Thursday, January 24, 2008

It's A Great Time To Buy

What are you willing to spend money on? I thought about this when I heard that people were spending at least $700 for one Super Bowl ticket. OK, I'm not a huge football fan. I don't even watch the Super Bowl on TV most years. But it made me wonder, what kind of person would do this? Assuming you were going to buy at least two tickets (who would go by themselves), you are talking about some serious money. Look around, do your kids have shoes? What's your credit card balance? What did you give to the United Way last year? What are you going to get for your money by going to the Super Bowl? Guys on steroids spending most of their time standing around waiting for a play to start? Officials calling penalties seemingly at random? A seat in a stadium that has less room than the airlines give you in coach? A second tier/over-the-hill entertainer and some fireworks during the half-time show? The chance to pay $10 for a tepid beer, $8 for a shriveled hot dog, and $50 for the official program? Good grief, there must be a lot of suckers born every day.

Wait a minute. What about getting involved in triathlons instead? Let's see, bike, helmet, bike shoes, running shoes, jersey/shorts, goggles, sun glasses, chamois creme, spare tires/tubes, gels, electrolyte drinks, technical socks, etc..........
And you haven't even tried to sign up for a race yet! USAT membership, entry fee, gas money, hotel room, and meal money. Ratchet the costs up a bit more if you go out of the "local area" where you have to figure in airline tickets, a bike carrier, and then the airlines' "oversize luggage surcharge". If you want to get into an "M-dot" Ironman race, your entry fee is almost the same as the aforementioned Super Bowl ticket cost.
Beyond the money, what about the time? If I spent as much time practicing the piano as I do training for races, traveling to and from races, and doing races, I'd be playing a Carnegie Hall.

Thank goodness, when you go to a triathlon (as opposed to the Super Bowl) you always get a nice T-shirt for free!

muffinman

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