OPINION & EDITORIAL
New ticket policy destroys tradition
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by Gerald Cox
Monday, April 30, 2007
There are some experiences that are far too sacred, far too intertwined within the college experience to be altered or done away with. I speak, of course, of collegiate mainstays like all-nighters, Saturday football, dorm life, dorm food, lack of sleep, spending while in debt, my opinion columns and Facebook — which I just joined several days ago after three years of belligerent non-acquiescence. These experiences can run the gamut from downright life-threatening to distracting to the most fun we've ever had in our lives. College life is rife with these experiences that will someday invoke that ubiquitous college-was-the-best / craziest / amazing-time-of-my-life feeling. Unfortunately for University of Wisconsin men's basketball and hockey fans, one of these experiences is going to change drastically. And we are no better because of it.
I received this rather distressing news sometime last week while perusing my rather active inbox, when I noticed an innocuous e-mail titled "New Student Ticket Initiative." After reading the detailed information provided by the Athletic Department, I realized that, to my horror, I would never be able to realize one of my most poignant dreams on this campus. I will never be able to be one of the first to be camped out in line for men's basketball tickets.
With this new ticket policy, the Athletic Department has, for better or worse, effectively done away with the age-old collegiate tradition of camping out for basketball and hockey tickets.
The Athletic Department's new policy will call for a number of exhaustive changes to the way we get our seats. Gone are the days of the most devoted of fans in the most prestigious lower-level seats. Now, seating will be based mainly upon your year in school. To me, this is a considerable blessing, since I will be a college senior next semester. However, I tremble with barely contained frustration at the thought that I will not be afforded the opportunity to earn my front row seat next season.
I will never have the opportunity to display my near zealot-like devotion to the Wisconsin men's basketball team by manning the line for my allotted time slot. Instead, I will band together with other upperclassmen lottery winners and hope that our cumulative group point total when divided by the amount of people in our group — otherwise known as group point average — is higher than all others.
Imagine basketball and hockey fans never having the opportunity to reminisce about the times you manned the line over two or three days in order to obtain your basketball or hockey tickets. Imagine instead reminiscing of the time your group point average was one of the highest.
Group point averages a sacred collegiate mainstay? I think not!
The Athletic Department had the best of intentions. Commissioning Chamberlain Research Consultants, the Athletic Department consulted student surveys about ticket distribution. The surveys showed that the previous system of ticket disbursement was fairly disdained by students. On a scale of 1 to 10, lottery winners expressed a satisfaction level of 5.45, with non-winners expressing a satisfaction of 2.77. It would seem that students were not at all happy with the previous system of ticket disbursement. What the Athletic Department failed to see is that college ticket disbursement systems are like economic systems. Why do we, as a nation, embrace capitalism as our way of life? Not because it is the perfect way to run an economy, but because it is the best. The same can be said of our previous ticket system. In a perfect world, every student who wanted tickets would be sitting on the bench right next to Bo Ryan. Barring that, rewarding the most devoted of fans with the best tickets is the surest way of ensuring that Badger players and opposing players are hearing the kind of things they ought to be hearing, like "Britney Spears!" if you're Drew Neitzel and "Goggles are sexy!" if you're Marcus Landry.
So, it's over. Gone are the times where the most devoted fans sat in the best seats. Gone are the days of the shared experience of camping out for tickets. Gone are the days of sitting next to friends who were born a few years before you, but love J-Bo's shot just as much as you. For with its new ticket policy, the Athletic Department has done away with a unique and sacred college experience.
Gerald Cox (gcox@badgerherald.com) is a junior majoring in economics and Middle Eastern studies.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 10:38am):
As an alumni, one of my favorite memories was camping out for hockey tickets (Glass seats junior year, and second row senior year). Nothing beat going to the bars, freezeing to death in a sleeping bag, having Ians delivered by grateful hockey players, and getting up for work with cement embeded in ones face (seriously). Its a shame people wont be able to experience this unique time to get the best seats - it was half the fun of the new season.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 12:04pm):
Hah, what is this "age-old, sacred tradition" you keep mentioning? Up until late 90s, the men's basketball program was abysmal. Tickets couldn't be given away. Nobody was sleeping on the sidewalks, waiting for tickets. Come on, don't pretend Wisconsin is like Duke.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 12:59pm):
As a soon to be alumnus, I remember camping out for Football tickets every Wednesday of Game Week to get in the first 30 rows of section O as a freshman/soph. Kids bringing out grills, booze, futons - it was like a Kohl Center Block Party every week. What the hell happened to that? Other than that douche who sold his spot at the front of the line to his hundred closest friends, it was awesome. Sure I could get good seats now... but then I'd have to sit with all the sober loser kids. Talk about buzzkill. I heard a lot of people yelling "Reclaim the Student Section" this past season? How about we go back to camping out for everything. I mean nothing gets you more jacked for a game than sleeping on pavement for three days before kickoff.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 1:11pm):
curious, the university tries to do away with the "tradition" of students missing classes and sleeping out all night (thus promoting the agenda that students should..you know....go to class) and people complain.
I'm looking forward to it. Since I go to class, I have always had to depend on others to wait out like lunatics. Since the chances of this were not 100%, I think my chances of getting tickets in the new lottery system are far better.
But that's cool, complain away.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 1:34pm):
I agree.
Face Man (April 30, 2007 @ 3:03pm):
It's all fun and games until you've been up in line for days to be 1st in line and 2 minutes before the ticket office opens everyone in back of you bum rushes the doors rendering your tenacity fruitless.
Been there.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 4:02pm):
It is the end of an era.
It was so much fun to actually earn my seats. It meant the hardcore fans were in the best seats (usually). I will agree that it may have been an unfair system to the students that had to work a lot or could not miss classes, but something always seems unfair to someone. We have just traded one unfair system for another one. The people that happen to win/lose in a lottery system will do so by chance. Camping out may not have been fair to those that could not participate, but at least it was not determined by random chance.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 7:03pm):
Why do Badger Herald columnists always write a long paragraph or two of fluff before coming to the point? It's really irritating.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 10:02pm):
"Camping out may not have been fair to those that could not participate, but at least it was not determined by random chance."
I completely agree. Where there is a will, there is a way. There was always a sense of comradery at night...it gives us time to blow off steam in the freezing rain and bond with our fellow students.
There was also a sense of accomplishment when you walk into the Kohl Center (cue cheesy music) and hand them your ID, gaze at the hockey seating chart, and select your season seats. Now there is no ownership in the process--nothing to joke about with your neighbors. Sad.
Anonymous (April 30, 2007 @ 10:03pm):
There is no way that you can sit with your friends if you have more than 5 other friends. At least in line, you could join with other groups, get to know the people around you and maybe even have friends in groups of 6--with 2, 3, or even 4 groups....
Anonymous (May 1, 2007 @ 11:49am):
I will miss the golden years of sleeping outside and bonding with other Badger fans. Oh UW-Athletic Department why most you take away this joy from me?
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