BY CARL MACGOWAN
Newsday.com
8:11 PM EDT, April 7, 2008
An online contest to choose a new singalong song at Mets home games attracted thousands of pranksters who flooded the team's Web site to vote for a Rick Astley tune.
People on sites such as digg.com and deadspin.com encouraged voters to write in Astley's 1980s hit, "Never Gonna Give You Up," instead of 10 songs nominated by the Mets, including Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" and Bruce Springsteen's "Waitin' On a Sunny Day" -- after the club started the contest on March 31.
Pranks using the Astley song even have a name: Rickrolling.
Voting ended yesterday on the Mets' Web site. The winner will be revealed during the eighth inning of today's home opener.
Hoaxsters hanging out on the Web sites' online message boards relished the idea of throwing a curve ball past the Mets.
"Epic win if we can pull this off," bdbthinker said on digg.com, which recorded more than 8,000 responses when it asked readers to vote for the song.
"Not often do you get a chance to rickroll an entire city," added jacobfox2000.
Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said the team would play the winning song today -- even if the choice isn't a hit with fans. "Whatever the song that wins, it will be honored," Horwitz said. "I'm sure it will be a legitimate song."
Newsday.com
8:11 PM EDT, April 7, 2008
An online contest to choose a new singalong song at Mets home games attracted thousands of pranksters who flooded the team's Web site to vote for a Rick Astley tune.
People on sites such as digg.com and deadspin.com encouraged voters to write in Astley's 1980s hit, "Never Gonna Give You Up," instead of 10 songs nominated by the Mets, including Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" and Bruce Springsteen's "Waitin' On a Sunny Day" -- after the club started the contest on March 31.
Pranks using the Astley song even have a name: Rickrolling.
Voting ended yesterday on the Mets' Web site. The winner will be revealed during the eighth inning of today's home opener.
Hoaxsters hanging out on the Web sites' online message boards relished the idea of throwing a curve ball past the Mets.
"Epic win if we can pull this off," bdbthinker said on digg.com, which recorded more than 8,000 responses when it asked readers to vote for the song.
"Not often do you get a chance to rickroll an entire city," added jacobfox2000.
Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said the team would play the winning song today -- even if the choice isn't a hit with fans. "Whatever the song that wins, it will be honored," Horwitz said. "I'm sure it will be a legitimate song."
