The USSF World Cup tickets email has arrived!

[Magpie Maniac]

Sometimes you do what you have to do.

Also, before getting too far into your "rules" arguement I can not find a statement in the form or on the US Soccer offical instructions saying the only fax number allowed is the one listed on the form.

I was waiting for that argument. Come on. You know better than that. They didn't intend on people faxing to other numbers. Otherwise, those numbers would be listed. Thomas A Fina has a point. It's the fact the USSF lets you get away with it that's troubling. Just more proof how ********ed up they are.

To: tickets@ussoccer.org

Why did the USSF take WC ticket applications from (and assigned confirmation numbers to) people who faxed to alternate fax numbers that were not listed on the ticket application? I have an ethical issue with that decision.

Could you please confirm that this occurred and explain the reasoning behind it? Thanks.

[Etienne_72772]

I don't blame Bonji on this one at all. I am upset at USSF even more now for saying one thing, and doing another. No, there is no absolute statement on the form that says you have to fax to that number. BUT IT IS THE ONLY NUMBER LISTED ON THE APPLICATION FORM! It certainly seems reasonable to me (and this is exactly what I thought), that they would want to keep their other business faxes open, so wouldn't want people sending it in to those. And my thought was if I did send to that fax number, I would get disqualified. JUst like if I would have hand-delivered it, I would have been disqualified. I should have tried that, anyway. I probably would have gotten some clueless deskjockey who would have simply rubberstamped it "Received" at 12:15.

I could have called to verify about the alternate fax numbers, but the last time I had called in (to confirm that I could apply with an expired passport number for one of the tickets), I got a receptionist who HAD NO FREAKIN' CLUE! (Although she was very nice...)

It all seems to have worked against me.

Again, good on ya', Bonji. You took a gamble and it paid off. Sucks for the rest of us that USSF allowed you to get away with it...

[Thomas A Fina]

Sometimes you do what you have to do.

Also, before getting too far into your "rules" arguement I can not find a statement in the form or on the US Soccer offical instructions saying the only fax number allowed is the one listed on the form.
Usually when there is an instruction form that says to fax it to one number, the implcation is to fax it to that number. If there were other numbers to do so, they should have mentioned it. That falls upon how horribly the USSF is run. You found a loophole. Congrats. So did the people from Chicago and surrounding areas who could send an item same day, so could those out on the left coast who faxed an item in after USSF hours, but during their work hours. You guys get to go. I'm extremely bitter. But it's towards the USSF. THey should NEVER have told you that it was OK to send it anywhere but the fax number supplied. But that's them, NattyBo, not Bonji.


(that said, preening is very bad form. So is bitter sniping at people who really didn't do anything wrong)

[Bonji]

:rolleyes:

Look, no matter how you spin it, you knowingly did something of questionable ethics in order to get an advantage over people. Whats done is done, and I wont waste my time trying to make you feel bad for it or anything, but trying to spin it as anything but exactly what you did is wrong and I wont let that slide.
You really need to lighten up. I typically worry about the ethics of our president when he starts a war, or of the CEO of a company stealing from people. This was to get a form in for some tickets. Life goes on and maybe next time you'll figure out how to get what you want.

[Bonji]

I was waiting for that argument. Come on. You know better than that. They didn't intend on people faxing to other numbers. Otherwise, those numbers would be listed. Thomas A Fina has a point. It's the fact the USSF lets you get away with it that's troubling. Just more proof how ********ed up they are.
Did your form not get accepted? Do you know you didn't get tickets? Why are you so angry about this?

[NattyBo]

You really need to lighten up. I typically worry about the ethics of our president when he starts a war, or of the CEO of a company stealing from people. This was to get a form in for some tickets. Life goes on and maybe next time you'll figure out how to get what you want.

Indeed. Perhaps in Germany we can meet face to face and I can find some sort of loophole about an American punching another American in the face :rolleyes:

Great, look at what you've made me resort to. E-threats.

Usually though, I try and figure out how to get what I want without ********ing other people over. To each their own, though.

Anyway, like I said, what is done is done. There isnt any point in fretting over it.

[Bonji]

Indeed. Perhaps in Germany we can meet face to face and I can find some sort of loophole about an American punching another American in the face :rolleyes:

Great, look at what you've made me resort to. E-threats.

Usually though, I try and figure out how to get what I want without ********ing other people over. To each their own, though.

Anyway, like I said, what is done is done. There isnt any point in fretting over it.
Ok, if anyone out there can prove that my request for three tickets to the Ghana match made it so they couldn't get theirs, I'll apologize. Otherwise you guys are all puffed up and acting tough for nothing.

[NattyBo]

Im not acting tough for nothing. I have my reputation as an internet tough guy to uphold, mister.
:p

[Thomas A Fina]

Did your form not get accepted? Do you know you didn't get tickets? Why are you so angry about this?
I would be stunned if most of us got tickets. Unfortunately right now it's all a guessing game. But I would say it's about 98% that the cutoff time is before 10:00 the next day - I would say it didn't make it out of the first day, but I don't know for sure.

