Back when I went to the first pre-season game it was suggested that I go to a regular season.  The Colts were still available and that was the game to go to.  Mainly because of the rivalry after Indianapolis stole the Baltimore Colts.  I never will look at a Mayflower moving van the same way.

I got up early, fed the horses, and took a shower.  When I dressed, I knew exactly what I wanted to wear.  Team Smitty T-shirt on the bottom.  The Ravens long sleeved shirt that I got for John for Christmas in the middle.  The Jersey that John got me for Christmas on top.  Luckily, I managed to pull off the look without appearing like some child wearing 20 layers before going out to play in the snow.

John’s Aunt watched Nathaniel and from what I hear the two of them had a marvelous day.  Nathaniel was appropriately dressed in a Ravens jersey as well.

I had my first tailgating experience.  Mmmm… delicious.  I’m not a drinker or a party person, but it was fun to do something different and hang out with adults.  I didn’t have to spoon feed anybody and everybody was capable of getting food into their mouths and not requiring me to wipe food off of their noses.

Tailgating

The girls- Karen, Kari, & Me

After fun, merriment, and full tummies, we headed in to watch the game.

Before we went to our seats there was a stop at the ladies room.  I had to smile and think of John.

When John was interested in purchasing the PSLs he was big time trying to sell me on the idea.  I’d never been to a game.  I thought the PSLs and tickets were way too expensive.  Club level is for the upper-crust… I’m firmly in the filling layer.  On the flip side.  John had been diagnosed stage III and I never wanted to interfere with dreams.  I didn’t want him to ever be dying and say, “I wish I’d gotten the Ravens PSLs like I wanted…”  Without dreams… what are we?

John had stopped by the stadium on his way home from work to see the seats.  When he came home he had a glow on his face and was so excited to tell me about them.

He told me about the nice heated lounges… how the seats were under an overhang and would be protected from the weather… and how close our section was to the ladies bathroom…

I never argued with John about the tickets… he wanted them so badly.  If we could make it work then it was fine with me.  We got a loan and I was supposed to get fence out of the arrangement, but that is still yet to happen.

Smiling thinking of John

Somewhere I see some irony… John… the john… lol…

John was a thinking… he did things on his own time and thought them through.  Sometimes, I appreciated it.  Sometimes, it would drive me batty.  Now, I miss it…

Me in our seats

The view

Sadly, John never got to use his tickets of course if I’m right, he has the best seat in the house.

John certainly didn’t help the Ravens out today.  But, if I know my husband, his answer would be… they need to do it on their own.  They shouldn’t need my help.

The game was exciting.  We lost by two points.  Had we played better we could have won.  Had they played better they could have won by more.  You win some and you lose some– in life an on the football field.  But, even when you loose it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the experience– on the football field and in life…

The Seton Hall Athletics department has recently announced the release of men’s basketball season tickets at a special rates for parents of current students. Offered at a discount of over $200, the ticket plans for parents are yet another promotion to attract new season ticket holders. The sections available to the parents is directly adjacent to the student section. The ticket plans do not require a donation to the Pirate Blue Athletic Fund, but there are other avenues of raising funds through this promotion.

Parents of current students are not the traditional target for fundraising efforts, but those who make the decision to purchase season tickets for any sport are one step closer to becoming a donor. If Seton Hall is able to pick-up 100 new season ticket holders, and can convert just 30% of them into members of the Pirate Blue Athletic Fund (at their $100 minimum level), they’ve added 30 new members and at least $3,000 in new money.

Creative season ticketing options are often the first step for potential new donors, and those looking for ideas should look no further than the parents season ticket offering from Seton Hall.

The Penguins have a tradition of hand delivering season tickets to some lucky fans before the start of every season.  How cool is that?  One minute, you’re sitting, nervous in your house wondering who it’s going to be and then the next minute, you could be standing face to face with Conn Smyth winner Evgeni Malkin or fan and ladies’ favorite, Max Talbot.  Of course, Penguins TV gets all of this on film.

A quick rewind, Captain Sidney Crosby delivered these tickets to a lucky fan back at the start of the 2007-2008 season.

At 1:35, a reporter asks Alice if she thinks the Penguins will win the Stanley Cup.  Her response?  “Um, not this year.  Maybe next year,” she said while Sid voiced his disagreement.  Sure enough, she was spot on.

This is why Sid decided to show Alice his thanks with this touching moment that took place earlier today:

Of course, every girls’ favorite moment would have to be 1:52 in, not because we got to giggle at Sid being smooched by a grandma, but he declared that he is indeed single.

Though, I have to point out that the Penguins organization left out the fact that Alice was not the only one who made a correct prediction.  This season ticket delivery took place in September of 2008:

At 2:53, not only does the lady tells Sid that the Pens were going all the way that year, but Guy (the season ticket holder), mentions that it will be against Detroit.

However, no one beats this prediction from Septemeber 30, 2008:

1:48 in.  How did he call the Pens winning against Detroit in 7?  No idea, but it sounds like a good prediction for the 2009-2010 season, only make it in 6, boys.  For the sake of my heart and the last season in Mellon Arena.

In closing, Sid is a class act.  End of story.

