"We need them in the stands" "Is this allowed?" – Baltimore Orioles fans react to team debuting 'Dong Bong' funnel as their home run celebration
Dugout home run celebrations have become increasingly more intricate over the years, but the Baltimore Orioles have managed to break new ground.
After Ryan Mountcastle smacked a first-inning home run in Monday's game against the Oakland Athletics, he was greeted in the dugout by a device by a contraption known well to many college co-eds.
WE HAVE A HOME RUN FUNNEL https://t.co/klyFo4EpOw
Mountcastle took a long pull of what appeared to be a beer bong — though it almost certainly did not an alcoholic beverage, as this was not a bar league softball game — in what the Maryland Sports Network termed a "Home Run Funnel" and the players call a "Hydration Station."
En masse, Orioles fans immediately dubbed it the "Dong Bong."
@masnOrioles The dong bong!
@masnOrioles Get it right! It’s called the Dong Bong
DONG BONG @masnOrioles 🚨 DONG BONG 🚨
The Dong Bong sent Baltimore Orioles fans headlong into ideas of how to use the apparatus during the long season. Many want the bong to make its way into the seating area so those in attendance can also join in on the festivities.
Baltimore may want to consider the idea of having a "Dong Bong Night" where fans can bring their own homemade imbibing contraptions.
We're not sure chugging milk out of the Dong Bong is a good idea. Those Baltimore summers are mighty oppressive as far as heat and humidity.
As Ron Burgundy once quipped, "It's so hot. Milk was a bad choice."
@masnOrioles 2023 is the year of orioles beer bongs
@masnOrioles Do a hr milk chug 💪
@masnOrioles Love it. We need them in the stands
Alas, not every Orioles supporter was a fan of the team's new home run implement. For every frat boy doing beer bongs in the party room, there were also college students hitting the books hard in the university library.
@masnOrioles Where is the chain that was more fun?
@masnOrioles @JasonLaCanfora Whoever came up with this beer bong(water bong) celebration idea in the dugout https://t.co/zZR7OfruuS
@masnOrioles is this allowed?😭😭
Overall, however, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. With a number of Orioles fans demanding the team begin selling replica Dong Bongs at Camden Yards, the organization may have a cash cow of a souvenir idea on its hands. Was Frank the Tank from the movie "Old School" a Baltimore fan? As he famously said, "Once it hits your lips, it's so good!"
We need them to sell these in the gift shop to twitter.com/masnOrioles/st…
Baltimore Orioles looking good for a long, fun summer
The Baltimore Orioles are one of the youngest teams in MLB, and they appeared to wake from a decade-long slumber in making a playoff push last season.
While the team hasn't busted out yet in 2023 — the Orioles were 4-5 entering a three-game set against the visiting Oakland Athletics — there is much optimism in MLB circles that Baltimore will challenge for the postseason again this campaign.