The Digital Age Takes a Bite Out of Sports Tickets

The day of the souvenir ticket stub may be a thing of the past. One thing that can be a cherished reminder of an experience one had at a sporting event is being pushed by the wayside by many a sports team and soon ticket stubs may be no more. Why this is being done can be argued but should it be done isn't even up for debate in my opinion.

For many years I used to keep the tickets from games that I went to in great condition. I'll admit over the past few years I've just jammed most of them into my pocket only to be disappointed when its all crumpled up by the time I get home. This last happened with the Nationals first home playoff game in team history, I still kick myself for not keeping that ticket in as mint condition as possible. It was a historic game for the franchise and while some may see it as less significant if not totally insignificant others share the same belief I do. Now while that ticket may not be in the best of condition it and the painful memories of that game will be something I'll still cherish for years to come.

You see a ticket stub is more than the cost of the ticket or the location of where one sat or even the two teams or certain players out there doing battle. Ticket stubs hold memories that one can share with their children and grandchildren down the line. For some its the first game a father takes a son to, for others its the first date a couple went on and for others its a historical moment in sports history. Stories decades old have been told of a young boy that went to a game with their father and at that game they saw Jackie Robinson become the 1st African American to play in Major League Baseball; of grandpa taking in the game where Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single game; Roger Maris hitting his 61st Home Run; The Ice Bowl; Gretzky's first game, Cal's 2161; whatever the case may be. Many of those stories are accompanied with the ticket stub from that game. Either its been kept in a safety box, in a top loader, a book, been signed or even framed. All those games are a piece of history. And while tickets can be bought after the fact on the secondary market it doesn't make them any less special to he who bought it, at least if they're a collector, because that game holds a special or significant meaning to that person or someone they know.

In fact my boss told me a story earlier this month about his son giving him a Christmas gift. That gift was a framed picture of the two of them at a Baltimore Ravens game and next to the picture was one of their tickets from the game. That is what a ticket stub means to some people. I myself purchased a ticket from the 2002 NCAA Championship Basketball game because Juan Dixon and the Maryland Terrapins not only played in that game but they won it. Its an item I've added to my collection and the closest I'll ever come to having attended the game. The ticket also looks better than some shitty black and white or color 8x10 sheet of paper with details of the game and ad that isn't as easy to store or as nice looking as that little rectangular one.
The decline in the original ticket began a few years back as more people went electronic and "green." You could order tickets online and have the option of having them mailed to you at your home or you could print them off from your computer. Sure that was an easy option and you didn't run the risk of them being lost or stolen by the postal service. My first time dealing with the "print it yourself" option not only was there a service charge for handling of like $18 but you also had to pay $3 to print your tickets. Yes that's right. Not only was I using my ink and paper which I had paid for but I also had to pay $3 for a "convenience fee." Any way for a company like TicketMaster to make a buck. Then when you printed the ticket there would be extra stuff on it, like an ad or offer that would eat up that ink and helped to take up the whole page.

Earlier this year my work received our package for our Georgetown Hoyas season tickets but all that was inside was a card, much like a savings or debit card. With the card you have the option of using it at the stadium to get in and take your seats or you can print them off from the Hoyas ticket site. Luckily printing them off or emailing them to someone else was a free option with these but I'm not so sure that's the case if you bought single game tickets.

A few months later the same thing happened with our Washington Wizards tickets, and then our Washington Capitals ticket. Monumental Sports and Entertainment was moving full fledged into this new and cheaper way of doing tickets, any why not they were the ones running or part owners of the TicketMaster company when the previous situation happened, at least I believe they still were at the time. Plus Ted Leonsis is a mogul and technology guy so he's going to go for online and cheap the best he can so as to continue to grow his empire. That's not to say there hasn't been a lot of bumps along the way.  Fans are complaining about it taking longer to get into Caps games and the cards taking longer to get people in. I went to one game and did not see the cards being the problem as much as the security measures but I also got there 30 minutes prior to the game and had a paper printed ticket in hand.

Today comes word that the Washington Nationals will also be going the online route with their tickets and this just saddens me. I knew it would most likely be a reality at some point but there are just so many people, especially baseball fans, that love the thicker stock ticket over a card or the personal computer printed ticket. I loved seeing the special ticket that the teams would use for the team's first home game and then seeing different players for each of the next 4 or 5 games that would then recycle over however many pages the ticket book went. Now that's going to be gone.

I will say the card can make it a tad more convenient if you have one per ticket compared to one per account as Washington Monumental has done. It is also something you can just keep in your wallet at all times but what if you lose your card or it breaks? Isn't it more of a hassle to have to report it stolen and have the tickets reassigned electronically? Also this is a real cost cutting measure. While programming the cards could cost a pretty penny, and I'd assume their is a computer program that is a huge time saver, its a lot cheaper for the sports teams to purchase the cards in bulk than it was to print season tickets in mass as they have for many years and then send them via FedEx, UPS or DHL to the season ticket holder. Now that the teams are saving money on the printing don't you think some of that savings should trickle down to the people who are buying the tickets? I mean depending on the sport and where one is sitting you're paying at minimum of $50 and up to a few hundred for every game. Sure a giveaway at a game is nice but just as the owners would like to save money so would Joe Schmo who makes a less in a month or even year than some players make in a game.

