3 Million and counting...

The countdown is over. Kori Knapp is the 3 millionth fan in Somerset Patriots history.
Patriots staff members ambushed Knapp -- who was with her husband and two small children -- as she walked through the gates at Commerce Bank Ballpark on Thursday night. Needless to say, she was taken aback. Kori laughed nonstop for about 25 minutes and kept muttering things like "I don't believe this," "how did this happen?" and "this is unreal."
The cool thing about Knapp is that she is a good representative of the average Patriots fan. She is a baseball fan (her and her husband, Tom, were Patriots season ticket holders in 1999) but she mainly goes so her children can enjoy the atmosphere/baseball combination.
Her prize package included four tickets to every home game for the rest of the season, a commemorative plaque, team jersey and autographed bat and ball, four tickets to the upcoming Nick Lachey concert at the ballpark, a bouquet of flowers, thirty 100 Grand candy bars, a gift certificate to Maggiano’s Little Italy in Bridgewater, two tickets to Monty Python’s Spamalot and a $300 gift card for the team store.
Knapp said seemed totally in awe of the celebrity treatment she was given. She was a guest on WCTC's radio broadcast of the Patriots game.
The Patriots handled the 3 million celebration differently than they did the 1 and 2 million celebrations. In the past, they had fans sign up to be the 3 millionth fan and the honoree was picked at random. On Thursday they tracked the tickets and grabbed the unsuspecting honoree. I think this worked much better because it created an aura of excitement on the concourse. Some fans knew about the 3 millionth fan, some just wondered why a reporter, a cameraman and front office members were anxiously standing at the gate. Either way, everyone knew something was up.
As for the game, the Knapps will have to use their season tickets to catch the Patriots on a better day. Somerset scored five runs in the second inning but blew the 5-0 lead by allowing 13 of the next 14 runs to York.