Advertisement

Hefty Ticket Prices Force Fans To Make Last-Minute Plans

04:25
Download Audio
Resume

A few thousand Patriots fans watched the game in Glendale, Arizona, but not quite inside the stadium. Many fans who made the trip hoping ticket prices would fall at the last minute ended up having to make last-minute plans to watch the game.

An Expensive Cover

The lucky ones got to listen to Hall of Famer Marcus Allen sing R&B at a VIP tailgating party with barbecue and bottomless beers. But of course those people had ticket packages. Laurie Davidson and her friend did not.

"We figured the ticket prices were going to go down," Davidson said.

They figured wrong. Prices on the re-sale market kept going up, and they didn’t have any luck at the stadium.

"Trying to buy tickets off of people and it was 10-grand cash," she said. "People are showing up with backpacks full of cash, and I just can’t do that. So we came across the street."

Fans ended up having to pay cash intended for Super Bowl tickets just to get close to a TV showing the big game.

Patriots fan Bruno Aguieiras from Plastow, New Hampshire, forked over a $500 cover charge.

"They’re taking advantage of the situation," he said. "I’m not coming back ever, so I might as well sit down and actually enjoy the game."

And what a game it was.

'I Walk Proud With This Shirt'

Seahawks fans cheered loudly until the Patriots mounted a fourth-quarter comeback. But then, with just over a minute to go, Seattle’s Jermaine Kearse made a circus catch, nabbing the ball after it bounced off of him while he was lying on the ground.

For Pats fans, it immediately recalled the helmet catch made by David Tyree at this same stadium in the Super Bowl seven years ago that denied the Patriots a perfect season. But unlike that game, the Pats sealed this Super Bowl win with an interception. Instead of running it in from the 1-yard line, Seattle threw the ball.

Andrew Richardson, a Seahawks fan who works in Boston, was already dreading his flight home. But not Bostonian Michael Bedrossian who was wearing a red and blue shirt for the Pats.

"We traveled all the way from New England, eight-hour layover, just to be here for this moment. It feels great," he said. "We’re outnumbered 10-to-1, and I walk proud with this shirt. Proud."

"They hate us because they ain’t us!" one nearby fan said.

“Hey, by the way, thank God they didn’t run the ball,” said another.

'Most Exciting Game Ever'

Fans, including Lisa Kobus and some friends from Attleboro, poured out onto the street.

"My heart was beating, I couldn’t breathe," she said. "She peed her pants a little bit. It was the most exciting game ever."

Steve Murphy from Boston couldn’t believe how the game played out during the final two minutes.

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack," he said. "When Kearse made that catch, I thought I was going to have to watch it a million times over, just like the David Tyree catch — right after they show the David Tyree catch. And I never have to watch it and be sad again. It’s the greatest day ever. Unbelievable."

Patriots fans who made the trip to Arizona on faith they’d find a way to get into the stadium ended up just celebrating their good fortune. Some spent the face value of a ticket just to get into a bar to watch the game. Many have flights home that have been cancelled because of the storm.

But here, outside the stadium where the New England Patriots won their fourth Super Bowl, none of them really seemed to mind.

This segment aired on February 2, 2015.

Related:

Headshot of Curt Nickisch

Curt Nickisch Business & Technology Reporter
Curt Nickisch was formerly WBUR's business and technology reporter.

More…

Advertisement

More from WBUR

Listen Live
Close