I’m not really sure why there hasn’t been more chatter about the exorbitant prices that Jerry Jones is charging for both the PSL’s and tickets but I am going to examine both in this blog.

Let’s first look at the PSL’s.  The Cowboy’s wanted me to “invest” $16,000 per PSL for tickets I used to own at Texas Stadium.  So let’s do the quick math here…I owned 6 tickets together that used to be on the 30ydline.  Now I was being offered 6 tickets together on the 20 ydline at a PSL price of $16,000.  6x$16,000=$96,000.  I repeat $96,000!  This will give me the opportunity each year to pay $340.00 more per ticket to go watch the Cowboy’s play…oh boy!  Now, I don’t know about you but I used to think that the word “investment” meant that there would  be a return on the money I was investing.  Jerry’s way is that it’s only giving me the opportunity to spend more money for his investment!  If anyone were smart enough to do the math prior to purchasing the PSL’s, they would have realized that by earning  5% on $96,000, they would have made $4800. With that $4800 they could have taken that money and picked the games they really wanted to go to, buy the best tickets there and not be obligated to the Cowboys to pay $340 per game for the whole season. In addition, they wouldn’t be obligated to pay $340 per ticket for preseason games.  Can you imagine owning 6 tickets for preseason games…that’s a cost of $2040 per game….ouch! In case you didn’t know this tidbit, there are PSL’s for $35,000 and $50,000….do the math on that investment!

Let’s talk a little about the face value on the club seats which are $340.  When I had my initial meeting with my used car salesman…I mean sales representative, I asked how the Cowboy’s had determined their pricing and he replied “you guys get it, so why shouldn’t we?.”  The Cowboy’s automatically assumed because they saw tickets being listed on the internet that all of the tickets were actually being sold for those prices.  I replied, that we would be lucky to get that price for one or two games a year, depending on the schedule and how well the Cowboy’s were playing at the time.  The Cowboy’s were so worried that they were leaving money on the table that they thought that all fans would want to pay $340 to go to a game because brokers were getting it.  I had to explain to my representative that the people who are buying tickets on the secondary market are paying that price because they’re only going to select games and they can afford to buy one or two games at those prices.  More importantly, the tickets that are being sold on the secondary market are only a fraction of what the primary seller originally sold.  What does this mean?  More math…sorry!  If the Cowboys sell 70,000 tickets for a game and out of these tickets 5% reach the secondary market, we are only talking about 3500 tickets.  These tickets are what owners seemed to be so concerned about!  So instead of making sure that games stay affordable for the fans that are willing to buy season tickets, they decide to alienate all the fans with these ridiculous face values and that’s in addition to the already crazy PSL prices! 

Once again common sense seems to tell me, if the Cowboy’s are going to charge you an incredible amount of money for the PSL’s, wouldn’t it be in their best interest to sell the season tickets at a reasonable price?

I guess Jerry wants to have his cake and eat it too!

One last note, I was at the Cowboy preseason game the other night and sat in section 335 row 13 (this is a$50,000 PSL) which I bought for $40 a ticket out in front of the stadium and I will tell you that it’s like sitting in the upper deck of most other stadiums….it’s way up there!  We wound up watching the majority of the game on the Texas sized Jerrytron that actually becomes quite distracting after a while.  I guess I’ll be watching the rest of the season on my big screen HDTV at home….the beer is a lot cheaper!

As a fan of professional sports, I am SICKENED by this story out of the NFL.

Pat Hill is one of 125 Washington Redskins season ticket holders who asked to be released from multiyear contracts and were sued by the team over the past five years.

How do you expect to keep fans by acting like this. Just let them out of their contracts. Yes, they signed a contract but circumstances have changed over the past couple of years. Don’t lose your loyal fan base or pretty soon, you’ll have no one left.

Whether you’re a Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings (and the list goes on) fan, be sure to read the whole story and pass this along!

From the Washington Post:

It would be hard to find a more loyal fan of the Washington Redskins than real estate agent Pat Hill. She’s had season tickets since the early 1960s, when her daughter danced in the halftime shows at the old D.C. Stadium, before it was renamed in memory of Robert F. Kennedy.

In the hallway of her modest home south of Alexandria, the 72-year-old grandmother points out the burgundy-and-gold Redskins hook rug she made. In her bedroom, she shows off the pennants from two Redskins Super Bowl games she attended, and she opens a music box on her dresser that plays “Hail to the Redskins.”

Now, Hill says, her beloved Redskins are forcing her into bankruptcy.

Last year, Hill’s real estate sales were hit hard by the housing market crash, and she told the team that she could no longer afford her $5,300-a-year contract for two loge seats behind the end zone. Hill said she asked the Redskins to waive her contract for a year or two.

The sales office declined.

On Oct. 8, the Redskins sued Hill in Prince George’s County Circuit Court for backing out of a 10-year ticket-renewal agreement after the first year. The team sought payment for every season through 2017, plus interest, attorneys’ fees and court costs.

Hill couldn’t afford a lawyer. She did not fight the lawsuit or even respond to it because, she said, she believes that the Bible says that it is morally wrong not to pay your debts. The team won a default judgment of $66,364.

“It really breaks my heart,” Hill said, her voice cracking as the tears well and spill. “I don’t even believe in bankruptcy.

