Canes Fan Wins Tickets With Enthuse
Hurricanes fans have the chance to earn rewards simply by watching and supporting Miami Athletics.
One loyal Miami fan recently earned a very special prize for all of his support, tickets to the 2013 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
Matt Garbarino redeemed 3,000 points on Enthuse, an app that rewards fans for watching their favorite team’s games, to make the trip to Greensboro to support the Canes.
“Winning the tickets was awesome,” Garbarino said. “It was probably one of the best moments of my life.”
Enthuse, available on both Android and iPhone platforms, rewards loyal fans for attending sporting events through digital points, which can be redeemed for a variety of rewards.
Prizes through Enthuse range from Amazon gift cards to a trip to the ESPYS. At the University of Miami, fans have redeemed points for gift cards, Sebastian the Ibis sunglasses and opportunities to be in the tunnel when the men’s basketball team takes the court at the BankUnited Center.
Garbarino did not know about Enthuse until he received an email promoting the app.
“I found out about Enthuse about a month and a half ago when Miami started sending out emails advertising the application,” Garbarino explained.
The junior was intrigued and decided to start using the application immediately.
“I took a look at it and started using it right away,” Garbarino said. “Especially with all the prizes you can win. I think the app is incredible. It is a great way to get students and fans involved with Miami athletic events.”
Garbarino kept up with team schedules through the app and started attending home sporting events regularly.
“I followed most UM sports on the app,” Garbarino said. “And I went to both men’s and women’s basketball games, as well as some baseball games, to get the points I needed. ”
Like every Hurricane fan, Garbarino wanted to be at the ACC Tournament to see the men’s basketball team cap off what had already been a magical season. Unfortunately, Garbarino did not have tickets to the tournament and was uncertain how he would attend the event.
“One of my friends actually told me Miami had posted tickets to the ACC Tournament on Enthuse,” Garbarino explained. “By then, I had accumulated enough points to get them.”
Garbarino was already interested in supporting Miami at the ACC Tournament, but the opportunity to get free tickets convinced him to make the 12-hour road trip to North Carolina.
“I was thinking about heading up there anyway,” Garbarino said. “One of my friends invited me, but I did not have any tickets. I was just going to buy them out of the parking lot, but I ended up winning them and it was awesome. It was probably one of the greatest moments of my life.”
Garbarino’s trip became unforgettable when he was in attendance while the Hurricanes captured their first ACC Tournament championship.
“It was unbelievable,” Garbarino said. “The Hurricanes were playing Boston College and that game was a lot closer than I thought, so it was thrilling from the start. Then we handled North Carolina State pretty well and the North Carolina game was unbelievable. It went by way too fast; they went back and forth all game. It was incredible.”
“Just seeing where we came from in the regular season and then watching Shane and Julian and all the guys cut down the nets was just awesome.” Garbarino said. “ Seeing the confetti fall from the ceiling was the icing on the cake.”
