If Ronda Rousey ever finds herself in Iowa and in the mood to catch a baseball game, there is a free ticket waiting for her in Des Moines.
Anthony Giansanti, a 26-year-old utility man who plays for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, leaves Rousey a ticket to every home game. He told MMAFighting.com on Monday that the gesture started as banter among teammates but has escalated into a running joke.
“The funny thing about Ronda is, we’ve had a lot of conversations about her in the clubhouse, and I’m a pretty tough looking guy in the clubhouse,” Giansanti said. “And I’ve always been asked if I think I can beat up Ronda Rousey. And I’m like, I wouldn’t want to beat her up — I want to take her out on a date.”
@RondaRousey 7 pm in Des Moines, Game 2. One ticket at will call. #Everyday pic.twitter.com/VJvITilEVp
— Anthony Giansanti (@GianSanity) July 21, 2015
Hey Ronda, same location diff. opponent. 7 pm in Des Moines. Will call will have your ticket #Everyday @RondaRousey pic.twitter.com/J9sAatIB1B
— Anthony Giansanti (@GianSanity) July 20, 2015
There you go @RondaRousey A ticket will be waiting for you at will call… 7 o'clock game in Des Moines. Everyday. pic.twitter.com/kSA1O7Qw4i
— Anthony Giansanti (@GianSanity) July 16, 2015
Giansanti says he initially just wanted to make his teammates laugh.
“I left her a ticket one day, just hoping the guys would look at the pass list and get a good laugh out of it,” he explained. “They said, you should tweet that, it’s funny. So I did, and the first one got some love and then I tweeted it again. Then that made it like an on-running joke. Never ever thought it would escalate to this. It was harmless fun, and it caught fire.”
But now that ESPN and other major media outlets have picked up on the joke, Giansanti admits it would be sweet if Rousey actually took him up on the offer.
“I think that would be cool, but I don’t expect her to or anything,” he said. “But it would be cool. It would be a good ending to the story. I guess if she came I’d have to ask her out on a date, right? I’ve come this far.”
Go for it, bro. Just be leery about what Rousey has said recently when asked about her upcoming opponent. Now might not be the best time to stand in her way.
H/T Eye on Baseball
