Actually, the way he told it to me, the tickets were free as long as he paid a $10 "convenience fee" per ticket. I assume that means that the Union donated the tickets to get a write-off and a third party makes money "giving the tickets away" but I'm just speculating about that.
Ah. Interesting. Better than two empty seats and it brings in people who probably wouldn't have gone in the first place.
Totally agree. I actually wrote a paper in college (Penn Fall Semester 1996) in a course called "Sports and the Law" where I argued that teams should give away or deeply discount every empty seat because the additional cost of having bodies in a stadium or arena is offset and then some by the parking, concessions, merchandise and potential future fandom from the recipients of those freebies. It's one of the few papers that I wrote in college that I still remember today.
If the Union were to do this (donating tickets to non-profit) then I am disappointed on a very personal level. A couple seasons ago, I contacted Cara Joftis - among many different avenues - to try and get the Union to have an "awareness" night for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. At the end of it all, I was told the best the team could do is sell a block of at least 50 tickets to the DelVal Chapter at a reduced rate (like $5-10 off face value), who could turn around and sell them at whatever price they desired. I think it could've been a win-win, but instead I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth.
Interesting that you mentioned this. My girlfriend is a high school teacher and soccer coach. She is taking a group of about 30 of her players to the 4/12 game. The best the team could offer was exactly that, a $10 discount over the single game price. This was a little disappointing for her considering that she organized the trip as a school function and many of the kids' families don't have two nickels to rub together.
We have known how the FO opperates. Don't they ask season ticket holders to donate their tickets to the arm forces/veterans etc when they can easily donate it themselves. Look at this from last year: http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2013/06/philadelphia-union-honor-military-heroes-july-20th They want people to donate their tickets or to buy a block of tickets to donate and they will match it if over 15. Then from what @mattylip is saying, the arm forces buy them for $10 each? This smells all kinds of bad.
Selling unsold seats around the stadium at a deep discount a day or two before each match is somewhat different than selling a block of tickets ahead of time. But still, the Union should have a better charity approach for "excess" tickets.
Yeah, it looks all sorts of bad. Beyond that, I don't care for the FO's military boosterism either. So much of it feels like an empty gesture.
Umm, obviously. My point is, there could've been some crazy cross-pollination that the Union missed out on. And, knowing many of the higher-ups within the local CF Foundation chapter, they would've advertised the hell out of a "CF Night at PPL Park" kind of thing. There were talks about Union player appearances at the Foundation's various charitable events, such as Great Strides walks, CF Ride for Life, etc. At the time, the Union could've used as much face time (read, free advertising) as possible. But, instead, the team will promote the shit out of the May 17th "Star Wars Night". I've recently thought about re-approaching them, but then I come back to the reality of it all.
I don't think the rain will be monsoon levels. But I think it will be wet enough and cool enough to keep numbers down somewhat.
As long as the team gives away tickets, it will be close to a "sell out." Due to the weather, there were be many empty seats. A guy in my office who won't commit to season tickets but goes to several games each year came asked whether I was going to go tomorrow. I said that I was and he said that whether he buys tickets and goes will be based upon the weather. I think that a lot of people will be in that position tomorrow.
Amobi bobbleheads to the first 5,000 people. Will there be any leftovers to be donated to some third world country where the kids think the Union's centerback is the lovechild of Eddie Johnson and Taylor Twellman?
i get to break out my favorite version of dale o dollar dollar dollar dollar dollar dogs, dollar dollar dollar dogs (DOLLAR DOGS!) DIIIIIIIETZ AND WATSON, DIIIIIIIIIIETZ AND WATSON, DIIIIIIIIIIIETZ AND WATSON DOLLAR DOLLAR DOGS!! CLAP CLAP
Maybe the rest of the fan base is beginning to become as frustrated as we are. What to make of the boos? The result was roundly booed after the final whistle. Also, Caroll was booed after a spectacularly errant pass across the field.