Photo: Staci Klemmer

If you’re expecting a discussion about last Saturday’s game, stop now. Though it was a great win, I’m focusing on things I have some hope in winning, namely, Union contests.

I’m always up for sending in a photo or giving my info if its all towards getting something from the Union. And so far, I’ve been moderately successful.

Recently, the Atlantic Dairy Association ran a “Refuel with Chocolate Milk” promotion. Very simple premise: Take a picture drinking chocolate milk and tweet it with the hashtag #refuelwiththeu. Six entrants won and I was one of them. The prize was that we got to bring three people to a fitness and agility session on the field at PPL Park. Each group was run by a Union player, so my family got to “train” with Ray Gaddis, Jimmy McLaughlin, and Sebastian LeToux. We also got some goodies at the end and a photo op with the players.

While I found about the contest on Twitter, there is a “Current Contests” page on the Union website under the “Fans” tab. In fact, I just entered to win something from Acme. All I had to do was text a code to a number. I’ll let you know how I do.

Generally speaking, there are a few types of contests:

1. You send a photo and have folks vote on it (Won a Union jersey a couple of years ago by sending in a photobomb pic and telling all my friends to vote for it.)
2. You text a code to a sponsor (I have totally given up on the Independence Blue Cross one that has me texting a code on game day to win a meet and greet with a player.)
3. You sign up for something (Two years ago, my husband entered via an email that the Union sent out advertising their soccer camps and we won a week of Union soccer camp. I signed up for a Horizon Services contest, didn’t win. Unless you count the phone calls I’m still getting from them as a victory.)

If you’re not in it for the stuff, you can always put your money down on the 50/50 game day. Usually I don’t have the greatest luck so I prefer games of chance that don’t cost money. However I will say that one of our tailgate buddies actually won in the beginning of the season.

And who are those folks at half time shooting goals and trying to kick a ball to the center of the Bimbo logo? A good friend of mine was one of the people shooting at targets set up in the net a few games ago. He won the opportunity because his father-in-law works for a sponsor and they often set up contests for their employees.

Finally, there are the loyalty point auctions. They’re not a true contest, but some chance is involved. I have used my points twice to try to accumulate more gear. The first time was when I went all in to get one of the original prototype jerseys with the Bimbo bear on the front. I won and will treasure that jersey forever. The following year, I saved in order to get one of the game worn jerseys at the end of the year. I was a wee bit optimistic as to how my point total stacked up to others; by the time I got the phone call, there were 8 players left, only one of which had seen any time on the pitch and/or was likely to be in blue the following year. Left with slim pickings, I took Aaron Wheeler.

Last year and again this year, I have decided to save my points. At the beginning of the season, the Union holds a special meet and greet with the players exclusively for season ticket holders with 3250 or more points per seat. A great time was had by all, in part because it was not a mad house — and in part because Fado throws a great party.

The moral of the story: You can’t win if you don’t get in the game, so tweet those photos and save those points!