I have been a Wings fan since Abel, Delveccio and Howe were household names. I used to listen to games at night from the Olympia with an old transistor radio that my grandfather had given me hidden under my pillow so my rectum of a stepfather would not not hear.
Last night I had the privelidge to visit the Joe and see my first Wings game in person. It was a fantastic experience. The Wings beat Vancouver in a shootout. Great crowd, great fun and a win. What a first time experience.
It also left me with a couple of questions.
A few days ago I saw Barry Melrose on ESPN asking why there were empy seats at the Joe. I think I might have a few answers for him.
First of all we paid $44.00 for tickets that were 3 rows from the ceiling. You could not even read the players names. Still a good time.
Beers---$8.25 each (still better than Commerica Park). A large slice of pepperoni pizza----$4.00, even though a large pepperoni costs $5.00 at an outlet. They had knit stocking hats for $20.00. The craziest thing of all was a Steve Yzerman game worn jersey that hat some record significance priced at ( hold onto your package ) $15,000.00.
With Michigan leading the nation in unemployment, it's no wonder there were some empty seats even though they looked to be in the season ticket areas.
Don't get me wrong, I had a wounderful time, but unless the econemy tacks a turn for the good or they can find a way to lower prices, there will continue to have empty seats. Which is a terrible things, cause I think every hockey loving fan in Michigan should be able to have the same great time I was able to have. I just wish I could have it more often.
Trust me, I know it is the same for all pro sports teams, I just wish there was away for everyone to be able to enjoy what I did. Not whinning, just wish there was a simple solution.
