April 8th 2008 will forever mark a momentous day, as that day the greatest Internet prank in history was pulled off.
Shea Stadium was Rick Rolled, on OPENING DAY!
Now, for those who aren't familiar with Rick Rolling, it involves sending someone a link disguised as something else, and instead of getting a picture of say, cute animals, you get a video of Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up.'
The Mets started an online contest some weeks back where people could vote for the song that gets played in the 8th inning of Mets home games. Among the choices were Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, and The Monkees. However, some Internet blogs, including awesome Deadspin weekend editor Matt Sussman and Fark, thought it would be a great idea to start a write-in campaign for Astley, as what could be better than some deliciously bad 80s music during the 8th inning.
Lo and behold, Astley received the most votes, but the Mets brass were not pleased with this outcome and stopped short of declaring "Never Gonna Give You Up" the winner. The team plans on playing the top 6 voted songs over the first six home games and will gauge fan participation before naming a winner. Astley's song came blaring out of Shea speakers today during the Mets home opener, and was obviously booed.
It's unlikely we'll hear the vocal stylings of Astley at Shea ever in the future, but seriously, how freakishly awesome is it that a couple of Web sites were able to pull this off.
The other remaining finalists include Bon Jovi’s “Livin on a Prayer,” The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer,” Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out,” Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” and The Foundation’s “Build Me Up Buttercup.”
Need a Rick Astley fix? Check out this incredible Rick Roll video.
-Lizzy