Bad Ticket Experience at the Final Four

[Duke-Navy]

I had a disappointing ticket experience at the Final Four. I had four Duke tickets reserved at Will Call. The morning of the semifinal games, my son and daughter were not able to attend with my wife and I. I picked up my four tickets at will call 2 hours before tip-off with the intention of selling my two extra tickets to a loyal Duke Fan.

As my wife and I were walking away from Will Call, we saw a man in a Duke sweatshirt looking for two Duke tickets. The man was dressed in a Duke sweatshirt, and he "seemed" trustworthy. I had a nice discussion with him, and he told me all about how his wife was a Duke alumni and they had made the trip in hopes of watching Duke win a title. I sold the tickets at face value to what I thought was a loyal Duke fan, but my wife and I were sorely disappointed.

About 10 minutes before tip-off of Duke vs WVU, two men arrived to the seats next to us. Not only were they not the man and women that I sold my tickets to, but they were WVU fans who spent the entire game making nasty comments about Duke and Coach K. I took great pleasure in watching leave the stadium with their heads hanging after a sound beating.

On Monday night, two different men arrived to the seats next to us. Although they were cheering for Butler, they were IU fans who generally wanted to see a good game.

I am disappointed that my tickets did not benefit a true Duke fan. In hind sight, I wonder what I should have done to ensure the tickets were going to a good cause. Had I know that the original buyer was going to turn around and scalp my tickets to the highest bidder, I would have never sold them.

I am trying to think of a foolproof way to prevent this situation from occuring again. I may insist that the buyer pay up front and then follow me through gate. If they balk at that then I will know that they are not legitimate. I have zero patience for liars, and I will never get used like this again.

Go Duke!

[hurleyfor3]

That sucks. There were certainly Butler fans around us both nights. I expect the crowd to be 90% Butler, but kind of prefer the Duke section be occupied by Duke fans.

Could you have told the person at will call (or some other contact you had within DUAA) to give the tickets to someone else in exchange for paying for only two? I'm certain they were keeping some sort of waitlist.

[DukeDevil]

I would require that they are able to recite several of the standard chants, that way you know it's a fan AND you know they'll cheer.

Someone once literally quizzed me when I was getting tickets from them, I was happy to oblige. They asked me when I graduated, and then I went through my basketball pedigree, when I camped, some favorite moments.

[Duke-Navy]

After the fact, I thought I should have at least made him tell me the starting 5 plus the first three off of the bench. Maybe even name the entire bench including assistance coaches.

[sagegrouse]

Sorry for your disappointment, but the NCAA was up to much worse.

The NCAA ran a supposedly "legal" scalping operations within the concourse of Lucas Oil Stadium. The PA was filled with announcements during the semis to the effect that, if your team doesn't win, go to the inside ticket booths near sections 101, and we will ensure that your seats are sold to someone who wants to attend the finals.

Well,.... Tickets were being bought at face value ($135) for the lower section only and sold by the NCAA's agents for what the market would bear, reportedly $400 to $1,000. Meanwhile, the NCAA goons -- I mean, security personnel -- were actively disrupting private transactions within the stadium.

The NCAA had contracted wth a ticket outfit from Florida, and the two entities were splitting the profits. The operative theory for this eleemosynary institution was that, since it was sponsoring the games, it deserved to reap 100% of the economic return, including ticket resales. Right.

The only saving grace was that it was total confusion inside the arena, so that the number of transactions that occurred was only a fraction of the potential.

This, plus ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages, is representative of the stewardship of the NCAA. No beer? Why? This is the oldest crowd of the year to watch college basketball. Moreover, all the arenas basically card everyone.

Nice play.

sagegrouse

[OZZIE4DUKE]

After the fact, I thought I should have at least made him tell me the starting 5 plus the first three off of the bench. Maybe even name the entire bench including assistance coaches.
At the minimum! Hind sight is often 20/20.

BTW, a very prominent poster who was in the Duke section complained bitterly to me about 6 seats near him (divided 2 and 4 in different rows) occupied by "the enemy" and said he was going to report the seat numbers to the Iron Dukes. Hope it's not your seats.

[moonpie23]

fans of the opposing team don't generally like to sit through the whole game with me......i dunno...

i use deodorant.....

[devildeac]

At the minimum! Hind sight is often 20/20.

BTW, a very prominent poster who was in the Duke section complained bitterly to me about 6 seats near him (divided 2 and 4 in different rows) occupied by "the enemy" and said he was going to report the seat numbers to the Iron Dukes. Hope it's not your seats.

It ended up being 12 seats and I do have the rows and seat#s...

[YourLandlord]

Yeah what was the deal with no beer? What a terrible decision that was, they could have made a lot of money and the fans would have been happier. Weird.

My theory: They planned to sell beer, then once WVU made the FF they changed their mind.

