A good buddy of mine who knows about such things told me today that there are tons of tickets available for Sunday’s Patriots game with the Bengals.
My pal regularly fishes ticket agencies, usually for himself but sometimes for friends. He said he was checking out seats for Sunday this week and had no problem finding practically any seat he could have wanted. He said one agency that rarely has tickets available not only had bunches to sell, but some of the best seats in Gillette Stadium could still be had.
Unless the Pats get off to a good start, ticket brokers and scalpers are going to take a bath this season. It’s not just the economy. The bandwagon hasn’t been this empty in years.
Ever since they moved into Gillette, the Pats have been a hot ticket, and ever since they’ve been a hot ticket, the haters (the same ones who now oh so cleverly call them the Cheatriots, coached by Bill Belicheat) have claimed that once the wins stop coming, so will the fans. Gillette Stadium, they’ve proclaimed, will be as empty as Foxboro/Sullivan/Schaefer Stadium was for much of its pathetic existence.
Well, for once, the haters are right. For the first time since they won their first Super Bowl, no one thinks the Patriots have a shot at winning it all this year, and that means the front-runners and people who go to Gillette to be seen, rattle their jewelry and yell at the real fans to sit down will be staying home. Not that that’s an entirely bad thing.
The 2010 Patriots are very flawed (more on that in Sunday’s column), but they still have the chance to be pretty exciting. And oh, by the way, they also have two of the best ever to play their respective positions in Tom Brady and Randy Moss together on the field, perhaps for the last time.
The schedule is loaded with interesting opponents and big-name players. starting with the Bengals, who are a legit playoff contender with two of the biggest names around, Chad Ochocino and Terrell Owens. But I guarantee you there will be plenty of blue and red seats visible on your high-def screen on Sunday and for many Sundays to come if the Patriots turn out to be the borderline playoff team many expect them to be.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
