Before Game 1 of the World Series, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra posted a video of their Principal Horn Player, Michael Thornton, wearing a Dodgers cap while performing “Take Me out to the Ballgame,” and then tweeted – tauntingly – “You got anything @ROCOHouston?”
No one in LA is immune to @dodger euphoria, including LACO Principal horn player, Michael Thornton. You got anything @ROCOHouston? pic.twitter.com/cA1iu5S8OP
— LA Chamber Orchestra (@LACOtweets) October 24, 2017
Houston’s ROCO then responded with a video of their Principal Percussionist, Matthew McClung, playing the same tune on marimba, while standing next to a “Houston Strong” sign.
@MatthewMcClung1 says come get some… pic.twitter.com/1uTC5P1jt2
— ROCOHouston (@ROCOHouston) October 25, 2017
This spawned a competition between the two orchestras to one-up each other with renditions of baseball songs. As they vie for the most shares on social media, the losing side will have to suffer consequences, such as the humiliation of wearing the other team’s baseball caps at their next concert.
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art also have a feud in progress, using the hashtag #WorldSeriesArtThrowdown, with each museum trash-talking the other city’s team and illustrating each insult with an artwork from their collections.
When the Astros won Game 5, the MFAH tweeted an image by artist William Wegman, famous for his photographs of costumed Weimaraners.
WOW! Good game @Dodgers, but you're running back to LA w/ tails between your legs… https://t.co/l1eGQ1fB2S @LACMA #WorldSeriesArtThrowdown pic.twitter.com/klCboGoFPW
— MFAH (@MFAH) October 30, 2017
With Game 6 tonight in LA and a possible World Series title for the Astros by the end of it, look for more baseball-fueled drama and creativity to unfold on each arts group’s social media pages.