'Extremely generous': Viral social media post gets Winnipeg man free wings for a year
Winnipegger Howie Prociuk was on a father/son trip south of the border to see the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis last month, when a funny thought occurred to him.
"We're at the hotel in Minneapolis on Friday before the game and I go to my son 'Let's do something crazy on our sign that will maybe get us on (television)," said Prociuk.
He wrote, "My wife thinks I'm watching the game at Smitty's in Winnipeg … let's go Jays!" in thick black marker on a piece of white poster board, and the two headed off to the game.
Prociuk was successful in getting his sign televised Friday night. Back in Winnipeg, Smitty's marketing director Jessica McGregor was going about her evening when she was sent a photo of Prociuk and his sign.
"Our owners got a text message from one of their friends who happened to be watching the Jays game saying 'did you see this?'" said McGregor.
She posted the photo to the Smitty's Facebook page in an effort to find out who Prociuk was, and to reward him for his loyalty.
"I immediately took it to social media, and from there is kind of just spiraled …we kind of exploded overnight in terms of how viral we went in Winnipeg, which was very exciting for us," McGregor said.
She said Prociuk had no idea it was happening because he's not on social media.
"He said he didn’t find out about it until he crossed the border and his phone blew up with people trying to get a hold of him so we could get a hold of him," said McGregor.
"My phone, it was like sitting next to R2-D2, it went bonkers. People I haven’t heard from in years contacting me," Prociuk said.
In thanks for the cross-border shout-out, Smitty's gave Prociuk free wings for a year from any location in Winnipeg, along with some promotional gifts from local breweries.
"Smitty's was extremely generous and gave me a little bit of swag for my wife and myself, and then they gave me a coupon for chicken wings for a year," Prociuk said.
"We'll definitely be enjoying the wings!"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.