Minor leaguer leaves tickets for Ronda Rousey at every game
Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones isn’t the only athlete trying to woo Ronda Rousey.
Chicago Cubs minor leaguer Anthony Giansanti has been leaving tickets for the UFC women’s bantamweight champion at every one of his games for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.
“Hey Ronda, same location diff. opponent. 7 pm in Des Moines. Will call will have your ticket #Everyday @RondaRousey,” Giansanti posted Monday on Twitter beneath a photo of Rousey’s name on the player pass list.
The chiseled Giansanti said leaving tickets for Rousey started as a joke.
“The funny thing about Ronda is, we’ve had a lot of conversations about her in the clubhouse, and I’m a pretty tough-looking guy in the clubhouse,” Giansanti told MMA Fighting. “And I’ve always been asked if I think I can beat up Ronda Rousey. And I’m like, I wouldn’t want to beat her up — I want to take her out on a date.”
On July 15, Giansanti asked Cubs fans via Twitter to help him convince Rousey to be his date to his friend’s wedding in the fall. His pursuit of Rousey escalated quickly as it was mentioned Tuesday on ESPN “SportsCenter.”
“Nothin like having your mom see you on ESPN for the 1st time…no, not for baseball but for leaving my celeb crush tickets #MakinMamaProud,” Giansanti, 26, posted Tuesday.
Rousey hasn’t responded to Giansanti, but her mother, AnnMaria De Mars, has, posting “She’s kind of got this thing in Brazil right now.”
De Mars was referring to Rousey’s upcoming Aug. 1 bout against Bethe Correia at UFC 190 in Brazil.
This prompted Giansanti to apologize, posting “I’ve been selfish…Ronda, go defend your title…then celebrate with a hot dog and beer at a baseball game #NoFeel.”
Considering Rousey is alive and well, Giansanti has a much better shot at having her show up for a game than Jerry Glanville did at having the late Elvis Presley appear at an Oilers game when the ex-Houston coach left tickets for “The King” at every game.
Giansanti has been striking out on and off the field thus far in his five-game stint with Iowa, going 3-for-17 (.176) with four Ks.
If the former 49th-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics is still with Iowa in mid-August, maybe Giansanti and Rousey can hook up at a Cubs-51s game at Cashman Field, where the teams will meet in a four-game series from Aug. 15 to 18.
Jones asked Rousey out via Twitter during the recent ESPY awards show, posting “Soooooo @RondaRousey what you doing after the show?”
He also tweeted, “Is it weird that I have a crush on @RondaRousey and scared of her at the same time” and “If you already talking to a UFC fighter I’m cool.”
Rousey took a break from training camp to respond to Jones via video. She seemed flattered and said he was “very sweet” but that she doesn’t party much and was in bed by 9:30 p.m.
She’s probably still seeing Turtle from “Entourage.”
