But, I also feel that my section at BMO Field is more of my neighbourhood than my home neighbourhood. This might be partially due to having moved this past summer, but it rings true to me.
I have used this account as a reply to a blog post in the Vocal Minority and in a thread at the Red Patch Boys forum.
I felt there was little need to rewrite my tale of trying to buy tickets for the MLS Cup as a season seat holder since game 1....
Ok, here I am, able to testify to the bizarre day.
Yes, Ticketmaster would not let me select my own seats or even my own section.
I kept on trying to make the select again button reveal beloved Section 220 on their cursed best available tickets track.
The site was suspecting I was a bot and I was selecting pictures with trees in them and getting nowhere.
Yes, Ticketmaster shut me out.
So when I logged in the fifth time and it gave me two seats in section 220 as my best available, I was in a panicked frenzy and grabbed them. Let me in, let me in, I’ll take anything I cried before I fell to the floor in front of my computer sobbing.
My dog came over to cheer me up.
So I have lost my section, row, seats. btw I think my seniority level amongst TFC season seats is awfully good, maybe in the double digits good. Put me amongst those first brave volunteers.
You would think that being a long timer would have saved me from this..
This banishment also cost me money – my 220 would have been 80 a seat, two sections over has me at 125 per seat.
The damned thing is that it was a huge Ticketmaster inability to deal with traffic (and, thinking about this Saturday morning, a total TFC/MLSE throwing thousands of loyal ticket buying fans to the relocation winds).
Once I got on the phone to TFC and had the 45 minute wait I idly went back on to Ticketmaster and lo and behold now I could choose my section. I could not use my code anymore, could not buy another two tix at any price, but there were little buttons on my screen telling me that seats in the lower rows of 222 were available. Not my seats but close enough…
The trouble is bigger than just one ejection. I have been in email contact with a few section 220 neighbours and we have been spewed all over. So it not as if I can swap my pair with the folks who will find themselves amongst new faces.
The aspect that I think TFC front office never grasps is that our section is our soccer neighbourhood. You could offer me the swankiest seats in the place and I would turn them down in an instant. Being at the game involves being with people who know my name, greet me with a smile. I send these wonderful people Xmas cards for heaven’s sake.
I should still be on a “reached the Cup Final” high. Not be feeling that I have been both evicted AND had my party shut down.
2 comments:
I think this has more to do with MLS than TFC/MLSE directly. Mind you, as my friend (who also faced relocation but miraculously escaped it) said, it's not like TFC didn't know this beforehand and therefore should have informed us of the impending situation. Luckily for me, I have seats in the south stand. There was no threat of relocation for us. But it is no less irritating to hear about this crappy treatment of longtime faithful.
Thanks Benjamin for your kind words and your solidarity.
Could have been handled better, but hopefully all voices will still combine from we TFC faithful Saturday night.
Post a Comment