Re: To season ticket holders

[TechBook <techbook@world.std.com>]

>     Noah, I detected some humor there.  Better watch out for your reputation!
>      As for you, techbook, please tell me one instance where "fan outrage"
> produced any result at all.  Every single time there is a labor dispute in pro
> sports, the cry goes up for a fan boycott.  Sometimes attendance goes down a
> bit, but it never amounts to anything.  Thus, if you send in a "token amount"
> of money, I would betcha you kiss your season tickets goodbye.  A good,
> principled stand.  Can I get the tickets you lose?

Actually, my experience with the Celtics is that they won't shut out
season ticket holders that quickly. For example: each June, I get a bill
saying that I must pay 1/3 of the full cost by July in order to keep my
seats. Not true. All they want to know is who is in and who is out. I send
a token amount ($100), and the C's office is happy. I know others who pay
in stallments and collect only perhaps one month's worth of tickets at a
time.

The teams incur a cost when they lose a season ticket holder, even if
another one is waiting. When seats open up, the Celtics offer upgrades to
other ticket holders first, before selling the seats to a new person.
There's administrative costs in doing that. So, the teams would rather
just sell out the building and have zero turnover.

Part of the problem is that so many seats belong to corporations, not 
individual fans. So, the corporations don't care as much as putting up
their cash so far ahead of the season and even with a lockout or strike
in place. The corporations don't put up a stink and there aren't enough
individual fans left to change anything.

But to their credit, the C's have accomodated me for the last 7
years (I was on the wait list that long, BTW).
Basically, as long as the office gets its money by the time they are ready
to send out the tickets, I'll be fine. Sorry Doug, but I'll have my seats
for another year. You want to buy a couple of games?

I doubt that the lockout will last so long as to delay or cancel part of
the season anyway. The league can't really afford that. If the season were
to be delayed or shortened *and* MJ were to retire, the whole league will
be in deep trouble because so many people will watch something else beside
NBA basketball. Everything will dry up. 

FYI everyone else: The last remants of the Boston Garden have been
removed. Nothing remains at the old site.