Game of Thrones Night is coming to Petco Park in 2016

Star Wars Night, Ghostbusters Night, and now... Game of Thrones Night. The Padres just announced their third theme night to be taken place on July 29th.

Compared to Star Wars and Ghostbusters, this doesn't seem like the most family-friendly of theme nights. Or, considering Game of Thrones, maybe it's a little TOO family-friendly if you catch my drift. Like, are they gonna offer 2-for-1 tickets for brother-sister pairs who come to the game together?

Don't get me wrong, I like Game of Thrones just as much as the next guy, but it was hard for me to imagine how the Padres are going to pull this off in a way that isn't cheesy and pays homage to the series in a fun way.

So I went searching for other teams that might have done something similar in the past, and I did find something. A single-A team, the Staten Island Yankees, hosted a Game of Thrones Night in 2015. The Yankees renamed themselves the Staten Island Direwolves for the night and they played against the Lannister Lions (actually the Hudson Valley Renegades, a Tampa Bay Rays affiliate).

GoT author George R.R. Martin himself made an appearance at the game along with an actual arctic wolf, fans got to sit on an iron wooden throne made out of baseball bats, and mascots re-enacted a less bloody version of the Red Wedding. The SI Yankees also gave out GoT themed team hats and fans got a chance to meet Martin. It seemed like the crowd got really into it, dressing up as their favorite characters and even chanting "Shame! Shame!" accompanied by the ringing of a bell, at appropriate times throughout the game.

So, yeah, now I can picture it. And I'm into it.