“We are supposed to pay our bills. I ain’t trying to get out of anything.”

Read the debate intro and Loyal Homer’s argument that the NFL needs the pre-season.

Question: What do all the items on the following list have in common?

• attending insurance seminars
• watching paint dry
• press-conferences about Brett Favre announcing his retirement

Answer: They are all better uses of your time than following the NFL pre-season!

The biggest joke in professional sports is the NFL pre-season! What other venue, event, or activity can boast the fact that it is simultaneously bad for the players, fans, AND the organization? For a league that is generally regarded as the best run business in American professional sports, this is one area where the NFL falls short.

For the players, the risk is most obvious. They are asked to play at full speed, with full contact, for an outcome that does not matter. I understand they are professional athletes who participate in a game where injury is a very real possibility, and they are compensated very well for that risk. The games should at least count for something if they are going to be put at risk.

Sure, there are usually a few legitimate position battles that take place during training camp, but those battles are RARELY decided during a pre-season game. Can you REALLY gauge how a defensive back is going to perform on Sundays if his level of opposition is a fourth string quarterback?! Can a quarterback REALLY prove his worth when he is being protected by third string linemen, and is throwing to third string receivers?! The answer is no. In reality, most of the positions are decided off the field, so the excuse of seeing players “in action” does not provide any REAL advantage.

In 2006, Clinton Portis, the established starter at running back for the Washington Redskins, dislocated his shoulder during a pre-season game, and missed the entire 2006 season. If the game had counted for ANYTHING, then the injury would be accepted as part of the risk that comes with playing in the NFL. But the game did not count! Two weeks later, the REAL football season began, and Portis had to spend it on the sidelines. Neither he, nor the Redskins, had anything to show for the injury.

As for the fans, pre-season football is a rip-off. As an NFL season-ticket holder, I absolutely DESPISE the fact that I am forced to pay regular-season prices for tickets to two games which are meaningless. I have to pay full price for parking, beer is still $6 a cup, sodas are still $4.50, but instead of watching NFL caliber football, I get to watch the Detroit Lions practice squad take on the water boys from the Cleveland Browns.

To put it another way, if I go to Morton’s Steakhouse, and I am forced to pay Morton’s prices, I had BETTER get a Morton’s steak on my plate! Imagine arriving at Morton’s and the maitre d’ informs you that the restaurant will be using ALL forms of steak products (not just the best ones). Tonight, that means you are getting Steak-umms, but still paying as if you were eating a prime cut of Filet Mignon. That is a rip-off! The product provided is not proportionate to the fee being charged!

Last, it is bad business for the organization. First is the absorbed risk of seeing your top-level athletes get injured, which could negatively impact the entire regular season (the Redskins finished at 5-11, in last place in the NFC East during the year that Portis was injured).

There are additional financial reasons which make the pre-season bad business for the teams. First, they still have to fund a full game-day production for the event. The stadium must be opened and operated, complete with a full staff of vendors, ushers, security, etc. The visiting teams also have to travel to their destinations, and pay for lodging and meals. All told, the cost to the business of presenting a pre-season game is exactly the same as the cost for presenting a regular season game.

The problem is that the substandard product of a pre-season game does not generate the same revenue as a regular season game. While season-ticket holders are forced to pay for a game day ticket, single-game ticket sales are drastically lower than their regular season counterparts. There is also less fan interest for a television broadcast of the game, so TV advertising does not generate the same amount it normally would.

The NBA and MLB also present “pre-season” or “off-season” games, such as the cactus/grapefruit leagues. The key difference with those activities is that they are organized at a much lower cost, and are staged in out-of-market areas. The leagues gain an opportunity to generate and attract new fans through regular exposure to those markets. For a couple months out of the year, residents of Ft. Myers get to call the Boston Red Sox THEIR home team.

Pre-season NFL comes with the exact same costs as regular season NFL, but cannot match ANY of the rewards.

One of the interesting things about a WordPress blog are the automatically generated ‘Possibly Related Posts’.  At the bottom of every post are system-generated links to other blog posts that WordPress think are related to it.  It seems to generate mixed results, sometimes the connection pretty obvious, sometimes it leaves you head scratching.  Sometimes it doesn’t appear at all, but, when it does, it’s always interesting.  So, this has inspired me to take a look at some of the possibly related posts on both my blogs, this one and The World Of Sherby57, and see what is what.  The posts I’ve chosen to look at were picked at random.

1. Blog: PSGOM

Post: Season’s Greeting

Topic:  My apathy towards the new football season, Liverpool’s pre-season, and the title contenders.

Links:

Howard Gets His Feet Wet from Sactown Original Raider Boosters – A look at NFL’s pre-season, a totally different type of football but I can see why it is linked.

Two from Word of Ashi is not here, and yet – It’s a Japanese-style poem, and is about as far removed from football-related whinging as you can get.  It contains the word ’season’ though, so WordPress has leapt to conclusions.

“Pump it up, Pump it up”…and the right of our community from Blackinformant.com – A post about how Hip-Hop artists mention only non-black brands in their music.  Interesting, but I’m baffled how it can even be possibly related.

