Posted: Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 1:00 PM | 18 comments |
 

Super Bowl tickets cheap
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When the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl, I needed to buy a Super Bowl ticket for someone. You know, me, long-time sportswriter in town, somebody who allegedly has a bunch of connections. Well, I was able to use those connections to get a ticket. It was being scalped by somebody within the league -- no names, please. I believe my money passed through at least three sets of hands before it got to the person who was actually selling the ticket in the first place. I don't actually know the name of the person who originally got the ticket. I'm not even sure I know the names of all of the go-betweens.

It was a huge hassle but I was grateful for the way it worked out. I had to go to the ATM in Jacksonville on three consecutive days in order to get the money and ended up carrying around this enormous roll of $20s in my pocket for all of that time, but I was still grateful.

Price of ticket: $2,200.

Yeah, connections. Some people on the street were paying even more.

Five years later, you can go online and find your choice of tickets for a lot less. You can go right now on StubHub and get a seat in the upper deck in Tampa for about $1,600. You can get a lower level seat in the end zone, where my ticket was, for $2,000. Even though the face value on the tickets is now $800 -- up from $500 back then, if memory serves -- the price is down at least 10 percent. It could be a lot lower by Sunday because there are tons of tickets available.

But here's the question: why?

Two choices:

1) It's the economy, stupid.

2) The Arizona Cardinals remain a lame excuse for a Super Bowl participant.

You decide.
Posted by Rich Hofmann @ 1:00 PM  Permalink | 18 comments
18
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:16 PM, 01/27/2009
    economy, stupid. In the last steelers super bowl, you could touch one for less than $2,000
    — phillysteel
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:33 PM, 01/27/2009
    The steelers fans are still trying to pay off their last superbowl trip.
    — cusoraider
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:35 PM, 01/27/2009
    The economy coupled with the fact that watching football at home is just as good as on tv. And the Superbowl is a sterile neutral site game. I would rather take the ticket money and buy a good HDTV.
    — Ramon
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:46 PM, 01/27/2009
    1) The Economy; 2)only once team has a fan base and, 3) that fan base is from America's 22nd largest (smallish) Metro area. Bottom line is there just isn't that large of a demand.
    — dr sabu
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:06 PM, 01/27/2009
    A combination of the economy and the Cardinals. Anybody watching any Steelers away game this year knows that the team has a huge fan base outside of Pittsburgh. But the rough economy makes it hard to afford the ticket price and the lodging and transportation, which is roughly another $1500 or more.
    — jfar86
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:25 PM, 01/27/2009
    I actually saw two cars from the Southwest today at lunchtime: one from Arizona and one from Cali (they had a Cards magnet on the car). So, I know at least two people from the desert are here. Now, if they could just get another 25,998 by Sunday....
    — EaglesFanInStPete
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:48 PM, 01/27/2009
    Wow, Dirte, harsh. Funny tho, lol
    — gtcrawley
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:53 PM, 01/27/2009
    I just have a question for Ramon at the top...and i quote "watching football at home is just as good as on TV." Hey Ramon...where exactly do you watch the game when you're at home? Do you live in the stadium? Just wondering because I'm pretty sure for most people watching at home also means watching it on TV...so yeah..you're right...watching from home is definitely just as good as watching it on TV. Moron.
    — glackattak
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:49 PM, 01/27/2009
    nicely done, glack.
    — philabirds
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About Rich Hofmann
Rich Hofmann arrived at the Daily News in 1980 for a job whose status was officially designated as "full-time, temporary." A senior at Penn at the time, he was hired to fill in on the copy desk during a staff illness. The notion of him covering the Eagles or being a columnist did not exist in anyone's imagination. It was supposed to be six weeks and out, but he never left. It is only one of the reasons why so many people have concerns about him as a potential house guest. Rich has blogged the postseasons of the Flyers and Eagles. E-mail Rich at hofmanr@phillynews.com

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