When I was a young boy, I was a big sports fan and always dreamed of traveling from city to city taking in different games from the great coliseums and domes around the country. Whether it be taking in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium, new and old, or seeing Brett Favre light it up in a Packer game at legendary Lambeau Field or watching Michael Jordan destroy another team’s playoff hopes with a buzzer-beater at the United Center, I wanted to see it all.
Unfortunately, nowadays, it isn’t quite so simple with ticket prices being as outrageous as they can get. For a 24-year-old sports fan, I find it very pathetic that I have only attended one live pro sporting event.
The main worry for me is the distance of some of the events I would like to attend, but creeping up slowly is the fact that the average fan can’t afford to pay for the tickets. Because the leagues won’t lower their ticket prices, the easy alternative for a fan is to buy a nice 52-inch HD flat-screen TV and sit at home with family and friends and watch multiple games, with a better view of the game.
That cause and effect has created a whole different problem for the fans and the league. The leagues decided, if they can’t get people to pay, the league will blackout their local team so they can’t see their favorite teams play. This isn’t a recent occurrence, but rather something that started when the money from TV contracts began to be double and triple what the players salaries are.
For me, it just feels like another one of those issues that are all about the moolah and less about what the game was intended for – the fun, and the fans.
The San Francisco Giants World Series Game 1 tickets had a wide range of prices, and in fact, most team sporting events do. Here are the listings of what I have found.
For those prices, I better get to start at quarterback, catch all the groupies after the game and drive away with an MVP trophy and a Cadillac.
What the hell are they thinking with these prices? I don’t know who has $20,000 just lying around, but I sure the hell don’t, and I’m pretty sure you don’t either. And instead of freezing out the fans who don’t have the money – especially in these rough economic times – how about we lower some of the ticket prices.
Instead of all the owners fattening their pockets, and bitching and complaining the players make too much, why don’t they decide to take a pay cut?
The reasonable fan understands stadium upkeep, maintenance, expenses and such, but what we don’t understand is the profit margins some of these owners make off of losing teams. Don’t charge me an arm and a leg and complain how your players make too much, so you’re going to have a lockout.
Again, why force the punishment on the fans? The players have their money, they can do fine without for a season. But the fans who love the game, we get to miss out because you – the leagues and owners – decided you didn’t make enough money. Well, I say screw you and your overinflated prices. Me and the gang are heading down to the local sports bar to watch the games in HD and have a few drinks. Are you coming or what?