But I guess you got the tickets, so you really don't care how shoddily the USSF is run. This isn't the first time I've been completely at a loss to figure out why they are so disorganized and why they can't seem to play well with others. (I'm still pissed off beyond all belief about their non-action during the Gold Cup in NY). So to me this is one more in a very,very,very long line of crap we've all had to deal with regarding the USSF.

[Magpie Maniac]

Life goes on and maybe next time you'll figure out how to get what you want.

Man, I was going to hang low for a while on this issue (after Thomas A Fina's worthwhile admonition), but your comment is the kind of crap that bothers me.

Maybe it's a difference in our raising or education or something, but in grad school, ethics was crammed down our throats. Yea, I saw the other numbers listed here, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

You took someone's spot. Remember that over your beer in Gelsenkirchen.

As if you care. :rolleyes:

[Thomas A Fina]

[john Motson]uh-oh, that tackle might have been a bit rash, and it's gone all to handbags now[/jm]

[Bonji]

Man, I was going to hang low for a while on this issue (after Thomas A Fina's worthwhile admonition), but your comment is the kind of crap that bothers me.

Maybe it's a difference in our raising or education or something, but in grad school, ethics was crammed down our throats. Yea, I saw the other numbers listed here, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

You took someone's spot. Remember that over your beer in Gelsenkirchen.

As if you care. :rolleyes:
You do realize there are still other ways to get tickets, right? Read my previous post...I applied for tickets to probably the least sought after match.

[Thomas A Fina]

You do realize there are still other ways to get tickets, right? Read my previous post...I applied for tickets to probably the least sought after match.
Why the hell would someone go for only one or two games?

[Bonji]

Why the hell would someone go for only one or two games?
Some of us only get two weeks vacation a year and are married and can't put life on hold for an event like this. I'm lucky to be going at all. I'm trying to get to two or three matches (not only US) and the rest of the time I'll be enjoying Amsterdam and public square beer gardens.

[Magpie Maniac]

In Bonji's defense, I only needed tickets for Czech Rep and Italy. I could only stay for eight days or so.

[Thomas A Fina]

I figured as much. I posted that in haste* Still, judging by how much fun certain fellow ESCers had in South Korea, I'm really upset if I can't see all the games.

(as it is if I get Ghana and *crosses fingers* the second round game, I'll have to make do somehow)


I work in a bank and they MAKE me take one two week vacation in a block, which is perfect for these kind of things. It's not the norm. I forget that)

[MikeLastort2]

As far as I'm concerned, anyone who faxed their applications to 312-808-1301 (the main USSF fax) instead of to 312-528-7049 (the official fax for tickets) is a cheating scumbag. Applications that were sent to 312-808-1301 should be IMMEDIATELY disqualified and US Soccer should remove the cheaters from the official US Soccer Fan mailing list.

People who cheat are beneath contempt.

YMMV.

[tog]

Honestly, nowhere on the form does it expressly say that the number listed was the only acceptable fax.

Here is what it says:

Completed order forms with valid method of payment must be received via fax or mail at U.S. Soccer before Wednesday, January 4, 2006 at 5 p.m. CT.

OFFICIAL MAILING ADDRESS: U.S. Soccer Federation
ATTN: Ticket Department
1801 South Prairie Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616

OFFICIAL FAX: (312) 528-7049

• U.S. Soccer strongly recommends submitting your order via a method with delivery confirmation (i.e. fax, DHL, Certified Mail, FedEx, etc.). Orders will NOT be accepted through any delivery method other than fax or mail (i.e. in person, by courier, through e-mail, etc.). Orders will be filled on a first-come-first-serve basis and orders received after the U.S. Soccer allotment is sold will be placed on the U.S. Soccer Waiting List until all preceding ticket orders are confirmed. Please note that ticket order forms with insufficient postage, invalid payment or that are incomplete, unclear or damaged will not be processed.

All it says is that "Orders will NOT be accepted through any delivery method other than fax or mail," and it never says that fax numbers other than the "OFFICIAL FAX" cannot be used. It does expressly phohibit some things: couriers, for example. But it never expressly prohibits faxing the office fax line. If it did, you'd have a beef. It doesn't, so you don't.

What Bonji did was well within the rules as set forth in the instructions. I'm sorry others of you didn't think of it. Neither did I.

However, to proclaim someone unethical who broke no rules is not only incorrect, but an unfounded attack on their character.

I understand you're all upset, and you should be: with the USSF. For crying out loud, this is the second decade Internet age, and they're still taking orders by fax? And to make it worse, they're not even remotely prepared for the amount of traffic they KNOW they're going to get.

In any case, you all are barking at the wrong person.

Bonji broke no rules. The USSF, however, ********ed up the whole process.

[EXboxur]

If they wanted people to Fax to other numbers, wouldn't they have posted those numbers? :confused:

I'm not getting on anybody, just wondering.

[blkbrnrvr]

If they wanted people to Fax to other numbers, wouldn't they have posted those numbers? :confused:
It's the USSF; They probably forgot that they had another fax machine. :D