Just got my annual letter from the New York Yankees with my invoice for 2011’s season tickets.
The good news is that my seats are staying the same price, as they have for the past 5 years, going all the way back to the Old Stadium.
The bad news is that in 2010, with the economy still limping along, I didn’t come close to breaking even on the cost of my seats. I even ended up eating the cost of two postseason tickets I couldn’t dump except to a scalper outside the McDonald’s for less than half of face value.
I have been seriously considering either dropping my plan, or dropping from all 81 games to a partial season plan.
I’m sure I’m not alone, which is why the letter to me from the Yankees does things like praise my “unwavering loyalty.” Hoo-boy. Yes, they know better than any other sports franchise on earth that love = money.
At least they aren’t hypocrites, though. Here’s why: The Yankees gave both Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera larger contracts than the front office would have preferred the *last* time they re-upped because they knew they had to demonstrate that they loved those guys as much as the fans do.
Of course, Mariano is coming around again, and the much bigger test of “heart” this offseason will be what will the Yankees do with Derek Jeter? If they come through and pay him handsomely, I won’t have any qualms about plunking down the eight grand they want for my four seats in the upper deck. But if they nickel and dime him or come off looking cheap? Maybe it’s time for me to do the same, and tighten the budget around here…
Tis The Season
