Jessica McWalters (l) and Devon Furash on their first day in the “Funn Bunch” at the Diamond. photo courtesy Devon Furash
For the past 171 years, American baseball has been enjoyed by many. Juniors Jessica McWalters and Devon Furash help make this possible. They are part of a group called the “Funn Bunch,” a team of workers whose job requires them to recruit fans to play games and give out prizes to lucky spectators at Richmond Flying Squirrels games.
The girls participate in games on the field and are in charge of rallying the crowd. During the game, they run around the field flying flags displaying phrases such as “Go Nutz” in order to get the crowd hyped for the game.
McWalters and Furash first heard about the job when both of their dads went to their hurling team’s practice and met a man named Joe Domino. Domino was talking about how his dad worked with Parney, one of the head managers of the Flying Squirrels, and mentioned the “Funn Bunch”.
He said that they needed more people to work for them when the season started in April and that their daughters should apply for the job.
“When my dad came home and asked me if I wanted to work for the Flying Squirrels I immediately said yes,” said McWalters.
Both girls then went to The Diamond to interview and were offered the job.
Four or five times a week, the girls work as the “Funn Bunch”, working only the home games.
They are involved in setting up games on the field between innings and doing t-shirt tosses from the dugout. They often get to speak with players on the team and have become friends with the managers of the Flying Squirrels.
“Other than the fact that we work with the best group of people imaginable, I love the fact that we get to watch parts of the game from right next to the dugout,” said McWalters.
“My favorite part is getting to see people I know and getting to go on the field and play games with crowd,” said Furash.
Next time you find yourself at The Diamond, McWalters and Furash will be on the field making sure that you’re on your feet.
