Freebie-Jeebies
Free tickets for a pro sporting event????? Are you insane????
Then again…a lot of people said the same thing about Brad Bannister when he brought pro lacrosse to our city. It was a gamble then, and it’s a gamble now.
Hard to refute the idea that lacrosse has been a hit. Crowds of more than ten thousand regularly hit the ‘Dome on game nights, and a whole minor lacrosse culture that didn’t exist P.R. (Pre-Roughnecks) has taken root. But the numbers at the games have stalled, and Bannister’s prepared to roll the dice to see if he can kick-start a new cluster of Roughnecks fans.
Make no mistake. It’s a chance and a big one. Remember the days when anyone who wanted Flames tickets could get them? Large clusters of corporate tickets meant freebies for everyone, and created a mindset where the tickets had little value because you never had to shell out of your own pocket to go to a game.
Problem two is the people who have been shelling their hard-earned bucks through the years. Bannister says he has received a few grumbles since this idea went public Wednesday, but he hopes an offer of half price playoff tickets will ease the pain for season ticket holders, and for single game purchasers, a two-fer for next Friday’s game against the Mammoth will hopefully take care of any hurt feelings, in addition to boosting the crowd for another key Western matchup.
Of course, to say any game is anything less than vital from here on in is just plain silly. There is still hope, remembering back to the earlier post where I pointed out the season series with Portland and San Jose are still up for grabs (as is the series with Coldorado, but whatever hapens with that, I’m conceding first place to the Mammoth) and the season series with Edmonton won’t start until April.
The Roughnecks handled Portland easily back in week 4 of the season, and should have been able to make it 2-0 on the ‘Jax two weeks ago, but for our old friend the fourth quarter collapse. Ask any two Roughnecks players why this keeps happening and you’ll get any combination of answers involving offense, defense, penalities, and bewildered shrugs. One week it’s a penalty parade. Next time it’s a defensive collapse. Last week against Toronto, it was offensive power outage. Hold the other team to 8 goals (plus an empty-netter) in their own barn and more often than not, you’ll win. Not so last week.
The team will need something to hang its emotional hat on to provide a spark, as Kaleb Toth provided in that first meeting when he knocked a wandering Portland goaltender senseless with a hard but clean hit, that prompted no response from the ‘Jax. Toth is still scratching his head over the lack of a subsequent beating.
Time for our weekly game of will they or won’t they, as in will concussed regulars Steve Dietrich and Tracey Kelusky suit up. Chugger’s a definite no go until after the all star break, but Kelusky is optimistic this will be the week, as he has been every week for the past three, but this time…..well…we’ll see.
Freebie tickets for Saturday night can be had through ticketmaster, with the 2.50 service charge that goes along with that. If you already bought single game seats before the offer was announced, you can collect on 2 for ones for the Mammoth game at the Roughneck office.