I'm sure another reason the ticket industry is changing is to cut down on scalpers outside of the stadium. Knowing that someone can print the tickets off of a computer like you can with these, the buyer will be more suspect to trust someone outside the stadium than they would if they had the rectangular ticket so more people are likely to go to the box office to try and purchase tickets than go to the homely looking dude shouting "TICKETS! TICKETS! WHICH ONE OF YOU CRAZY MOTHER F-KERS NEED A TICKET?"

What's even sadder is that the sports teams know that they can exploit the fans even further. Say you go to a game and see a perfect game thrown or someone breaks Kareem's all-time scoring record, or whatever other notable achievement that will cause resale of a used ticket to sell for more than a ticket normally would after the event. After the accomplishment has taken place you have to figure that the teams will see it as a perfect opportunity to capitalize on the fans that want to have a better looking piece of history by printing out 17,000 tickets that resemble the soon to be old school style and sell them for like $20-$50 per ticket. They know people will pay and those poor saps that already paid $50 to see the game may be paying another $50 on top of it. Don't believe me? They know we're all suckers and owners are all about the dollar. After all they need to have a profitable company or they'll just tell you that you're going to have to pay more while they still fail to improve their roster or upgrade the facility.

I really hope that fans voice their frustrations enough that the owners reconsider it but this reminds me of growing up and listening to Sony and Nintendo tell the consumers that the cartridge games cost more because of what they have to do in terms of making them and that once the games go to a disc the prices will drop. Well as the years have gone on and the systems have switched to the disc games the prices are still $50-$60 for most games. And why not...they know that we're addicts and we're going to pay exactly what they tell us to. Maybe not all of us but the majority.

Captain Chaos...Chris Cooley Will ALWAYS BE A REDSKIN

I had to give myself some time to really put my thoughts into words while not seething at the Washington Redskins and without swearing up a storm. I may not say all that I want but I will say enough.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012 was a sad day for fans of the Washington Redskins.  The team announced their decision, that surprised few, that fan favorite Tight End Chris Cooley had been cut from the team as it trimmed its roster closer to the final 53-man unit that will start the regular season. The team’s all-time leader in receptions by a TE was now unemployed…not cool.

This news was not too shocking, except for perhaps the fact that the team waited this long. Why not cut him back in the summer? If he wasn’t in your plans why not cut him earlier in camp? Why string along the most professional guy the team has had since he came aboard in 2004? Many fans were sad, I’m still mourning, many fans were angry and for whatever reason some were mad at Chris himself.

I am a HUGE Chris Cooley fan and I’ll never deny it. I have his jersey, I have a hell of a card collection (sneak peak at the end of this post), and I have enjoyed seeing him perform on the field, speak up regarding the team’s tough stretches and enjoyed his humble and candid interviews. Chris Cooley did not deserve to see his tenure as a Redskin end this way.

Chris was more than a Redskins player, he was an identity with the team. People that weren't even football fans would associate the name Cooley with Redskins. Cooley was a go-to guy for the carousel of quarterbacks that played her during his time including Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell, Todd Collins, Donovan McNabb, and Rex Grossman. When in doubt dump the ball to Cooley and he'll get you a first down because 9 times out of 10 he was sure handed and got the job done. That's what RG3 is gonna need so the offensive line and WRs that can't get open don't get him killed, THE Pro Bowl Tight End, not the player that can't be trusted. Cooley was to the Redskins  what Darrell Green was for two decades. He epitomized the way that Redskins players were supposed to play and how they were expected to act on and off the field. Pure class and character. Of course to me this move lacked that, I get its a "new regime" but this team has always been one to restructure deals and they didn't even offer Cooley that.

In 2004 I had no idea who this Chris Cooley character was. I was browsing over the Redskins draft results and read that Coach Joe Gibbs, whom I adore for what he did during his first go-round with the Redskins as well as how he lives his life, was very high on Cooley. I also knew the magic that Gibbs could perform with players. Then I saw him play and that was it. I was in the tank for him and my man crush totally began.

Cooley was a big kid. Whenever you watched an interview with him it was not about him, it was always the team, always someone else that should get some notoriety. When the team struggled Chris took blame, when the losing got worse he apologized to the fans and said, like he did yesterday, that the best fans in the world deserved better that they deserved a championship team. Chris never threw a teammate under the bus, never got a coach fired, never played a game where he took a play off. If there was one constant thing you could expect from the Redskins every season for the past 8 years it was that #47 was going to be the starting Tight End.