Lions Try to Win Back Disgruntled Season Ticketholders from Fanhouse – Another NFL piece! The Detroit Lions have been trying to win back former season ticketholders by inviting 6000 of them to the team’s training camp (I don’t think all 6000 turned up!).  I wonder if any Premier League teams would do similar scheme in order to boost ticket sales? Sadly, it’s not an issue at Liverpool – 10 years on the waiting list and counting.

2. Blog: Sherby57

Post: Stunner\Dog Mystery Finally Solved

Topic: I congratulate Dr. Angel for solving a brainteaser I set a couple of years ago.  The puzzle came back on the radar as it was mentioned in The Sherby57 Project.

Links:

TS57P – Games, Puzzle and Lies from Sherby57 –  This is definitely a related post! This is the post that rekindled interest in the puzzle.

Post From The Past – July 2007 from Sherby57 – It’s another one of my posts, but not directly linked this time. Post From The Past is my shameless monthly feature in which I dredge up posts from the previous year.  Other than it being by me, I’m struggling to see the connection, but if you want to have a taste of the early days of Sherby57, take a look.

The Sherby57 Project from Sherby57 – Me again.  This is an explanation of what the Sherby57 Project is and what it sets out to achieve (it may, or may not, be serious).  It makes sense as a link because it is mentioned in the post.  I would guess that I generate so many links to my own blogs because I’m the only person that would talk about these topics on the whole of WordPress.

What the heck is this? from TV Squad – How aptly named, because what the heck is this? A link that’s not on Sherby57?? The post is a photo of a building called ‘The Wellington’, that is apparently significant to a TV show, and the reader is asked to guess which show and why it is significant.  I had no idea myself, but it’s where Fox Mulder’s apartment was in The X-Files. You learn something new every day.

3. Blog: PSGOM

Post: Bit Of A Twit

Topic: I announce that I’ve joined Twitter, and that I had reservations doing so.

Links:

RCMP’s pink slip from PinkSlipPerks’s Blog – I don’t really know what this is about.. the post is only a line long.  I believe that being ‘pink-slipped’ is the US equivalent of getting your P45, and this is a blog for people who have been pink-slipped. How it relates to my post is anybody’s guess.

A Summer Spell from ‘no longer exists’ – This post no longer exists and the link redirects to a placeholder.  I will be forever intrigued as to what A Summer Spell was about.

Don’t be jealous of my shirt! from Terri Terri Quite Contrary – “Sorry, the page you are looking for does not exist”, however the blog does still exist. Just how contrary was the tale of shirt jealousy? Inquiring minds need to know.

Facebook adds verification procedure for compromised accounts from DownloadSquad – It’s not related to my post but since I’m permanently suspicious of Facebook, then it’s good to know they are increasing their security measures.

4. Blog: Sherby57

Post: Where Is Mindy?

Topic: I wonder why my friend, Mindy Ruson, has never updated her blog on style.

Links:

Mindy Ruson’s Style Emporium from Sherby57 – In an ideal world I wouldn’t have chosen this post, as there is only one link (and that is back to one of my blogs).  The reason I did choose it is because I couldn’t find any other posts that had PRP’s, they had all mysteriously dried up. Which they sometimes do.  Incidentally, Mindy has still not updated her blog. Come on Mindy.

Well that’s it.  I had originally intended to cover the links from 10 different posts, but then this ended up being far longer than I anticipated.  So, what have I learned from the exercise? Well, sometimes the links make sense and sometimes they don’t; which is what I said at the start of the post.  Despite not learning anything new, it was still an interesting poke around the world of WordPress.

I can only imagine that I’ll be doing this again pretty soon.

History

Although earlier promenade concert series had existed, the first Proms concert was held on 10 August 1895 in the Queen’s Hall in Langham Place, under the auspices of impressario Robert Newman. Newman’s idea was to encourage an audience for concert hall music who, though not normally attending classical concerts, would be attracted by the low ticket prices and more informal atmosphere. In addition to promenading, eating, drinking and smoking were all allowed. He stated his goal as follows:

“I am going to run nightly concerts and train the public by easy stages. Popular at first, gradually raising the standard until I have created a public for classical and modern music.”

With financial backing from the otolaryngologist Dr George Cathcart, Newman hired Henry Joseph Wood as the conductor for this series of concerts, called “Mr Robert Newman’s Promenade Concerts”.Wood built the “Queen’s Hall Orchestra” as the ensemble devoted to performing the promenade concerts. Although the concerts gained a popular following and reputation, Newman went bankrupt in 1902, and the banker Edgar Speyer took over the expense of funding the concerts. In 1914, anti-German feeling forced Speyer out of his post. After Speyer, music publishers Chappell & Co. took control of the concerts.

Newman continued to work in the artistic planning of these promenade concerts until his sudden death in November 1926. With time, Wood became the name which was most closely associated with the concerts. As conductor from that first concert, Wood was largely responsible for expanding the repertoire heard in later concerts, such that by the 1920s the concerts had grown from being made up of largely more popular, less demanding works, to presenting music by contemporary composers such as Claude Debussy, Richard Strauss and Ralph Vaughan Williams. A bronze bust of Wood, belonging to the Royal Academy of Music, is placed in front of the Organ for the whole season. While now known as the BBC Proms, the text on the tickets (along with the headline “BBC Proms” next to the BBC logo), still says “BBC Music presents the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts’”.

