Canucks & Beyond
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Losing Your Shirt
by Alanah McGinley on 09/07/07 at 04:25 AM ET
Comments (3)
Hockey isn’t cheap. In fact, for a sport with a blue collar image, it demands a whole lot of cash to enjoy.
J.J. at Canucks Hockey Blog prepared a chart the other day (copied below) highlighting the price increases in Vancouver this season. His comment: “Canucks fans can’t be too happy with this increase, especially one that averages in double-digit percentages. Including service charges, the cheapest tickets - yes the cheapest - will now cost more than $100 for a pair.”
Holy hell…
Ironically, it was just yesterday that I read that even Detroit is offering some price relief for at least a few lucky people: they’re selling a pile of $9 tickets, making them available at the start of each month.
But ticket price is just the beginning when it comes to being a hockey fan. Living outside Vancouver, my access to games is limited, and yet I still blow appalling amounts of money on this addiction of mine. Like my cable bill, for starters.
First off, most televised games must be accessed on Sportsnet television, and thus well-beyond the offerings of basic cable. Plus, since pay-per-view is necessary to watch over a dozen games through the year that are not available on regular television (16 or 17, isn’t it?) I’m also required to have a digital connection during the season. Now, this final price includes my internet access (also 95% hockey related, I’d like to point out) but I still think $97 a month is getting pretty steep when the ONLY thing I ever watch on television is hockey, no??
But THEN add in the cost of actually buying that PPV package of games being held hostage from me, and that costs yet another $160.00 (approximately - I haven’t checked the new price yet) for the season. So, over the course of October till June, let’s be conservative and say that my cable television bill is about $1000. (And that doesn’t include the price of that very-necessary digital box for the TV; nor Center Ice, which just became available in British Columbia this year and I’m awfully tempted to get it…)
So, in summary: I now get about 100 channels of television-annoyance, spend $1000+ dollars a season, all so I can experience ONE sports team traumatize me relentlessly for about 7 months of the year.
Geezus. No wonder Canucks fans drink… it’s not because the team loses; it’s simply because it exists.
(I’ll have to save another rant for later, about the money I coughed up for my vintage Luongo jersey earlier this summer. The cost of hockey merchandise is worthy of a post all its own…)
Filed in: hockey media, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: expense, television, tickets, vancouver+canucks,
Comments
I’m right there with ya babe. Although I’m a little over that amount…season tickets, the Pay Per View Package, my Sedin Sweater, plus a road trip to enemy territory each year to see my Canucks. And let’s not even talk about my beer consumption at games. Some nights I lie in bed wondering what the heck I’m doing?
Posted by Trini from VanC on 09/07/07 at 01:06 PM ET
grey wall - We clearly have the same, excellent taste. I’m SO glad I bought it. I figured the new jerseys weren’t going to be a better option than the vintage, so I wasn’t worried about wanting a different one later. But I’ll still complain about the price… lordy, are those things expensive. 
Trini - Yeah, it’s much worse for you. I was thinking about that - if I was able to go to games, I’d have that cost PLUS the television costs. And you’re right about all the extra stuff too. The cost of beer consumption at GM Place alone merits a bank loan to maintain!
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 09/08/07 at 10:54 AM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003 (with a notable gap in time through 2010, kicking it with new baby Lucy while living knee-deep in chaos while reading “parenting for complete idiots” during every spare minute) sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen.
In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah was one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast. She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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you bought a vintage luongo hockey jersey too? so did I. in retrospect, that’s the best decision I made given they’re god awful new uniforms.
Posted by grey wall on 09/07/07 at 10:05 AM ET