Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Playoff Tickets or A McDonald's Value Meal?

And they say the economy is getting better...

I just went to http://www.ticketsnow.com/ and was checking prices on NBA playoffs tickets, not that I am going or anything but does San Antonio really not care that Spurs are playing in the playoffs or do they just despise the Memphis Grizzlies that much.  Spurs might have trouble winning because the lack of fan support they are getting in these playoffs.  A ticket to tonights game, actually several tickets are available for $6.00, with several others costing $7, $8, $9 and lots more under $15.00/each.

http://www.ticketsnow.com/InventoryBrowse/San-Antonio-Spurs-Tickets-at-AT-T-Center-in-San-Antonio?PID=1106304

By the time you click on the link above, they could vary depending on the start of the game or the link may be acutally gone, but yes, there was plenty of tickets for about the same price as a value meal at McDonald's.  Actually going thru the drive-thru at Wendy's fast food would cost more than a single ticket to the Spurs playoff game.  How is that?  Maybe its just the state of the NBA.  There's plenty of basketball fans out there but I can tell you that there are many others that just don't care for the NBA game.  I prefer the NBA much better during the playoffs, as the season sometimes just seems like a drag unless there is a major hype on a game.  Sometimes watching the highlights on http://www.espn.com/ just seems more interesting than sitting on the couch watching a regular season NBA game of two of the "lesser" winning teams in the NBA.  Some games I do enjoy, but I feel that sometimes there is not much "team" or "coaching" aspect to the NBA game.  I prefer college basketball as it just seems that the passion by the players is there all season long, while the NBA players appear to get up for only "big-time" matchups or when the playoffs come, occasionally maybe when there is a battle for a last playoff spot.  The regular season, sometimes feels like the NFL's Pro-Bowl, where the game doesn't matter so much, but seeing the stars of the sports world matters most.

The Chicago Bulls matchup against the Indiana Pacers had a $67.00 price tag for a stading-room only ticket for game 1 in Chicago.  Thats $61.00 more than watching a playoff game in San Antonio, quite a jump.  I ventured over to http://www.stubhub.com/ and saw only 6 tickets left at $20.00 for the Spurs game and the Bulls cheapest ticket was again standing room only for $63.99.  Man how times have changed.  I can't remember the last time I could see any live professional major sporting event for the price of a value meal.

Has San Antonio just seen so much success in recent years of the Spurs, that this season isn't that special?  Wal-Mart today announced that their core-shoppers are becoming broke.  Maybe we should just realize that the economy isn't better, its that the majority of people are paying bills and living on less or paying higher insurance costs.  That's less disposable income to around for NBA playoff tickets, even if they are $6.00.  You have to include parking, gas, and food and drinks and the night goes from the price of a value meal to a sit-down meal at the Cheesecake Factory with getting cheesecake for dessert and having a specialty drink or two.  More people are passing on free tickets from give-aways, promotions, or friends because they figure the travel costs into their decision as well. 

While the NFL players and its owners bicker on the millions they want or aren't getting, the "average joe" is cooking smaller meals and budgeting their normal expenses and wondering if there will be anything left over at the end of the week for a "Netflix rental".  Maybe that's exaggerating a little, but for some its not.  While $6.00 may seem cheap for a playoff ticket, others may need that $6.00 to get by until their next paycheck.  It's different times, but its the world we live in right now, whether you like it or not, its becoming fairly common.  Unemployment rate may go down, but alot of peoples savings accounts need to get built back up before some will splurge, even if it's just for a $6.00 playoff ticket.  Times are tight, I definitely get it.

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