In 1927, the BBC — later based at Broadcasting House next to the hall — took over the running of the concerts. When the BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) was formed in 1930, it became the main orchestra for the concerts. At this time the season consisted of nights dedicated to particular composers; Mondays were Wagner, Fridays were Beethoven, with other major composers being featured on other days. There were no Sunday performances.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the BBC withdrew its support. The Proms continued though, under private sponsorship, until the Queen’s Hall was gutted by an air raid in 1941 (its site is now the St George’s Hotel and BBC Henry Wood House). The following year, the Proms moved to their current home, the Royal Albert Hall, and the BBC took over once more. In 1944, however, increased danger to the Royal Albert Hall from bombing meant that the Proms moved again, this time to the Bedford Corn Exchange. This venue had been the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 1941 and played host to the Proms until the end of the war. After the war, other orchestras were invited to perform in the Proms, such that the BBC SO was no longer the sole orchestra responsible for all Proms concerts.

Wood continued his work with the Proms until his death in 1944. In the years after the war, Sir Adrian Boult and Basil Cameron took on principal conducting duties for the Proms until the advent of Malcolm Sargent as Proms chief conductor in 1947. Sargent held this post until 1966. He was noted for his immaculate appearance (evening dress, carnation) and his witty addresses where he good-naturedly chided the noisy Prommers. Sir Malcolm championed choral music and classical and British composers, especially Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The charity founded in his name, CLIC Sargent, continues to hold a special Promenade Concert each year shortly after the main season ends. CLIC Sargent, the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund and further musical charities (chosen each year) also benefit from thousands of pounds in donations from Prommers after most concerts. When asking for donations, Prommers from the Arena regularly announce to the audience the running donations total at concert intervals through the season, or before the concert when there is no interval.

From the 1950s, the number of guest orchestras giving concerts in the season began to increase, with the first major international conductors (Leopold Stokowski, Georg Solti and Carlo Maria Giulini) performing in 1963, and the first foreign orchestra, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, performing in 1966. Since that time, almost every major international orchestra, conductor and soloist has performed at the Proms. In 1970, Soft Machine’s appearance led to press attention and comment as the first “pop” band to perform there.

The Proms continue today, and still present newly commissioned music alongside pieces more central to the repertoire and early music. Innovations continue, with pre-Prom talks, lunchtime chamber concerts, children’s Proms, Proms in the Park either appearing, or being featured more heavily over the past few years. In the UK, all concerts are broadcast on BBC Radio 3, an increasing number are shown on BBC4 with some also broadcast on BBC1 and BBC2. The theme tune played at the beginning of each programme broadcast on television is an extract from the end of the “Red” movement of Arthur Bliss’s A Colour Symphony. It is also possible to hear the concerts live from the BBC Proms website. The Last Night is also broadcast in many countries around the world.

In 1996, a related series of eight lunchtime chamber concerts was started, taking place on Mondays during the Proms season. In their first year these were held in the Britten Hall of the Royal College of Music (just across Prince Consort Road from the Albert Hall). The following year they moved slightly further afield, to the Henry Cole Lecture Theatre at the V & A. In 2005 they moved further again, to the new Cadogan Hall, just off London’s Sloane Square. These allow the Proms to include music which is not suitable for the vast spaces of the Albert Hall.

From 1998 to 2007, the Blue Peter Prom, in partnership with long-running BBC television programme Blue Peter, was an annual fixture. Aimed at children and families, the Prom is informal, including audience participation, jokes, and popular classics. High demand for tickets — which are among the lowest priced in the season — saw this Prom be split in 2004 into two Proms with identical content. In 2008, the Blue Peter Prom was replaced with a Doctor Who Prom.

The 2004 season also featured the Hall’s newly rebuilt pipe organ. It took two years to complete the task (2002–2004) and was the work of Noel Mander, Ltd., of London. It was the first complete restoration of the instrument since Harrison and Harrison’s work in 1936.

The tradition of promming remains an important aspect of the festival, with over 1000 standing places available for each concert, either in the central arena (rather like the groundlings in the pit at Shakespeare’s Globe) or high in the hall’s gallery. Promming tickets cost the same for all concerts (£5 as of 2008), providing a considerably cheaper option for the more popular events. Since the tickets cannot be bought in advance (although there are season tickets available), they provide a way of getting in to otherwise sold-out concerts.

John was a big Ravens fan.  For several years, he’d went to about a game a year with Charlie.  I’d never went.  It was time for John to go with his buddy and enjoy the game.  When Nathaniel was born he of course, got to dress in all the coolest Ravens gear and football was the only thing he was allowed to watch on TV (Yeah… I’m a tough mom, like that.) 

Before John was stage IV, but after his stage III diagnosis & successful surgery, he started looking into purchasing PSLs.  Honestly, I left the decision up to him.  It was A LOT of money in my opinion.  But at the same time, can you really put a price on happiness?  I tried to not encourage or discourage John from his decision. 

For the most part, we kept our finaces separate.  He payed the mortgage & I paid the other bills.  Occasionally one of us would help the other if necessary.  It worked well for us.  The horses were on my bill and if he wanted new cycling equipment that was from his paycheck. 

