CHICAGO — Billy Cook has seen cone earrings, peddled an orange ice cream cone and even spotted a balloon animal depicting the Pirates’ unique rallying cry this season at a recent fan event.
On Thursday at Rate Field, Cook and his teammates enjoyed more evidence of the cone's reach when a few Butler natives, seated behind the visitors’ dugout, held up a sign referencing the Pirates’ playoff chances with the classic movie “Dumb & Dumber.”
It was a photo of Jim Carrey’s character Lloyd Christmas wearing a cone on his head with one of the many infamous quotes in black and gold: “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance.”
“It’s great fans are bought in like that,” Cook said. “It’s turned into something that we didn’t imagine at the beginning. It’s fun when you see them get creative with it, too. We can get creative on our own, but posters like that … man, it’s great.”
The poster was made by Mike Beichner, who made the trip to Chicago with his two sons, Steve and Will, along with their cousin, Toby Austin.
The Beichners are diehard Pirates fans and every summer travel to see them play in a few road cities. They visited Angel Stadium and Dodger Stadium last summer and Oracle Park and Oakland Coliseum the year before that, convenient because Will lives in California.
Steve Beichner estimated they’ve seen about 15 or so MLB ballparks and chose this week because they could see Rate Field and Wrigley Field on successive days, departing after Friday’s matinee.
“It’s great,” Steve Beichner said in the seventh inning of the Pirates’ 2-0 win on Thursday. “Me and my brother played baseball growing up. Our dad was our coach. We used to love going to the Little League World Series every year. We’ve always loved our baseball trips.”
They also love the movie Dumb & Dumber, the 1994 comedy starring Carrey and Jeff Daniels (Harry Dunne) as a pair of lovable — but not very bright — friends who travel across the country to return a briefcase.
Later in the movie, after Christmas learns his love interest Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) was married and said there was a one-in-a-million chance of a potential relationship, Lloyd uttered the famous line: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”
It’s that way with the Pirates right now, who have a 1.5% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
But don't tell the Beichners or the Pirates. There's plenty of belief in both places.
“We love the cone, and there’s still that chance,” Steve Beichner said. “We’re hoping. If not this season, then definitely next.”
Mike Beichner actually designed the image using AI on his phone. The Beichners stopped at Walgreens on their way to the airport and had it printed on a poster. On Chicago's South Side, Pirates fans were stopping them and laughing, quoting various lines from the movie.
But their message was very much serious. The Pirates have won 11 of 15, they have their full offense together for the first time since May 30, and the Beichners would love nothing more than to see playoff baseball in Pittsburgh.
They’re obviously not alone.
“That’s really cool,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of the sign. “To be talking Pirate baseball here in September, where there is a chance … the guys have played well and put us in this spot. Hopefully the fans are embracing it.
“I know the players are learning a lot going through this. I am, as well. Who knows what happens as the end shakes out. But the future is bright."
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.