After graduating from college back in 2004 I figured that since I'd be gainfully employed for the 40-60 years I should place my name on the Redskins season ticket waiting list. The prevailing school of thought at the time was that it took nearly 20 years for a person on the list to get their tickets so I figured I better get on it as soon as possible. Hopes for the future were high as Joe Gibbs had just returned and it seemed like Danny Snyder might be ready to let people who knew football decide what players to get. I knew that I was in for a potentially long wait to get my own tickets, but I didn't care.
I figured that by the time I was an out of shape, balding, bitter middle aged man I'd achieve the mythical status of Redskins Season Ticket Holder and I'd be able to go to every home game and sit in my very own seats. It was a dream for me. No more having to beg, borrow, or steal from my friends. No more having to deal with StubHub and their endless service charges and hidden fees. No more having to awkwardly meet up with strangers from Craigslist in back alleys or burnt out warehouses. My tickets would be delivered directly to my home via golden winged angels and all would be right with the world. I'd make friends with the people around me. The Redskins would party like it was 1991 and I'd get to be there for every playoff game.
Cut to a week ago - the lie that it takes 20 years for a Redskins fan to get season tickets came tumbling down when a nondescript letter showed up at my apartment, complete with an official Redskins' return address label. "What ever could this be," I said to my pet house plant. Based on the way the Snyder reign has gone and the fact that I work in the junk mail industry I assumed I was pre-approved for a Redskins credit card with a 75% interest rate and a free complementary umbrella, or there was a sale of Redskins Swatches at the local team store. I opened the letter with the enthusiasm of a man with an envelope from the IRS audit department. "Dear Mr. Cannon," hum, this sounds official, "CONGRATULATIONS." Pre-approval here we come... "The most valuable ticket is now yours! (U2 tickets?) With over 200,000 fans on the waitlist behind you (they must have been inspired by Jim Zorn's hair style and quotable personality), don't miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy Redskins Season Tickets! Keep tickets in your family for generations!" After less than five years on the Redskins season ticket waiting list my number had come up. Some how against all odds either enough people have dumped their tickets or FedEx Field added seats in concourse and bathroom making me eligible to pay face value, plus all taxes, charges, and fees to get season tickets. On top of that the Redskins are even offering me a $25 Redskins Retail Store Gift Card just for sending in a $100 per seat deposit! Plus, according to the letter I can "resell [my] tickets at a profit via StubHub for any game [I am] unable to attend!" (I thought it was illegal to sell your tickets for over face value, but apparently not) Talk about a win/win/win situation!
Now here's my problem - after thinking how great it would be to have season tickets, now that the opportunity is right in front of me I'm really not sure if I'm interested. My friends, the infamous Brothers Loubert, had season tickets for a few years so I've been fortunate enough to see about 80% of Redskins home games since around 2002. But Loubert The Elder got so fed up with the way the team treats their fans that he canceled his account and now gets tickets online for only the games that interest him. Between the increasingly apathetic atmosphere at the giant dump that is FedEx Field, the fact that it seems like at least 20% of the people at the stadium are rooting for the opposition, the crappy parking/tailgating situation, me feeling like I'm a 67 year old man trapped in a 26 year old body the day after attending games, and the fact that within 10 years no matter how crappy my seats are they'll probably cost me over $100 a pop I don't know if I can justify making the commitment.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Redskins and I love going to see them play but I just feel like the Redskins' ownership has made such a mockery of the franchise over the past decade that I don't know if I want to financially support them. I currently pick and choose the games I'm interested in and get tickets on the internet that's been just fine. It usually isn't difficult because with a 92,000+ seat stadium there are almost always tickets to be had. My hope is that in the not to distant future the team will be so good that all the bandwagoners will hop back aboard and tickets will be hard to come by. In the mean time I'm left to wonder if I should call the ticket office back or trash the letter. Hail to the Redskins indeed.
I may have to write my own blog on this... but some quick facts:
ReplyDelete1. The curtain is slowly being pulled back, but the season ticket waiting list is a joke now. I can't believe there's not an entire blog dedicated to this. In short, i think the "waiting list" has been converted to a "mailing list". If you get the shot at tickets, you can turn it down and get the same offer the following year. I'm going on 6 years of repeat mailings. In fact, I got two this year alone. More on this later.
2. Snyder is playing on your emotions. I was never prouder than when I could say I was a season ticket holder, but I finally realized that's EXACTLY what they want me to think so I'd keep my tickets for...
3. A completely miserable gameday experience
More to come, anticipate a full expose later this week.
In order to maintain a flow....i will be utilizing an enumerated list:
ReplyDelete1. You are an idiot. Do you not bleed burgundy and gold? At your alleged level of fandom (of which i now hold doubts) the sole excuses for not holding season tickets for your own NFL (other sports exempt) team is (a) they are not available or (b) you are not present in the locale. Here we have availability and presence (soon enough).
2. Experience. Ha. Laughable. "ah no...my stadium isnt cool enough to distract from the football being played on the field..(sad face)" You should be beaten for this comment. The only experience required on gameday is ability to see the players and the bitter cold air.
3. Musings of season ticket holder. You just started a blog about the Skins - and you are "couch fan." Phooey. No person is an audible fan unless they spend their Sunday amongst the miserable masses, bundled and still frozen, with an overpriced beer in your hand. There is something to say about the feeling of being a season ticket holder. When I first became one (Saints 2006), my life changed. I felt a part of the team (further disclosure - Im a Browns fan, but sadly live 5K miles away) and that my presence played a role in each victory/defeat. I would not even try to have a sports opinion if I was developing my opinion while sitting in a lazy-boy.
4. Envy. I am a Browns fan. Sadly, unless I become a multi-millionaire and can afford Sunday morning private jets to Cleveland - I will likely never have the opportunity to see my team live and in living color each Sunday. Living there is just not an option, unless i want to be jobless, homeless, and divorced (thats a new ability). Hence, i have incredible envy for any man who has THE TICKET.
5. Cost. They are tickets to see the one thing that keeps you alive. Sell some sperm/blood/organs. Its worth it. Otherwise, you are braindead and emotionless anyways.
Dont be a fool.
D
You were making decent arguments UNTIL you admitted that you were a Browns fan who lives in in NO (which is fine) but you also have season tickets to the Saints. Considering that the majority of both teams' games are on at 1:ooest, do you miss Brown's games to go to Saint's games? Even if you watch the game later on TIVO, how can you justify that? Seriously, what kind of fan are you?
ReplyDelete