(note: this joke can apply to either the WVU fans or the WVU coach :cool: )

[Bluedog]

This is not as bad of an experience as somebody else I know who drove 4 hours to Indy with a friend to get into the second Final Four game. They bought two tickets for like $150 each and then went to the gates. One guy got in fine, but the second guy wasn't allowed in because apparently the ticket was already scanned and there's no re-entry. So, it was a real ticket, but had already been used. He went to a bar to watch the game and was out $150. And couldn't go the national championship game since had something couldn't get out of. They really should rip off the bottom of the ticket if that is the case so people can't resell it in between games...

I think somebody on this forum had a method to ensure their tix went to a Duke fan. I believe they either gave them the option to walk in with them to the seats or they charged double the amount and gave them the half the money back when they sat next to them....Or something like that, don't remember it exactly. And if they refused, simply sold it to somebody else.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Bright side...some WVU fan paid extra to to go home early. But still..that sucks. Other bright side...YOUR seats were filled by true fans. Remember that and not the people next to you. :)

[dukedrummer]

I was really disappointed that the duke seats in 642 were priced at $270 per book versus the same seats but midcourt in 640 were only $180 per book. Not to mention the end zone seats were horrible. My 642 seats were actually better than my 153 seats. I sold my 153 seats to get better seats in 142 but also paid a premium. Just disappointed that the schools supporters got hosed. I would have never sold end zone seats if I had seats that could actualy see the floor. Though I can't complain to much I got to take my family to the games and enjoyed every minute. Especially that last second!!! Go Duke!!

Duke Drummer

[hurleyfor3]

They really should rip off the bottom of the ticket if that is the case so people can't resell it in between games...


My ticket-taker did rip off the stub of my Staurday ticket, without scanning it. My Monday ticket was scanned, but not ripped.

[Reisen]

Two thoughts:

1. I like the idea of testing people to see if they are true fans. If they claim to be alumni, ask what dorms they lived in, the name of the library, the three campuses, etc. If they claim to be just fans, ask them to name recent non-starters, etc. Anyone can name Carlos Boozer, but fewer people would know transfers like Boateng, Boykin, Andre Sweet, etc. etc.

2. This reminds me of my experience at the preseason NIT this year in MSG. I took my pregnant wife and late 60's parents, my mom having never seen Duke play in person. There was a Duke student sitting directly in front of us who brought her boyfriend.

Over the course of the game, the guy got worse and worse, starting with mere trash talk about Duke, then shouting dozens of obscenities, and harrassing everyone else around him. The girl started off apologetic and asking him to shut up, but he ignored her. By the end, he was literally threatening to beat up a 70+ year old Iron Duke. As soon as he threatened to assault the poor guy, I got security, who threatened to kick him out, and he left (with his Duke student girlfriend), to the applause of the whole section.

Everything else aside, why on earth an educated young Duke student would bring an idiot like that to a game (much less date him), is completely beyond me. She may have been cheering for Duke the whole time, but I spent several hundred dollars on those tickets, and she not only ruined the game for me and everyone around me, but mortified me in front of my own parents.

Why a fan would do that to their own base is beyond me. I've been to several Carolina games and sat in great seats belonging to a prominent supporter, and I would never dream of openly cheering against them. I usually just clap for great plays by other team (although it was funny during the Doh! era to watch Wuffies chant "Wolf, Pack" back and forth across the Dean Dome. Was tempted to join in, and it wouldn't have really bothered anyone, as most of the Blue Blood's seats were empty back then. You could scalp lower level seats 10 rows from the court for $15 a pop).

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Why a fan would do that to their own base is beyond me. I've been to several Carolina games and sat in great seats belonging to a prominent supporter, and I would never dream of openly cheering against them. I usually just clap for great plays by other team (although it was funny during the Doh! era to watch Wuffies chant "Wolf, Pack" back and forth across the Dean Dome. Was tempted to join in, and it wouldn't have really bothered anyone, as most of the Blue Blood's seats were empty back then. You could scalp lower level seats 10 rows from the court for $15 a pop).
I have no problem with opposing fans sitting in Cameron cheering "positively" for their team. I'm not happy that some Iron Duke sold them their tickets, but that's another issue. I've gone to see games in Raleigh and cheered openly and LOUDLY for Duke. The one time I've been in the Dean Dump for a game was during the D'oh years and we killed them, absolutely murdered them. We were actually in the upper upper deck student section. Most of the folks around us were Duke fans, and we certainly made our presence felt! Our voices echoed off the far end of the nearly empty Dean Dump in the second half!

I've told my MSG story from several years ago here before. Duke alum wife got tickets for the holiday game from her non-fan husband and was there with him and their 2 young kids, sitting in front of me and my group. We cheered loudly, and often, and sang the fight songs along with the alumni band, etc. We were rated G and PG the entire time. Guy spent the first half asking us to be quiet. Wasn't gonna happen. We told him to go watch the game in his living room if he wanted quiet. When they left at the half (not to return :D), he let loose a string of expletives deleted that even embarrassed me, right in front of his 8 year old. His wife was noticeably mortified. Bet he didn't get any for weeks...:cool: