The force was with them.
About two dozen wannabe Jedi descended on MCU Park in Coney Island on Aug. 25 for the park’s annual Star Wars Night, where they geeked out with lightsabers and other fans of the cult classic films. One of the members of Sabers Guild, the national “Star Wars” fan group that stages choreographed lightsaber shows and which performed at the event, said Cyclones fans of all ages loved the lightsaber interludes between innings.
“It’s hard to tell who gets into it more, the adults or the children,” said Peter Malishchak, who dressed up as a Jedi character of his own creation. “Everyone loves it and gets into it and gets engaged.”
The group performed brief lightsaber battles throughout the game, and their performance culminated in a “final grand melee” on the field at the end of the game, according to Paul Sposato, who dressed up as Darth Jinduri. Sposato added that the crowd went particularly wild for the end-of-game battle.
“We always get a really great reception from the crowd, especially at the end when you’ve got the grand melee when it looks like our heroes are about to be overtaken and suddenly a massive Jedi runs out onto the field,” he said.
The crowd also channeled their excitement into pouring $1,700 into a Sabers Guild-sponsored raffle for “Star Wars” themed books and prizes, and the lightsaber-loving group donated the funds to the Ronald McDonald House on the Upper East Side of the distant isle of Manhattan, according to Malishchak.
