Whatever happened to the days of sleeping outside the stadium all night to get tickets to your favorite concert or sporting event? Those were true fans of the particular entertainer or team. Now with brokers, ticketmaster and the internet, tickets are gone literally in two minutes and the real FANS don't get dick!
I'm not dissing Mac and Stub Hub, but this shit sucks. I once waited outside in the rain overnight to see Prince at the United Center in the 90's and it was one of the best experiences of my life. They claim to do all this to prevent scalping, yet Stub Hub, E-Bay, Front Row tickets and the Chicago Cubs all do the same thing but now all of a sudden they're "legitimate businesses." What a bunch of bullshit. Meanwhile the brotha who used to make some good money hustling tickets like Chris Tucker's character in the movie "Money Talks" has nothing to show for it but a trip to county because he's not "licensed".
I saw on the news that Colts fans did have the chance to lineup outside their stadium for tickets. I know my bitching won't change the world, but was wondering how you guys and gals felt about how tickets are sold these days?

______________________________________________
"I need two on the floor; I need two hundred dollars." Chris Tucker-Money Talks 1997

jason, i feel the same exact way.

If you have to wait 8 hours in line to get it, so be it. At least every wage earner (large or small) has a shot to get a ticket at an afforable price. Now, its simply who has the most disposable money. It is bullshit.

What was her response?

Didn't everyone have an equal shot via phone or net at Ticketmaster at 10 am today? Seems to me this system is much more fair than standing in line where only the unemployed or in-town people who are willing to skip work can stand in line. Some Bears fans are travelling and are not in Chicago today. Many Bears fans can't just skip work to stand in line. Seems fairer to me to give everyone the same shot at the limited number of tickets through phone and net.

Probably not something I would advertise

While I agree with you, I'm not going to lament this - there just isn't a good reason to. This stuff isn't going away, and to talk about the good ol' days just isn't productive.

_________________
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ~ Benjamin Franklin

I can understand the feeling for things teams like the Sox. However, the Bears have been sold out for my lifetime. You cannot expect to get a playoff ticket under those circumstances. Get you name on the season ticket list and you should be able to put together 3 or so friends by the time you get a call in 20 years so that the entire venture will be affordable.

Couldn't resist taking a shot, could you dolphin?

_________________
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ~ Benjamin Franklin

I only
wanna
see you
freeze your ass off
in the
Purple Rain.

Not if they PM me...but its not face value either.

It's two thousand freaking oh seven. We need Darwin to determine who gets tickets? Haven't we learned anything about customer service? Technology makes our life simpler. I don't want to live like a caveman. Or stand in lines. Any business that has long lines of customers waiting is a poorly-managed business.

Yeah. You guys don't understand the Bears games. 98% of the tickets belong to season ticket holders. There wouldn't be that much of a line if you sleped outside all night. You wouldn't have to wait more then 30 minutes before they sold out. So might as well do it over the phone.

People don't like the brokers and stub hub but I do. It gives a chance for the season ticket holders to make a big profit. Alot of years the Bears have sucked and they couldn't give tickets away. Now they can get 40% of there season tickets money back with one sale. Good for them if that's what they chose.

None of you guys would get to go anyway if there was no ticket brokers or stub hub. If that was illegal then the season ticket holders would just go. So you bitch about being priced out but there would be no price if it weren't for these outlets - none would be for sale.

Maybe we should start a season ticket buying consortium in the ticket sections. I'm sure that there are enough people here interested in Cubs, Sox, Bulls, etc. that we could have good seats at an affordable price for each person.

It doesn't help that there was also a presale before these went on sale and there was probably 0 chance anyway. Remember the no shows that dick wrote about in the espn article? Gee, I wonder why. I would be much happier if I got screwed out of a lottery than by crappy servers or scalpers who use their own methods

"Alot of years the Bears have sucked and they couldn't give tickets away"

Oh boo fucking who, a bunch of wealthy guys who had to eat a couple hundred dollars for two years now want to make up for it by making an extra $3,000 every year while the team is hot.
While not all season ticket holders are rich, a good number of them can afford a couple hundred dollar hit. In fact they've been over it, probably wrote it off as a "business expense" taking a client to a Bears game. Spare me please.
While I'm glad I live in a Capitalistic socieity, there should be a limit on the amount once can get for scalped tickets. Since all this shit use to be illegal. People want to limit how much players can make, how about this "ticket brokers"?
I think it would be nice for sports franchises to always leave room for the little guy seeing that is where the majority of the fan base comes from. Yes season ticket holders account for a good portion of revenue, but the teams get more from tv contracts and merchandise sales, which comes from the people who are not season ticket holders.

Yes. But you are missing my point. If there weren't any ticket brokers then nobody would have a shot at tickets. Season ticket holders have 99% of the tickets. If they can't scalp them then they would go to the damn game. So what the hell is the problem.

They do...that box in the middle of your den.

Every good business gives perks to its regular and big customers.

I'm kind of indifferent to the broker vs scalper vs standing in line thing, but Nas has a great point here. True story: friend of mine working in Toronto had to go (with girlfriend) to his employer's skybox at SkyDome, Game 6 1993 World Series. Neither of them gave a shit about baseball, but the bossman made clear that attending with the big client. They wait out 8 and a half deafening innings, score's tied, boss says ok they can leave if they want. They were in the walkway to the subway when Joe Carter hit the home run. I suspect that the boxes in particular and a lot of the really premium seats at major sporting events are filled with such people, which is a real shame. Chances are there were fifty guys at work that my friend personally knew who would have killed to be there.

Exactly @ skippy Tim. Those are the same people that hogged up all the good seats during the Bulls Championship runs. People in the best seats are there just to be seen or to do damn networking. It's the same in all sports at all stadiums, expect Blackhawk games cuz nobody gives a shit.
I understand there is a place for the business execs and perks, but it seems that is now 80% of the fans. Having people wait in line for hours shows true dedication.

The Chargers were evidently locking Pats fans out and the Colts are apparently doing the same thing. Why not the Bears?

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Chargers kept Patriots fans out of Qualcomm Stadium by not selling them tickets to last Sunday's game in San Diego.

Now, the Indianapolis Colts may be trying the same ploy for this weekend's AFC Championship matchup against New England.

The Colts made it impossible to buy tickets online or by phone. A thousand tickets were sold at the stadium and at Ticketmaster outlets in Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky.

Thousands of Colts fans lined up outside the RCA Dome Monday, hoping to score seats for this Sunday.

_________________

Bears did it too.
Your CC had to have an Il or NW In. billing address.

Technology is great, but at what price?
I just had to pay $40 processing fees to Ticketmaster on a $100 purchase (4*$25) and I did all the work online. I'm all for sitting on my ass instead of standing in line, but next time it's show that doesn't look like it will sell out in the first 15 minutes, I'll drive to the box office and skip the fees.

_________________
“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”