The other day at work I saw this headline across the bottom line on ESPN: “Bengals encouraging fans to come to Sunday’s game vs Ravens by offering deals on tickets.” Um, how about telling “fans” if you win you make the playoffs?! Last week Cincinnati’s stadium was about 2/3 full (check out the pic on the right) for the Bengal’s victory over Arizona. So for the season finale the Bengals are offering a “buy one get one free promotion” in an attempt to fill their empty seats. Poor poor Bengals. It’s the last game of the year vs a powerhouse division rival with the playoffs on the line. That’s as good as it gets. And they can’t sell tickets. Wow.
Man am I spoiled here in Boston. I can’t possibly envision a scenario where any of the 4 major teams would ever have a problem selling out a game in that situation. I’ve often thought it would be a lot of fun to be a huge sports fan in a crappy sports town. Yeah your teams may suck most of the time, but you can always go to any game you want at a moment’s notice without having to pay much. In 2003 I bought an opening day ticket in Tampa (against the Red Sox) a few rows behind 3rd base for $12. Imagine doing that at Fenway?
To read more of my blog “LucidSportsFan: 37 seconds of sports and other stuff i care about” follow me on twitter @LucidSportsFan, “like” my fan page on facebook, or just go to lucidsportsfan.blogspot.com.
About Mark Vandeusen