We met them the night before the Washington Capitals home opener at the Baltimore Orioles game after finding them using the “Nearby” feature on Tweetie (Twitter iPhone application).  Their story was the perfect example of how social media can connect fans with their favorite leagues, teams and other fans.

In this video, we show how we found them at the Orioles game using Twitter which eventually led to an interview at Camden Yards.  We then chatted the following day in front of Capital Hill in Washington, DC to award them the Washington Capitals tickets.  Finally, we put together a short piece that shows the excitement around the Washington Capitals home opener and wrap things up with a conversation at the game with our winners. Needless to say, the Washington Capitals and the NHL have inherited 3 new fans thanks to the power of social media!!

Stay tuned for another video where we talk about their amazing tour in more detail and they tell us a bit about their upcoming charity auction on October 28, 2009. You can check out their website for details on the items available for auction at http://30ballparksandababy.com

Even though we had some excellent entries, we felt that Roberto, Judy and Sophia were the epitome of what the contest was about.

With this event, and with future events (watch for GreyCup-Fan Connect coming next week), we are seeking Sports Fans who are connecting with their team, other fans, and game experiences in a unique and compelling way.

This trip and contest has been extremely rewarding, and time consuming. As I write this we are running out the door trying to arrange car rentals and interviews, photos shoots and tickets. Please continue to follow our progress as we further define our objectives, with the website, with our findings, and with what is now becoming a reality program presenting Sports Fans winning opportunities and a chance of a lifetime to attend the worlds biggest sports events, meet their heroes and walk away with some great merchandise.

Watch for the interview with the winner. We will be meeting them at the game, sharing moments at the game, and following up with them in the coming weeks.

Thanks again everyone.

Sport-Fan Connect

Favorite team: Washington Capitals

Favorite player: Brooks Laich

Games watched per season: 0-5

Do you twitter: No

Do you facebook: No

It all began March 23,1990 when the biggest Capitals fan I, was born. From a young age I grew up watching the caps play every game they played. Luckily we were a decent to good team considering my dad was a little bit of a fair weather fan. Unfortunately as we started to decline from a good/decent team to a bad/horrific team the amount of times my dad took me declined till it was nearly non exsistent; Of course to me it didn’t make a difference whether we were bad or good I just loved my capitals. With my desire to watch the capitals I would always do my chores and save my money till I had enough for a ticket.There was never one time I can recall where every penny earned was not well spent. The best part about being a fan, who never lost faith, was enduring the painfully sweet rebuilding stage. Hopefully one day Ill be alive to watch my beloved capitals hoist Lord Stanley proudly above their heads.Even sooner, hopefully it will be this year.I would be honored in saying I watched the home opener on the year we won stanley.Every year I ask myself, will this be the year?

Favorite team: CAPITALS

Favorite player: Ovechkin

Games watched per season: 46-82

Do you twitter: No

Do you facebook: Yes

My name is Tina Caputo and i’m a 27 year old Caps fan. I’ve been a loyal fan of the caps since the tender age of 7, in fact i remember watching the caps with my dad and cheering for my favorite player Dino Ciccarelli. Thru the years I remained a dedicated fan no matter how they were doing. I went to many games and remember going to the capital center and paying $10 for a seat and looking around to a pretty much empty forum wondering why nobody else saw what an amazing sport hockey is. As i got older i even played womans hockey and wanted to be just like my idol Peter bondra. I hadnt been to a game in a few years but went 3 times last year and was just amazed at how many people were now at the game cheering for the team i’ve loved for so many years. Finally people were realizing what an awesome sport hockey is and what amazing athletes these people are. one of the most exciting times of my life was going to the stanely cup finals game it was crazy! The best thing that ever happened to the caps was ted Leonsis he turned that team around, its so nice to see an owner who genuinely loves his team.
I just want to say that i am a caps fan for life no matter how they are doing, i will rock the red til i die!! GO CAPS!!!

Favorite team: Washington Capitals

Favorite player: Brooks Laich

Games watched per season: 46-82

Do you twitter: Yes

Do you facebook: Yes

I have been a Caps fan as long as they have been around.  My Dad held a multi-game plan back in the day.  It was always a great time out at Caps Center. Never got a lot of NHL recognition in the early days, but I was smitten.  I even, somehow, managed to stay friends with my college roomie who was a Flyers fan!  We shared many a good laugh over hockey games. I have been a multi-game holder a couple of years, and this is my second season as a season ticket holder,  But I am in a split.  My partners picked the home opener.  While that’s their game fair and square, I feel so sad that I will be missing it.  And my Tweetup friends will be there without me at the OPENER!  So sad! Please pick me so I can attend the hoem opener and rock the red in the phone booth, rather than just watching on TV.

Lisa McGrath

We are giving away 2 free tickets to the Washington Capitals home opener hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs this coming Saturday October 3rd at the Verizon Center in Washington DC.

This is the regular season home opener for Washington, and the season opener for the NHL on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. It is sure to be an amazing game with all the anticipation surrounding both teams.

This is the first of what will be come a monthly contest to find and connect to the local events biggest Sport-Fans.

Are you the BIGGEST Washington Capitals or Toronto MapleLeafs Fan?

We want to find the most dedicated, hard-core Washington Area, Capitals, NHL or Toronto Maple Leafs fans that want to “Rock the Red” on Oct3rd to kick off the 2009/10 NHL season. (Fans of all other NHL teams can also enter if you will be in DC area for the game). You can enter the contest by explaining your loyalty and passion with a video (or in writing) telling us the ways you currently connect with your team, players, other fans or anything at all. For example, you might hold a party every game night at your house for 10 of your best friends? Or, maybe you organize a Fantasy League or perhaps you are following the team and connect with other fans on Twitter? Whatever special thing you do to connect with your favorite team, we want to hear about it.

You don’t have to live in Washington DC area to win, but it would help as the prize is for tickets only (no transportation or accommodations). Sorry, next time maybe?

How to Enter

To enter, you have to fill out the form below and either submit a video or letter.

Video

If you are adding a video to your application, please upload it to your own YouTube account. You can copy the URL or Embed code into your entry form below. We will then re-publish your video on our website.

Letter

If you are applying by writing, just copy and paste your letter into the form below. Please keep your entries less that 500 words and more than 100.

VOTING

We are excited to see what kind of feedback we get from this initial (and short notice) contest.  We are obviously big advocates for Social Media in Sports, so, with that in mind, we want to use it to it’s fullest to promote this contest and to decide the winner. Once you have submitted your entry we will email you a link that you can then broadcast thru your social network (websites, Facebook, Twitter, etc).  That link will display your entry on http://sportfanconnect.com and your contacts/friends will be able to vote for your entry by leaving comments on why you should win the tickets.  Every comment counts as a vote and will factor into deciding the winner.

The winner will be chosen by the following criteria:

1. Quality of the submission
2. Attention your submission generates (ie. Comments on http://sportfanconnect.com)

BONUS

We want as many entries as possible, but, we also understand that more entries means more competition for your entry.  So, with that in mind, there will be BONUS votes awarded for helping us promote the contest.

Use this link to promote on your Twitter, Facebook, Email, etc: http://su.pr/1RAKQW (Just so you know, we will be able to track these links thru our su.pr account…..so rest assure, your BONUS votes will be counted

CONTEST DEADLINE: Friday, October 2 – Midnight

To view all the contest entries and vote for you favorite, click here: http://sportfanconnect.com/category/the-connection/promotions/capitals-fan-connect

Good luck to everyone, and as usually, please leave a comment with your thoughts about this as a promotional tool and connecting device as it relates to our effort to connect with fans and their sports.