Promotional merch

San Antonio Missions' 2024 season giveaways include jerseys of 2 legendary Spurs

Time to play ball and get free stuff at San Antonio Missions games.

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Missions

Opening day for the San Antonio Missions arrives Tuesday, April 9, against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium.

It'll be the first of 69 home games for the Missions, now the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. It's an exciting schedule for fans who "root, root, root for the home team." Who else should get excited? Fans of free stuff.

Cool promotional merchandise is an annual tradition for the Missions. According to a release, the new season will include 14 giveaways, including, for the first time, basketball jerseys of Spurs legends David Robinson (May 31 and August 30) and Manu Ginobili (May 18 and June 29).

There will also be four baseball jersey giveaways, including a Nolan Ryan Missions jersey (June 14), a Craig Biggio Missions jersey (July 12), and a Roger Clemens Missions jersey (August 16). All of the former star players are affiliated with the Missions' ownership group.

San Antonio Missions jerseys Renderings of some of the jerseys that will be given away during the season.Courtesy of the San Antonio Missions

Fans can also expect the return of Used Car Night (June 28) and Shirt Off Our Back Night (September 13) this season. Used Car Night allows fans the opportunity to win a used car during the game, while Shirt Off Our Back Night offers the chance to win a game-used, autographed Missions jersey.

Other giveaways include thermal mugs, pullovers, trucker hats, and Hawaiian shirts. Fireworks will follow every Saturday home game throughout the season, and they'll also rev up during the H-E-B July 4th Celebration on July 4, which includes a post-game concert.

The stadium will host two theme nights during the 2024 season: Harry Potter Night (July 13) and Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond (June 15). Even the team will be wearing themed jerseys, which will be auctioned later for charity.

Throughout the season, Tuesday nights will be an AARP $2 Tuesday (offering outfield reserved tickets for $2), and Thursdays will be Taco Bell Value Night (offering half-priced tickets). Four-legged furry fans are welcome for Bark in the Park at every Wednesday game. Sunday games will feature Military Appreciation and Six Flags Kids Day.

More information about promotions and individual tickets for all games can be found on the Missions' website.

San Antonio Missions 2024 Promotional Giveaways

April 12 – Thermal Mugs Presented by Circle K (First 1,500 fans)
April 26 – Fiesta Jersey Presented by McCombs Ford West (First 2,000 fans)
May 17 – 3/4 Flying Chanclas Pullover Presented by Bill Miller BBQ (First 1,500 fans)
May 18 – Manu Ginobili White Flying Chanclas Basketball Jersey Presented by Circle K (First 1,500 fans)
May 31 – David Robinson White Missions Basketball Jersey Presented by Circle K (First 1,500 fans)
June 14 – Nolan Ryan Missions Jersey Presented by McCombs Ford West (First 2,000 fans)
June 28 – Used Car Night Presented by Security Service Federal Credit Union
June 29 – Manu Ginobili Blue Flying Chanclas Basketball Jersey Presented by Circle K (First 1,500 fans)
July 5 – Patriotic Trucker Hat Presented by TSAOG (First 1,500 fans)
July 12 – Craig Biggio Missions Jersey Presented by McCombs Ford West (First 2,000 fans)
August 2 – Hawaiian Shirt Presented by San Antonio Water System (First 1,500 fans)
August 16 – Roger Clemens Missions Jersey Presented by McCombs Ford West (First 2,000 fans)
August 30 – David Robinson Blue Missions Basketball Jersey Presented by Circle K (First 1,500 fans)
September 13 – Shirt Off Our Back Night Presented by Security Service Federal Credit Union

giveaways missions sports

Movie Review

Gladiator II tells a very familiar story with Paul Mescal in the lead

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Paul Mescal in Gladiator II.

There are some films for which making a sequel is natural, and others where a follow-up is wholly unnecessary. Gladiator, which both made tons of money and was named Best Picture at the Oscars, told an impactful stand-alone story that ended with the protagonist dead and no real loose ends. And yet because there’s always more money to be made, here we are 24 years later with Gladiator II.

The lead character this time around is Lucius (Paul Mescal), a general in a North African army who becomes a prisoner of war when the Roman army led by Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) bests him and his troops in battle. Taken back to Rome, he is put in the pool of captured men forced to fight at the Colosseum for the amusement of twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracella (Fred Hechinger).

Lucius is controlled by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), an ambitious schemer who bets liberally on his prized fighter and always has an eye to move up in the world. Meanwhile, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the sister of Emperor Commodus from the first film, is now married to Marcus Acacius and has a unique connection with Lucius that is fairly obvious from the get-go.

Directed once again by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa, the film commits a number of sins throughout its 150-minute running time, the most blatant of which is that, aside from a few embellishments, it essentially tells the same story as the first film. Lucius, like Maximus, is a deposed military leader who’s out for revenge on the person who killed his family. Instead of one obnoxious emperor, there are now two. And the only way for Lucius to earn his freedom is to fight his way out.

Stories told in the same world can echo each other and, if done well, overcome those similarities. But Gladiator II is shockingly boring for a purported sword-and-sandals epic. Scott and his team try to introduce new elements to the fights, like a gladiator riding a rhinoceros or a ship battle inside the Colosseum (with sharks!), but most of the sequences are inert with no propulsion to them.

The action fails because none of the relationships in the film amount to much. There are stand-out characters like Macrinus and the twin emperors, but instead of creating antipathy or strong feelings of triumph or defeat, the story just kind of happens without any sense of excitement or importance. Much of that issue lies at the feet of Lucius, who simply doesn’t inspire in the same way that Russell Crowe’s Maximus did.

Mescal is a fine actor who’s done good work in more intimate roles, but he’s not up to the task of being an action star, at least not in this film. Any bombast he shows with the character feels forced, and the story doesn’t give him enough opportunities to counteract that lack. Washington, however, fills up the screen with his charisma, and it’s during his scenes that the film comes closest to being rousing. Quinn and Hechinger are a lot of fun as the twin emperors, but in the end they feel like retreads of Joaquin Phoenix from the original.

Any sequel should have a purpose that sets it apart from what came before, but Scott, Scarpa, and the rest of their team fail in that respect in Gladiator II. It’s a mostly lifeless film that delivers scenes that would be exciting if they had any kind of good story to back them up.

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Gladiator II opens in theaters on November 22.

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Movie Review

Gladiator II tells a very familiar story with Paul Mescal in the lead