It’s the worst thing to happen to Burger King since the BK Mimosa. It’s the worst hoax aimed at a Pacific Northwest business since the bogus death of He Who Cannot Be Named! The Skagit Valley Herald’s Daniel DeMay reports a mob of nearly 5 dozen was bitterly disappointed Saturday when former Mariners Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and Dan Wilson failed to appear at local Burger King.
According to Bruce Broderick, who owns the Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon franchises, Wilson, Buhner and Martinez were scheduled to sign autographs and meet fans last Saturday and Sunday. Broderick said the store’s manager was friends with Wilson and had arranged the event to help draw customers to the store.
However, around 1 p.m. — after many fans had been waiting in the sun since before 9 a.m. — word came that Martinez was sick and had been hospitalized after getting lost trying to find the event. The other two players were supposedly with him, so none would show up for autographs.
Despite local advertising and a press release misspelling Buhner’s name, the event appears to have been completely made-up.
“The ‘event’ with Dan Wilson, Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner was a hoax,” said Rebecca Hale, director of public information for the Seattle Mariners.