A BREAK FROM POLITICS

I’m suffering from political overload and need a break. How about you? I just received my Alabama football season ticket package. There are seven game to be played in Bryant Denny Stadium, four games will be played at opponents’ stadiums, and one game will be played at the Georgia Dome, a neutral site. That game is with Virginia Tech and even though the site is considered neutral, there will probably be many more Alabama fans present than Virginia Tech fans.

I order my tickets in the spring and generally pay for them with my income tax refund or put them on plastic. I have three seats and pay $260 per seat up front for the privilege of ordering tickets. Then I purchase the tickets. By the time I get through paying for everything, I’ve spent almost $2,000. Part of the up front money is tax deductible and I sell my extra tickets to friends for regular price. I haven’t scalped tickets in a long time.

I shouldn’t have to tell you that Alabama football tickets are expensive with the cheapest ticket being $40.00 for the UT Chattanooga game. Tennessee tickets are $70.00 a piece. North Texas State and Florida International are $45.00 a piece while LSU, Arkansas, and South Carolina tickets are $55.00 a piece. I’m very surprised that LSU tickets are not $70.00 like the Tennessee tickets.

As a season ticket holder, I am required to buy all of the games in Bryant Denny and attend virtually all of the games. However, if I were buying them piece-meal, I’d probably pay $70 or a little more for a Tennessee ticket; but no way would I pay $45 for Florida International or North Texas State.

The Iron Bowl is in Auburn. Am I going to try to get tickets? I don’t know. If I do get tickets, I’m not driving my vehicle down there because I don’t want it to be vandalized and I don’t want to deal with the nightmarish traffic. We’ll just have to see as time draws nigh.

I live for football season, and eat and sleep Alabama football. We haven’t had a national championship since 1992; the year Bill Clinton was elected president for the first time. It’s been seventeen years! Can you believe it’s been that long? I’M READY!