Final Countdown for Purp Walk 2023 Now in Progress!

Purple Amnesty Day (being observed on May 16 this year, instead of the usual May 17) is now only four days away! Here’s an update on the festivities we’re planning:

• I will be heading down to Greenville, N.C., on Tuesday, May 16, when the East Carolina University baseball team will be hosting Campbell at Clark-LeClair Stadium. ECU will wear their powder purple uniforms (they’re calling the promotion “Paint It Purple”) and I will throw out the first pitch while dressed in purple from head to toe. The game will be available for viewing on ESPN+, although I doubt they’ll show the first pitch.
• Uni Watch readers who want to attend the game can purchase discounted tickets for sitting in ECU’s outfield “Jungle” seating area.
• The game starts at 6pm. Shortly before 8pm, I will leave the game and go to a nearby bar, Coco’s, to host a Uni Watch gathering. Readers watching the game can go with me, or they can stay until the end of the game and come to the bar later. It’s also fine if you want to skip the game entirely and just attend the party. The bar has promised to come up with some sort of purple drink special for us. I hope lots of you will come out and join us!
• ECU’s live purple-costumed mascot, PeeDee the Pirate, will visit us at the ballpark. I’m hoping he’ll come to the Coco’s gathering as well, although that’s not yet a certainty.

In addition: This year’s Purp Walk T-shirt is really fun. ECU’s teams are called the Pirates, so the shirt shows a purple pirate making me walk the plank (“Purp Walk the Plank,” get it?):

We took pre-orders on this shirt a few weeks ago, and it will also be available for exactly 24 hours next Tuesday. We hope to also have purple caps available (still getting that sorted out with the supplier), and of course Tuesday will also be your one chance this year to order a purple-themed Uni Watch membership card.

We’ll also have purple content on the blog, including Kary Klismet’s annual report on teams with mismatched shades of purple. Should be a really fun day!