what a difference a year makes
Ever since the Jaguars have been in existence, we've had the same arrangement.
In 1995, even before the announcement was made, the wife and I discussed tickets. What if we actually got an NFL team? How cool would that be? Could we manage season tickets? How much would that cost? How could we swing that? Then they announced that Jacksonville got a team, and we were swept up in the euphoria. We love football, and wanted to see, what was soon to be, our team. Unfortunately, we weren't wealthy, so we really couldn't afford season tickets, but if we could split them with someone, that could work. The wife called me from work the next day. She found someone who was interested, and we did that. We bought one seat. They bought the seat next to us. We got together at the beginning of the season and picked games, each getting both seats for a preseason game and four regular season games. It was a beautiful thing. Since game day is pretty much an entire Sunday thing, this made it more affordable, not only cash, but time wise as well.
Then they moved to Tampa. No biggie. I found someone I worked with who wanted in. That worked for a few years, but then that guy went to work for a company that owned a sky box, and he could sit there on occasion, and didn't want to pay for seats. I could understand. In his situation, I wouldn't either. I went in search of a new partner, and found one...a friend of a friend. That was working until I called him last July to set up a meeting to split the tickets and he said, "Oh, I forgot to buy my seat."
Forgot? How in blazes do you forget? They send you a bazillion reminders if you don't renew, and I'm told they even give you a personal phone call asking you to reconsider. He didn't forget. He just forgot, or didn't have the common courtesy, to tell me he wasn't up for it any more. He said he'd call the ticket office and get back to me within a week. That was the last I heard from him.
That left me last season with one ticket to all the home games, no time to find a new partner, and a nasty taste in my mouth. I wasn't up to searching for someone new to split tickets with for the following year. We'd been doing it since the very first year, and I didn't want to quit, but it was starting to be too much work. If that situation didn't land in my lap, it was time to give it up. I went to most of the games last year...by myself. Couldn't take the wife or youngster, unless I wanted to shell out even more money. Not a whole lot of fun. I gave away one game ticket for a $50 donation to the MS society, in the form of sponsoring me on last year's bike ride.
I've mentioned before how, through a series of coincidences, my college roommate from the little school in mainline Philly (and best man at my wedding) now lives about 45 minutes from me down here in Florida. We met for dinner sometime in the spring, and I was telling him about my ticket saga. Somewhere in there the situation did fall into my lap. He wanted to split tickets.
Before it was always strictly business. We found someone to split them with. We each took 4 regular games and 1 preseason game, taking turns picking, and that was it. It was never a really good friend that you wanted to see games with because, by design, you were never going to go to games with them. You were going to the games they weren't going to. Now, it's a bit friendlier.
We met Saturday for beer and wings and to split the tickets, and it was more like..."We really want to go to this game, other than that, we don't care."
"OK, you can have that one. Can I take this one?"
"Sure."
In the end, we each took a preseason game and three home games. The other two home games are night games, and I'll go and meet him there, so we'll go to those two together, which means I'll see a bit more of him. I think I'm going to like this a whole lot better.
In 1995, even before the announcement was made, the wife and I discussed tickets. What if we actually got an NFL team? How cool would that be? Could we manage season tickets? How much would that cost? How could we swing that? Then they announced that Jacksonville got a team, and we were swept up in the euphoria. We love football, and wanted to see, what was soon to be, our team. Unfortunately, we weren't wealthy, so we really couldn't afford season tickets, but if we could split them with someone, that could work. The wife called me from work the next day. She found someone who was interested, and we did that. We bought one seat. They bought the seat next to us. We got together at the beginning of the season and picked games, each getting both seats for a preseason game and four regular season games. It was a beautiful thing. Since game day is pretty much an entire Sunday thing, this made it more affordable, not only cash, but time wise as well.
Then they moved to Tampa. No biggie. I found someone I worked with who wanted in. That worked for a few years, but then that guy went to work for a company that owned a sky box, and he could sit there on occasion, and didn't want to pay for seats. I could understand. In his situation, I wouldn't either. I went in search of a new partner, and found one...a friend of a friend. That was working until I called him last July to set up a meeting to split the tickets and he said, "Oh, I forgot to buy my seat."
Forgot? How in blazes do you forget? They send you a bazillion reminders if you don't renew, and I'm told they even give you a personal phone call asking you to reconsider. He didn't forget. He just forgot, or didn't have the common courtesy, to tell me he wasn't up for it any more. He said he'd call the ticket office and get back to me within a week. That was the last I heard from him.
That left me last season with one ticket to all the home games, no time to find a new partner, and a nasty taste in my mouth. I wasn't up to searching for someone new to split tickets with for the following year. We'd been doing it since the very first year, and I didn't want to quit, but it was starting to be too much work. If that situation didn't land in my lap, it was time to give it up. I went to most of the games last year...by myself. Couldn't take the wife or youngster, unless I wanted to shell out even more money. Not a whole lot of fun. I gave away one game ticket for a $50 donation to the MS society, in the form of sponsoring me on last year's bike ride.
I've mentioned before how, through a series of coincidences, my college roommate from the little school in mainline Philly (and best man at my wedding) now lives about 45 minutes from me down here in Florida. We met for dinner sometime in the spring, and I was telling him about my ticket saga. Somewhere in there the situation did fall into my lap. He wanted to split tickets.
Before it was always strictly business. We found someone to split them with. We each took 4 regular games and 1 preseason game, taking turns picking, and that was it. It was never a really good friend that you wanted to see games with because, by design, you were never going to go to games with them. You were going to the games they weren't going to. Now, it's a bit friendlier.
We met Saturday for beer and wings and to split the tickets, and it was more like..."We really want to go to this game, other than that, we don't care."
"OK, you can have that one. Can I take this one?"
"Sure."
In the end, we each took a preseason game and three home games. The other two home games are night games, and I'll go and meet him there, so we'll go to those two together, which means I'll see a bit more of him. I think I'm going to like this a whole lot better.
Labels: It's all about me, Sports
John put this out here at 7:32 AM
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