at the game and was happy that he could bring some attention to the city.