John’s enthusiasm for purchasing the PSLs was infectious.  It was so nice to see him so excited about them!  He excitedly told me about stopping at the stadium on the way home from work.  He showed me their location on the internet.  He told me how they were under cover & how nice that would be if the weather was bad.  John alway did things the right way… and even though the club level tickets were way more expensive, he knew that that would be a way I could enjoy the games.  Neither of us were drinkers and neither of us were partiers, so obnoxious drunks weren’t our crowd that we’d choose to hang with.  The club level also had nice lounge areas.  I remember him telling me how close the bathrooms were.  He really had scoped out the place when he went to see the seats.

John was just so excited to buy the PSLs.  Financially getting club level seats was out of our league IMO.  But at the same time, it was a dream of John’s.  I don’t like to be a dream quelcher.  John’s enthusiasm was infectious.  I tried to remain neutral, but I really did want to see John happy… who doesn’t want to see their spouse happy and excited about something? 

Bottom line was that he had to find a way to pay for them.  He researched and found that we could get a home equity loan from APGFCU for 3.25%- prime plus zero.  Well… that’s hard to beat and we could get the deck that John had been wanting & the horse fence that I’d been wanting for years!!!  Getting approved for the loan was a piece of cake and our house actually apraised for way more than we’d expected in the bad economy.  We’ve had some friends who have had house values that have fallen, luckily ours had risen considerably.

So, John got the PSLs. 

Shortly, after that is when he was diagnosed with stage IV.  As things got worse, the rational thing was to sell the PSLs.  John knew that, I knew that.  He even listed them for sale and offered them to friends.  But he didn’t get any good offers and he still had the dream of being well enough to go to the games.  It’s hard to give up your dreams and I never wanted John to give up on his dreams.  Nobody should ever have to give up on dreams.

So, he kept the PSLs, but once the season tickets came, he offered them for sale.  We were going to keep a few early games for ourselves. 

This summer, our friend, Charlie, told us that he had a friend who was interested in the PSLs.  John knew the rational thing to do was sell, but he was still holding out in hopes that he could beat the cancer.  So, John kept the PSLs. 

As you know… John didn’t live long enough to use his tickets.  

Charlie took on the task of selling games.  He told me the pre-season games would be hard to sell for face value & we’d take a big loss on them.  I spent several days pondering my options- sell for a loss or go to a game.  I decided I wanted to go to a game.  John got those tickets for US to go.  He picked club level primarily for my comfort & so that when Nathaniel got old enough, it would be a more kid friendly environment.  John & I would have been going to the pre-season games & I think he’d still want me to go.  So, I decided I wanted to go.  I knew it would be hard emotionally, but I felt I had to go.

Now me… I’m a Ravens fan, but I really don’t understand a lot about football.  John has been teaching me and I’ve picked up somethings, but I’m far from an expert… more like somebody who could benefit from the “Idiots Guide to Football.”

Charlie & I talked, he has 3 tickets, and then my 2.  I wanted to do something nice for Joe, Debbie, & Lumpy who had been so helpful through John’s illness.  So, I wanted to invite them to a game.  Well… that didn’t end up working as nobody was free for the two pre-season games.  I figured that I might as well sell the tickets at a loss & just forget about going to a game. 

Charlie was awesome.  He said he’d sell his tickets & go with me.  His wife, Karen, & daughter, Amanda, would come watch Nathaniel.    I can’t thank Charlie enough for doing that for me.  Work schedules dictated that we’d have to leave at halftime, but leaving early was better than not going at all. 

That day, I was doing fine till I started to get ready.  Then the emotions hit.  I remembered all of the times when John and I were excited to go somewhere and how we quickly took our showers and got ready to go out.  We really didn’t go out very often or very much, I guess that’s what made it more fun… you know, kind of like a dog that gets excited to go on a car ride… lol… Sorry… I’m a dork… always have been… always will be.  Anyway, there I am getting a nice shower and then all of a sudden I turn into a wreck– missing John. 

I thought… boy this is going to be fun… I’ll be the only Ravens fan in the stadium bawling– I anticipated there’d be plenty of Redskins fans crying after we put a hurting on them…

I pulled myself together, got ready (put on my Team Smitty shirt under the Jersey), put a kleenex in my pocket and got ready to go.  John had gotten me a Jersey for Christmas… I felt so special to have my own “real” Ravens gear.  John had gotten me McNair.. he didn’t play for the team anymore & it was on clearance…. but I didn’t care.  The irony of the that is that then McNair had a tragic death recently and his name popped back up in the news. 

Soon the McClouds arrived and I gave instructions on how to care for Nathaniel.  He loves the McClouds and knows them, so I wasn’t worried at all.

Charlie & I had a great drive to Baltimore till we got stuck in the traffic.  There was a huge line outside of the stadium, but being in club level, we got to go in a special entrance & take an elevator to our seats.  I fondly thought of John- first class all the way!  He’d told me about those perks.  I smiled to myself as we got to our seating area… we walked right by the women’s bathroom that he’d told me about.  He’d told me that it was right there by our seats!

