The tragic death of comedian Brody Stevens is still being felt in the entertainment world more than a year later, and some Los Angeles Dodgers fans have managed to pay tribute to the late entertainer even in a season where people aren’t allowed at the ballpark. A life-sized cutout of Stevens has made its way to the stands at Dodger Stadium as a tribute to Stevens, who was a big baseball fan and died suddenly in February of 2019.
RIP @BrodyismeFriend. “818 ‘Til I Die.” pic.twitter.com/mX0UEyDwGF
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 24, 2020
As COVID-19 has impacted sports around the world, the return to play has come without fans in the stands. Some leagues choose to put mannequins in seats, while others started putting images of real fans in stadiums for a fee they donated to charity. A handful of baseball teams in the United States have followed suit, offering fans foul balls if they happen to get their cardboard cutouts dinged during games.
As it turns out, some friends of Stevens got the money together and his image was approved by the Dodgers. Before Thursday’s opening day, the cutout became a bit of a mini-game, with the people involved offering a prize if someone was able to spot him on TV.
Great news my friends! Our beloved friend @BrodyismeFriend cutout picture() & was approved by @Dodgers so Brody will be sitting at all the Dodgers home games this season! Thanks again to our buddy @RockinPins for donating the money! Now let’s go win the World Series! #ITFDB pic.twitter.com/DFkTbNRY4L
— Tommy Godlove (@TommyGodlove) July 23, 2020
Of course, the cutout was shown on ESPN during the broadcast on Thursday night, and a number of people shared the image and remembered Stevens online.
.@BrodyismeFriend miss you pic.twitter.com/3CAbJhTvRL
— dan haren (@ithrow88) July 24, 2020
Love and miss you @BrodyismeFriend
Hell yes @Dodgers #818tillidie pic.twitter.com/UMt5FxtFav— ANDREW SANTINO (@CheetoSantino) July 24, 2020
Holy shit they have a Brody Stevens cutout at Dodger Stadium,
— Dave Schilling (@dave_schilling) July 24, 2020
From cutout of Funny People to a cardboard cutout at Dodger Stadium! I miss you @BrodyismeFriend! Thank you @Dodgers!
pic.twitter.com/xpFa37FHGm— Ryan Sickler (@ryansickler) July 24, 2020
One comedian, Anthony Jeselnik, pointed out that it was somehow fitting that Stevens would show up during a commercial.
It’s so fucking funny that they crammed an M&M’s commercial into a tribute to Brody Stevens pic.twitter.com/vJ0yRNliML
— Anthony Jeselnik (@anthonyjeselnik) July 24, 2020
As Adrian Garro wrote for MLB.com last year, Stevens was a baseball player in college and maintained his fandom throughout his life, so it’s certainly a loving tribute to Stevens that resonated with a lot of people when he showed up on national television once more on Thursday night.