FUUFNF

are those tickets really 2nd row off the glass?

lower seats for all 3 games? ha! i wish i could afford to go sit in the lowers. i'll take 2-3 games in the nose-bleeders over 1 game in the lowers any day. believe me, i can't afford to drop a grand on hockey tickets. do i wish the ticket prices were lower? of course. but i have no control over that so i'm just going with it the best i can.

well, i work in the information technology industry in california so i wouldn't exactly say that my job security is rock solid, but i get what you're saying. we all have choices in life on where, when, and how we spend our precious resources. and again, it's not like i have very many chances to see red wing playoff hockey without actually having to travel out of state, so i'm taking my opportunity while it's here.

no worries. i realize that it's a sensitive subject. i can't emphasize enough that i was never questioning the dedication of true red wing fans and i'm sure there are a lot of fans that would love to go, but simply can't afford it anymore. but i do think the red wing fan base has eroded a bit within the past 4 years. those who left are most likely bandwaggoners or casual fans anyway. we've seen the number of red wing fans out here dwindle as well. believe me, ticket prices are just as high out here as they are anywhere else and i struggle to pay my bills too. not because i'm not working or anything like that, but the cost of living here is just crazy. housing prices are through the roof. gas is nearing $4 per gallon, car insurance is close to $2,000 per year. but i'm willing to skimp on a few things to get my hockey fix. does that make me a bigger fan than anyone else? definitely not, but i don't get to see the red wings out here in the playoffs very often so i will take every opportunity i get. so much for that xbox i was saving up for... since you quoted me, i'm assuming that your post was directed to me. well the last time i checked, my team has 10 cup banners hanging from the rafters. hopefully we'll be raising the 11th after this season. perhaps you should read some of my posts before chiming in next time sport.

just my opinion, that's all. i don't remember what criteria i was searching on. actaully i was doing some sort of cost of living index calculation between long beach and detroit, and it was just one of the stats. i believe it was a meager 1.4% difference, but detroit was higher nonetheless. but whatever...

sublime fan eh?

yes, i realize that cost of living and overal health of the economy are different things. but the cost of living index does play a factor in the overall big picture. keep in mind that everyone in california is affected by the higher cost of living, while only a portion (albeit one of the nations highest portion) of people in michigan are unemployed. and, according to salary.com, of those who are employed in michigan, on average they are paid higher than those in southern california. still, i'm not trying to get into a debate about economics. i just think there's much more to the poor ticket sales than just simply economics. just one outside opinion, that's all.

i don't know anything about a $71 ticket at the honda center. every nosebleeder ticket i've seen has had a $99 face value. i just bought two tickets to game 3 for $225 for the pair.

cost of living in southern california is also more than 30% higher than in michigan. but again, that's not the point i was trying to make.

my, my, my... that's an awfully big brush you have there.

if the ducks were not playing the wings or if the lakers were still in the nba playoffs, there's a good chance that quite a few of these WCF games at the honda center would not sell out. these games are especially hot ticket items because of these factors. believe me, i'm not touting the ducks fan base. actually, i find them to be quite fickle. in my opinion the kings have a more solid fan base (even though they suck year in and year out). would i like to see the joe sell out every game, sure. what red blooded red wing fan wouldn't? but in the end it's not really a big deal to me. i'd still be a fan regardless.

i'm not a ducks season ticket holder, so i wouldn't know with certainty. but, from what i heard, no, definitely not.

you're probably right, and i don't truly understand just how bad the michigan economy is. but i didn't really plan on getting into a full-blown economic discussion about why the michigan economy is how it is. basically what i'm saying is that it's easy to blame the poor economy for the lack of ticket sales at the joe. and although it is a reason, i don't think it's the main reason. i do think there is an erroding interest in red wing hockey, and considering our past 3 playoff performaces, it's understandably so. but does that mean that people in the detroit area are not "true" fans because they can't afford to go to games? definitely not.

and you can quote me on that right?.... right.

tickets are marked up that much here too.

ok, you got me. i have no idea what the f*** i'm talking about. i'm a ducks fan and i think the red wings suck. you know me better than my mother does.

i think the main reason is that the recent success of other sports teams in the detroit area has erroded the red wing fan base. simply put, the bandwaggoners (at least the poor ones) have jumpped off the bandwaggon. albeit, the red wings have sustained a long playoff run this year, they haven't done so in the 3 seasons before that. so during those 4 years all those bandwaggon fans have probably found better things to do with their money. perhaps the people in the detroit area are taking the red wings for granted these days. perhaps, but the red wing nation is still strong (i believe that the only los angeles kings games to sell out this year were the games where the red wings were in town). would the games at the honda center have sold out if it were a sharks/ducks WCF and the lakers were still playing? probably not.

i never denied there is a big unemployment problem in michigan. but that doesn't entirely explain why no red wing playoff games has been sold out so far this season. just out of curiosity, how are the other michigan sports teams doing in attendance this year? dunno exactly where you're looking, but if i search ticketmaster.com for 1 ticket (at any price), there are none available for any of the 3 games at the honda center.

kindly point out where i said that "fans in detroit are not fans cause they can't afford it"? no, i just don't believe that economics is the main reason why they aren't going.

name a town that doesn't have bandwaggoners and overly cocky fans? name a town that doesn't have a newspaper that doesn't try to boost their sales by writing fluff articles on the hot local sports team. everyone knows that this is going to be a great series. simply ignore anyone who says otherwise.

exactly. out here in orange county, that MIGHT buy you a crappy condo, in a crappy neighborhood. i don't live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. it's about 1000sq foot in a decent neighborhood, and my house recently appraised for about $550K. my monthly mortgage is about $3,500 per month. so basically the high cost of living out here cancels out the poor michigan economy excuse in my book. but i'm still make it a priority to go to as many wing games as i can. granted, i do have the benefit (if you want to call it that), that the wings don't play too many games out here, but have made it to every game wings game out here for the last 3-4 seasons.

and you think that doesn't happen out here in southern california? if people are too poor to attend a hockey game then they shouldn't go, but to me that's not why the wings can't sell out a playoff game this year.

if you factor in the cost of living in southern california, the poor michigan economy is a wash (at best). what kind of house would $400K buy in michigan? in the "OC" that would buy you nothing.

the nose-bleeder seats at the honda center also go for around $100, and they've been sold out even before the wings qualified for round 3. i'll probably be paying about $150-$200 per ticket within the next few days. the economy out here is probably doing better than in the detroit area, but the cost of living is a lot higher as well. that being said, i don't really buy into the high ticket prices and bad economy excuses i've been hearing.

he's a putz because he has nothing but hate for the wings. i woudln't exeactly describe his "reporting" as being "objective".