Somehow we managed to get there right as the anthem was playing.  The seats were just like he’d described them.  I remembered how he excitedly had told me about how you could see the big screen so well… he was right.  The energy in the stadium just flowed all through your body… I don’t typically go to big events like that… last concert I went to, I was in college… lol… Anyway, it was just cool… a neat experience.  Everything seemed amplified… the colors on the field were so crisp & bright.  I knew why John wanted the tickets… I understood… I got it. 

I could have lost it at that point, but instead, I focused on just having fun!  Like I said, I could benefit from the “Idiot’s guide to Football.”  Charlie helped keep me in the loop.  I took some pics and just enjoyed being there and enjoyed the game.  Early on, one of the guys sitting next to us tripped bringing a drink back to his seat.  We ended up wearing his beverage… I had two thoughts.  1.  Boy John wouldn’t have been happy.  & 2.  I haven’t had a beer spilled on me since going to hockey games at ISU.  lol  No worries… we were fine & the next time the guys wanted a drink they got the waitress to bring it to them… lol… By the time we left after half time the score was 13-0.  The game ended 23-0.  I know it’s only pre-season, but it’s good to win!  Flacco even played a little bit… when John went to the game last season, a lot of people told him he looked like Flacco… so, I had to smile remembering that memory.  He always said he couldn’t see it.  I don’t know… they both were tall, with dark hair that was cut close. 

Before we left, I stopped at the souvenieer stand & picked up two things for John.  Wonder how many people buy souvineers for the deceased at Ravens games?  Oh well… John’s special!  I looked at the Ravens kids wear, but WOW… talk about pricey… guess Nathaniel will have to wait till I find something on sale! 

The drive home went quickly.  Nathaniel was in bed sound asleep.  I felt bad for Karen & Amanda because the digital TV only picks up a few channels & the DVD player isn’t hooked up.  Something about old TV & not enough connections.  I hope they weren’t too bored. 

So, I really did have a good time and I managed to think fondly of John rather than breakdown missing him.  I was quite proud of myself.  But, I know if I had lost it, Charlie would have taken care of me.  It’s good to have friends like that… who are there for you when you need it… THANKS again, Charlie!!!  Most of the games have been sold… just a few games left.  Charlie suggested that I go to one more game, so we’ll see.  I think I’d like to

I want to gag when I see this video.  Two years back, an Ohio State man dove into manure in order to win season tickets to see the Buckeyes.  Looks like there really isn’t that much to do in Columbus other than diving into shit.  I would hate to be the person who owns the season tickets on either side of this man.

Every club has one day like this in the summer: they throw open the gates for all to pop in and see what’s going at the club. The car park gets flooded with various things, burger van, ice cream van, hook a duck, tea-cup rides, climbing frames and lots more. Throw in some tours of the ground, player autographs, pictures, Sunday lunch and a massive photo on the pitch and you’re in for a good day!

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get to enjoy it as much as your average person. I volunteered to work on the car park gate from 8am until 4pm, without pay! I accepted the unpaid role due to my love for the club once again racing to the surface. It was good seeing the day pass me by, with everyone arriving early to set up various stalls and activities. People starting arriving around 9.30 to queue up to buy the lovely new away shirt, This time I will not be waiting for Christmas/ Birthday to get mine, I already have it!

Action From Alfreton Saturday, (Photo By Craig Priest)

 As some of you may be aware, car parking at the ground has been cut down by 60% and last Tuesday evening there was no end of problems which we (me & my dad) expected to see again, but nobody seemed bothered and were all too eager to check out the activities on offer. Jolly good. Nobody seemed too bothered about the previous day’s result, a 3-0 loss at Blue Square North neighbours Alfreton Town, who played very well and fully deserved their victory.

People arrived and collected their season tickets throughout the day, still a big queue as I headed home at 4pm! The ticket office girls were rushed off their feet but did their jobs very professionally.

Noon was the time for the main event, A massive group photograph including all the squad and staff and anyone who was wearing a Stags shirt from any season! It was a brilliant experience, one I managed to be involved in! It will be interesting to see if the world record for the biggest team photograph was broken/ nearly reached. The photograph is printed in this week’s edition of The Chad – be sure to get yours!

Players stayed around for a while, chatting with fans and posing for photographs, etc. They eventually left around 2pm. Events wrapped up around 3.30pm and everyone was sent home happy – the rain had showered a little and the wind had tried to “muscle in” but it had not upset people – except the Fitness First girls whose stall couldn’t take the wind and would have blown down if the army lads hadn’t stepped in and spared their blushes!

Me & Matt Somner At The Open Day! (Photo By Mike Parker)

I did manage to get round and have a chat with a few players after the massive pitch photograph. Matt Somner questioned the amount of Facebook player-related groups flying around, which were not made by me – just to set the record straight! He also “thanked me” for his & Gary Silk’s love group, again not made by me! Bless him!

Thanks to the Stags for a cracking open day and all the hard work all the staff put in!

Thanks for reading and all the comments over the weekend!

 Craig

“Mansfield Town FC; Your Club 24/7”

We currently have a drawing we are running on August 28th. Every online order will be placed in our drawing to win 2 season tickets for UNLV Runnin Rebels Football. The seats are in section 108, row 19, seats 1 and 2.

