Scoreboard message proves baseball fan has best mates ever

A scoreboard message at a baseball game in the US has gone viral after a group of friends showed he had the most supportive mates.

This bloke has the best mate's ever. Photo: Twitter / @carmenkiew

When times are tough, we all need friends like these.

As Covid-19 dominates our lives for a second year running, the pandemic is having wide-ranging effects outside of just health concerns. For some, unfortunately, this has included the breakdown of relationships.

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Despite the very real threat of Covid, things have started to open up again in the US and fans have been able to return to sporting events — taking advantage of the opportunity in huge numbers.

It’s seen sports lovers make plenty of headlines. At the US Open, we had a spectator skolling a beer every time the TV cameras found her, while at the Mayo Classic college football game between Clemson and Georgia, one man ate an entire jug of mayonnaise.

This time at the Major League Baseball clash between the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, one fan’s friends showed how much they care.

Wedding proposals at sporting events have become a cliche, so Max’s mates took a different approach. “Happy divorce Max. Back in the game!” read a message that flashed up on the jumbotron.

On Twitter sports video producer Sam Hustis said the message got “the biggest cheer of the night”.

The message put the game to shame. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

TV host Carmen Kiew posted the image on her Twitter account calling it the “best scoreboard message”.

There was plenty of conjecture online over whether the image was a supportive one from Max’s friends, a vindictive one from his former partner saying they were back on the market or even one from Max trying to put himself back out there.

It took the man at the centre of it all to answer the question. He sent a message to Kiew, which she then shared to social media.

“Hey Carmen thanks for sharing this. My friends got it for me as a surprise. Funny to see it blowing up!” Max said.

Y’ALL - I heard from Max! pic.twitter.com/VTAQmWiOLT

— Carmen Kiew (@carmenkiew) September 16, 2021

The “happy divorce” message has gone viral. ESPN’s Sportscenter shared the image of the jumbotron, writing “Congrats, Max”, while Barstool Sports tweeted: “Scoreboard Divorces Are SO Much Better Than Scoreboard Proposals.”

There have been a series of cringe-worthy moments in recent scoreboard message history. In August, a man named Tim broke up with his girlfriend over the scoreboard message at a Minor League Baseball game.

“Alyssa, this relationship is OVER — Tim,” it read.

The Akron RubberDucks then offered anyone named Tim or Alyssa who presented their ID at the box office a game ticket for $5, which is what Tim paid for the break up message. The RubberDucks also offered the first 1000 game attendees a “Team Alyssa” or “Team Tim” shirt.

Tim went the other way on that one pic.twitter.com/J1lAjmIice

— Starting 9 (@Starting9) August 21, 2021

And there is always the proposal gone wrong. In July, a fan drowned his sorrows as his beloved could only say “I have to go” and fled the stadium after he popped the question.