I will admit that I am slightly annoyed to move from 106 to 110 for the MLS Cup. I was at work and lost track of time and suddenly it was 12:40pm so I missed my 12 noon slot so it was either the corners or the upper level and I went with the corner. Frustratingly, there were groups of three available in 106 but it wouldn't let me take those as I have a pair of season tickets (Pretty certain I could've found someone else to take the third one off my hands if it let me buy them). I will always wonder what it would have been like if I was on at noon like I should have been. That being said, seeing the anger on social media now from those who couldn't get tickets at all makes me happy I'm at least in the building so keeping things in perspective, 110 is not terrible. I'm pretty sure being almost in a supporters section will be fun even though I'm not crazy about the corner vantage point. That being said, I'm remembering all the discussions here about people boycotting the team and giving up their season tickets to stick it to MLSE during the abysmal years. I wonder how many of those people would have been able to get tickets if they didn't bail when the team was dreadful? Are those the people that are frustrated at not getting tickets? I know there are day one fans who just can't commit to season tickets whether for financial reasons or other life commitments and it's unfortunate that those fans might be shut out. That being said, whenever somebody asked me why the hell I would spend money supporting such a dreadful team, they would laugh when I said that if they ever start winning, I would want to make sure I have first crack at playoff tickets. So glad now that I hung on all these years!
It's a cold hard fact that when a match this big comes up, fair distribution of tickets is going to go by the wayside. Add to that that this match is run by the league itself rather than the club, local fans are going to suffer in favour of the broader MLS community. That said, for long time fans of the team, it is a big kick in the teeth to be shut out for this moment that so many have waited for. You can't blame people for being angry, even if they "bailed" on the club out of frustration. It's a fan's prerogative to stop supporting the team financially when the team let them down so much. And it's especially true for Toronto fans who have seen that unconditional support is not necessarily rewarded as the Leafs have proven over decades. In the end though, it's a complicated situation with no easy answer. People who have been shorted have to accept that to some degree and just make the best of the situation. While it's not the same as being at the match, it can still be a lot of fun to watch it in a pub or other gathering in a big group of fans. At least they'll get to enjoy the game in warmth, and help prove the critics wrong who say that "soccer will always be insignificant in Toronto."
What happened today was planned. Out of evryone I know and in turn everyone that they know that had Seasons not one person got 1 ticket anywhere during the presale for SSH at 12 or Public sale at 1. I actually hit the refresh button right at 1 searched best available for 1 ticket in what was a max of 2-5 seconds and not a single ticket. The max tickets you could buy was 4, yet today at 12:05 Stub hub was flooded with tickets at 3 or 4 times the cost some with rows of 15 seats up for grabs! 15!....explain that one TFC/MLS/ticketmaster and StubHub?
I understand that events out of control of the team and run by the league (cup final, centennial classic, grey cup.etc.) are out of the hands of the team ticketing department. I for one gave up my season tickets for financial reasons but still support via television, go to a few games that I pay for when I want to go, merchandise. I don't expect a presale for me and I get that. The Season ticket holders however should have first crack at tickets. I guess they did and although you can't get your original seats in most cases you could have gotten tickets. My issue is with the general public sale that at 1 second after the time there is nothing....and like above within minutes the stubhub site goes from under 1000 to about 400 more than that....in minutes which means there isn't a fair distribution or system to general public. It sickens me that on Kijiji some a$$hole has a page listed of different seats for this game, or stubhub...when you know the sole purpose was to f people that wanted to go. People need to f those stubhub people. Don't worry about going to the game at 4x the cost of tickets. Go to a bar with a huge group of fans and cheer and drink (cheaper than BMO) and have a good time...and let those stubhub idiots get screwed on money to the point where hours before the game they have to drop their prices to loses (because we know stubhub takes from both end of the sale you don't get what you listed for, and ticketmaster charges stupid huge fees that wipe out any profit that was worth listing them in the first place). Society breeds this greed. If we didn't support the resale market...there wouldn't be one.
Just thought I would point out that because I was forced from my original seats, I ended up with this absolutely glorious view of the penalties. So it all worked out pretty well. Other than TFC losing of course. But hey, great season, can't be too upset about it.