This is on the 50 yard line!

Come check us out at www.tangerineos.com

Oklahoma University, fresh off finishing as the College Football National Runner-up last season, has achieved a 99% renewal rate for the upcoming 2009 season. This extraordinary ticket renewal rate has also enhanced their ability to fundraise, creating revenue off donors searching for better seats and to give back to the program.

The 99% renewal rate applies to the 77,000 season tickets the program sells annually. Those who wish to purchase a season ticket must make a donation to the Sooner Club, which in turn will award priority points. The tickets are then allocated by availability and the amount of priority points obtained. These points are accumulated in a variety of ways, including 3 points for every $100 donated, loyalty points for consecutive years of holding season tickets, as well as capital campaign giving and numerous other activities.

While it certainly helps to have a football team that ranks nationally nearly every year, Oklahoma has done a wonderful job getting donors excited and giving back. In turn, the athletics department made an announcement in June that they would be giving $7 million back to the university in support of academic programs.

For more information on the Sooner Club, the economic impact of one home football game in Norman (estimated to by $8.8 million), and other information, click here.

Washington is helping fans keep their season tickets.

As we all know, the economy is affecting fundraising and donors everyday. Annual fund members cannot make payments they thought possible and many may end up forfeiting tickets they have held in the stadium for a long time.

In an effort to combat the adverse effects of the economy, the University of Washington has initiated a creative way to help fans keep their season tickets. By launching the “Dawgs Supporting Dawgs” program, the university is providing two season football tickets to families that were unable to renew due to economic reasons.

Generated by a donation from Husky Fever, the program is accepting donations from other constituents who can help these loyal fans keep their season tickets in the stadium until they can purchase them on their own.

This innovation goes a long way to building good will between fans and the athletics department. In displaying their empathy, the program will be a positive public relations gambit when talking to the community and other donors. By keeping these loyal customers satisfied during their tough times, they will be more likely to donate in the future when their economic situation improves.

Earlier this week, the University of Washington Huskies unveiled a plan to assist football season ticket holders during these tough economic times. The Husky Athletic Department unveiled the “Dawgs Supporting Dawgs” program where fans donate money for season ticket holders who did not renew due to economic reason can purchase tickets. New Husky football coach Steve Sarkisian has thrown in $1,000 to the fund- enough to by season tickets for a family of four.  Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times details the story (Fan bailout: UW supporters asked to help others with season tickets).

Dimitri

I’ve been waiting patiently for TCF Bank Stadium to open after 3 years now.  I’m at the pivotal junction where I need to select my seats.  My official selection time is May 14th, 4:28 PM.  Seat selection began over a month ago and I’ve been obsessively tracking the progress of what’s taken and what projects to be available when it’s my turn.

Here’s whats happening so far:

• All of the seats between the goal lines are chair-back seats, while the sections around the end zones are bleacher seats (no back rest).
• If you look at the map, you’ll notice colored sections in between the 20 yard lines; those seats require a donation to the U ranging from $100-$500.
• I prefer the visitors side, as it will be sunnier over there.  The home side will be in the shadow of the press box/suites towering over that side of the stadium.
• I don’t want to be near visitors’ seats.  There are blocks of seats reserved for visiting fans at the very top rows of sections 201-206 and 215-218.  I’d rather not sit by a bunch of drunken, belligerent jerks who want to pick fights (that they clearly will lose).

The way selection is going, the entire home side chairbacks will be selected before I pick.  On the visitors side, there will most likely be chairback seats, but it will require one of two things: a donation of $500-$1000 or selecting a seat in one of the top rows of the upper deck near the 10 yard lines (sections 207 or 214).

This is the gray area.  Should I take chair-backs in a less favorable location, or bleachers in a more favorable location? 

I already know which way I’m leaning: the bleachers.  Those seats are good for your posture and give your abs and core a good workout.  They leave you sitting very close to your neighbor, which helps generate warmth during those cold November games.  And if you don’t want to be coming in physical contact with your neighbor, bleacher seats then encourage more standing, jumping, cheering, etc.  This is a good thing.

The tough decision is going to come down to taking my preferred seats over sitting with a group of friends.  In the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, I was with a group of four other season ticket holders.  Between the five of us, we had twelve tickets altogether.  Unfortunately, we all have differing levels of points and therefore select our seats at different times.  Two account-holders select theirs in the next few days, another guy and myself select at the end of next week, and one more selects the week after that.

We’d all like to stay as a group, but nobody has committed since we all want to see what’s available when our selection times come.  It might make sense to break our group into two or three sections, since some of us pick during relatively close times.  

Here’s where another dilemma comes in.  I would ultimately like to sit with more of my friends, but I’m pretty sure they are all enamored with the chair-backs and may put up with sitting in a less than ideal location to get them.  When the time comes, will I concede my preferred seats to stick with the group, or will I break off and take my pair of tickets to a kick-ass spot?  My hope is that it will come to neither of those options.  Instead, I’ll be able to convince them all that bleachers are the way to go.  Win-win! 

We’ll see what happens.  It’s no hard feelings if we don’t get seated as a group.  We’re all going for the same tailgate lot anyway.  Everything should work out just fine.  I’ll report back in 10 days with a verdict.