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Meeting Matt Kemp and wearing his Oakley sunglasses

By jbox

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Oakley is a sponsor of SB Nation and Gaslamp Ball.  You've no doubt noticed the Matt Kemp advertisement on our page all season.  It's actually probably the best looking ad we have due to Matt Kemp being part of it and it's color scheme that looks so good in conjunction with Gaslamp Ball's new retro Padres colors.

Well last week Oakley unveiled a new video featuring Matt Kemp talking about his One Obsession for baseball and his other obsession for stylish sunglasses that both protect his dreamy eyes and help him to perform better on the field.  Here check it out, I like that they use Ted Leitner's home run call:

What kind of Oakley sunglasses does Matt Kemp wear?  Oh those are the Flak 2.0's with PRIZM technology that are specifically designed for baseball.  How do I know this?  Well last week Oakley's PR company reached out to us with two offers.  First they asked if we would like to test these same sunglasses and second would we like to meet Matt Kemp?  Uh, yes please!

Flak 2.0 with PRIZM baseball lenses

The very next day a pair of Oakley Flak 2.0's showed up at my door.  Without reading any of the documentation I took them for a run.  I hadn't yet learned about the PRIZM technology but noticed how vibrant the colors looked and how some colors seemed to pop.  Something special was happening to my eyes even if my mind couldn't quite grasp it, my heart surely could. The Flak 2.0 frames were light but made with sturdy construction and rested comfortably upon my chiseled features. I appreciated the fact that they didn't bounce on my face while jogging but fit snugly without any discomfort or pressure that you'd think would be needed to hold them in place.

I had an Oakley representative later explain to me what the PRIZM lenses are all about.  They have two different types for baseball, ones for the infield and one for the outfield.  They sent me the outfield lenses, undoubtedly knowing about my days patrolling the outfield for The Fighting Catfish in adult league baseball more than a decade ago.  The outfield lenses accentuate the blue of the sky to enhance the contrast of a fly ball.  The infield pair makes greens and reds of the grass and dirt richer so the white of the baseball stands out.  Click the link to above to see an interactive split screen example.

oakley

Unfortunately I was not mistaken for Matt Kemp even while wearing these bad boys.  That's the only downside that I've experienced so far.  It was only after meeting Kemp that I can see why.

Meeting Matt Kemp

On Saturday Dex and I went down the Brickyard Cages to watch Matt Kemp surprise a bunch of kids. We could come if we didn't spoil the surprise. Oakley had sponsored the cages for a few hours and little leaguers, softball players and a couple bloggers took full advantage.  It was my first time at Brickyard which is located just off of the 8 in the vicinity of USD.  It's a nice facility.  Dex and I both took a turn in the 50 mph cage, since neither of us had swung a bat in sometime.  I used one of those Axe handle bats and chopped away for about thirty pitches.  Afterward my back started to ache and I decided I better stop before someone got hurt.

We killed time by looking at all the sunglasses and asking questions of the Oakley staff about which pairs Matt Kemp would think we'd look best in.

Next we sat outside and waited for the Padres to show up while we ate free food from the Mastiff Food Truck.  Oakley had sponsored the food too.  Dex and I feasted on sausage, but what else is new?  It was delicious, like for real.  I heard Dex asking questions about how to get them to cater all his meals.

Mark Kotsay arrived first.  We didn't even realize he was coming but he went straight for the sausage though which only proved that he's a man after our own heart.  Moments later Kemp rolled up in his blacked out SUV.  We couldn't see inside the tinted windows, but it could only be him.  He parked right next to our lawn chairs and walked past us as sausage hung from our lips.

We followed him inside to watch as the kids flocked to him.  I can tell you that my first impression of him was that he has a gentle soul.

And he was so charming.  We took pictures with him.

The thing is that we get pretty used to seeing average people in our daily lives and when you see an Adonis in the flesh before you, you take notice.

The kids loved him, nearly as much as the bloggers. You can tell he'll be a good father some day.

Dex and I kept trying to explain to each other how good Kemp looked in person.  Everything Dex would say was so poignant that I had to tweet it out.

Later he compared himself to a troll.

After about an hour we decided we'd better leave since we were faced with a long night ahead sleeping on the field at Petco Park.  We had no idea what we were in for.

Thanks to Oakley for making our dreams come true.  Now Matt Kemp is our #OneObsession.

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