Of course four years ago the Skins drafted malcontent Fred Davis. This lead to whispers that Cooley could become a cap casualty in the near future. Davis’ first two seasons he had hands of stone and really didn’t run great routes and didn’t play too much until Chris went down with an injury. His 3^rd season was another unimpressive one (16 games, 9 starts, 21 receptions). Last season however, with Cooley injured Davis put up great numbers and was named the team’s Offensive Player of the Year despite being suspended 4 games for failing the league’s drug policy. That’s right, the team cut their FAN FAVORITE for a guy that was selfish, smoked his pot, and then had to sit out the last 4 games of a terrible season. I wasn’t a Davis fan when the Skins drafted him, not because I felt he was a threat to Cooley but because he came out of USC who has been known to produce busts in the NFL. Then this happens, and he’s being investigated for an altercation at a night club with a woman. Classy guy they kept over a guy that keeps his nose clean.

That’s not to say Cooley was perfect, he did “skip out” on an appearance at a Bethesda Big Train game a few years back and I’ve heard of other stories of him missing appearances, but can’t confirm if that’s true or more of someone that felt burned from a snub. Chris jeopardized his healthy because he was rushing back without being 100% healed but in the “best interest of the team;” did have some drops or untimely fumbles, who doesn’t; and did post a picture of the team’s playbook which happened to have a picture of “Lil Chris” in it too. That last thing though was part of the charm of Cooley and his ability to handle humility…think of the shorty shorts he wore to practice. Chris loved to have fun and the reporters loved talking to him.

I was lucky enough to meet Chris in October 2009 at the Collector’s Showcase of America show in Chantilly, VA. I heard last minute that he’d be there the day I went and my mother surprised me by purchasing me a ticket to get Chris’ autograph on a mini helmet. Mind you this was days after he had broken his ankle, which I think was karma for that God awful blonde dye job he had done to his hair.  As I waited in line Chris passed by acknowledging fans, thanking them, even signing for a few kids. I got up to his table and Chris was interacting with the kids of the people ahead of us unlike any athlete I had ever seen and those kids smiled from ear to ear. If he wasn’t banging the cheerleader I’d have had his babies. I got up there, we exchanged pleasantries, I told him how I was a huge fan and he appreciated it, signed my helmet and a Score base card, which he had brought a stack of to sign for anyone that came to the table. This is who Chris Cooley was as a Redskin, he was a fan of the people as much as they were a fan of him. I’m sure I could share dozens of similar stories that my co-worker told me about when she saw him at restaurants in Ashburn. Chris accepted his celebrity as something that came with the job and he was never a douche or a diva about it.

What’s more Chris is also a card collector. He’s bought cards, some of his own, on ebay, and even mentioned at the show that he couldn’t wait to be done signing so he could go check out the cards at the show. In fact he also busted a box with, I think Clinton Portis, of a Panini product either for the company or a local dealer. Chris also blogged about his collecting a few years back Captain Chaos is a Collector. Seriously if I was gay Christy would be competition.

All that said and jokes aside, Captain Chaos should have retired a Redskin, on his terms. It would be great if he could resign in a few weeks as some have suggested. I hope Davis fails another drug test or that Cooley joins the Baltimore Ravens. I’m not sure that he was ever a major part of the plans. I heard two TE sets would be possible, lining him up at Full Back, that his cap cost vs his injuries made him not worth it as did the expectations of Niles Paul. Chris Cooley is the heart of the Redskins, he was a captain, he was PROVEN, he could catch, run, and block. Then again sports is a business and if the team didn’t have RG3 then Cooley would still be a Redskin. Think about this RG3 came in and the fans went gaga for him. Money being thrown around for jerseys or anything with Griffin on it, see those ridiculous pre-season match-up shirts vs. Luck and the Colts. The Skins had their new cash cow. They made a ton of money on Sean Taylor after his passing, with money going to a fund for his daughter, and now the team has someone that can make them more money than Cooley and hopefully ease the hit the team would take amongst its fans.

I tried to get a Twitter petition going for fans to chant “THANK YOU CHRIS and WE WANT COOLEY” but that probably won’t happen. It would be nice for fans to pay respect to Cooley today and at the first home game. Let the team know they screwed up. He said over the summer he wouldn’t play for another team that wasn’t the Skins but he has too much left and I think he’ll be back, whether its later in the season with Washington because the experiment didn’t work out, or Davis “experimented” again or with any team not named the Dallas Cowboys or Pittsburgh Steelers..again Baltimore is a great fit given its location and proximity to home…Ashburn not Utah.

From the bottom of this Burgundy and Gold heart I want to thank Chris Cooley for all he did for Redskins fans on and off the field, during good times and bad, for being accountable, and for more than anything being genuine and human. You deserved better but I will always be a fan and I will always cherish the collection of cards of that I have and hopefully you'll retire, years from now as a Washington Redskin.

For viewing pleasure all cards are mine and others can be found at
Cooley Collection

 /210

 Jsy #

 /10

2/2

Jsy #

 Jsy #

Jsy #

Jsy#

Jsy #

/5

Jsy #

Jsy #

Jsy #

Jsy #

Jsy #