A $260 ticket for $20! Are you kidding me? |
Club level seats give you a great view. Is it worth $260? For any game? |
Waiting for the Trolley which makes going to Charger games so easy! |
A couple weeks ago I drank my morning coffee and suddenly realized it was August. Which meant the NFL preseason was about to start. I looked in the paper and saw The Packers were coming to San Diego for a Thursday night ESPN tilt. I hadn't been to a Packer game in 10 years. They rarely play on the West Coast and when they do its always a tough ticket. So I figured a 5pm kickoff on a weeknight in August would be my best chance to see my favorite team.
It turned out to be a wise decision. I spent three hours in the motel pool on a hot summer day before taking the San Diego Trolley to the stadium which I still call "The Murph." The Trolley makes Charger games so easy to get to and saved me at least $20 in parking fees. That $20 was given to a scalper in the parking lot for a killer seat on the Club Level! I arrived just in time to see the Navy Jet fly over. Then Ryan Matthews of San Diego broke his clavicle on the first play! The Chargers always seem to have the worst luck in football. They ended up winning the game 21-13 but losing their top running back for at least six weeks.
In the first quarter Aaron Rodgers of the Packers threw a rare interception. It reminded me of the last time I saw him play in San Diego. At the Holiday Bowl in 2004 Rodgers looked shaky as his Cal Bears lost to Texas Tech 45-31. This time it was a meaningless game but Rodgers still seemed irritated by the pick. The Charger fans on the Trolley after the game could only talk about the injury to Matthews. So it goes for the pre-season. Injuries count more than touchdowns.
Still, the NFL is the damn NFL! I enjoyed the action and especially my club level seat. When I made it back to my room I looked at my ticket. The face value on it: $260! I paid $20 making it "the greatest bargain in sports history!" That was the face value of the Super Bowl game I attended at the same stadium 15 years ago! Of course, its ridiculous that the NFL makes season ticket holders pay full price for pre-season games. Then again, $260 for a regular season game is also absurd. $12 beers, $10 hot dogs, I mean who can afford the NFL? For one night I could!