Superbowl - is this plan crazy?
 

Anticipating NE Patriots will be in Super Bowl again. Son and husband are nutty football fans who never spend money on anything. So I was thinking of really splurging and buying them tickets to game (I know they will be terrible seats and I will have to pay over $2000/ticket from a ticket broker - or at least that is what they are asking for them now).

Game is in Jacksonville. Son is in college in Savannah. I was thinking of flying husband to Savannah on the Friday before (free with FF miles), getting him hotel room for Fri-Sat-Sun nites (free with hotel points). I think it is about a 2 hour drive Savannah to Jacksonville, so they would drive Savannah to Jacksonville on day of game (Sunday) and then back to Savannah after game. Read that there are not enough hotel rooms in Jacksonville for Super Bowl crowd so some cruise ships will be used as hotels - by driving, they will avoid the whole hotel mess and expense in Jacksonville.

So, please tell me what is wrong with this plan (other than spending way too much money for tickets). Thanks.

What's wrong with your plan is assuming the Patriots will be in the Superbowl.

The only thing I can think of that might be a problem would be the traffic. We have heard the traffic here is going to be a nightmare. All of Jacksonville will be at the game too :)
There will indeed be cruise ships on the river and on both sides of the river are hotels and restaurants that will be hopping all weekend.
I am surprised you can still get tickets!
Call around the hotels in the area and see if they can just spend one night here then go back to Savannah the next day..
My brother has just been visiting, on his way to Orlando, he stayed at a SpringHill Suites off of I-95 that was very nice ( he said.) I also recommend the La Quinta on JTB Blvd, it is brand new and right by 95.
Hope this helps some~

Just thinking out loud here. So that's $4000 for two tickets to a football game that will be visable (probably better) on television?
And people make fun of me because I spend $100 for a theatre ticket -- to something that is never televised or filmed. Well, to each our own.

Scarlett mentioned the traffic...and that was the first thing that popped into my mind. Even the FL/GA games turn I-95 into a parking lot. Just allow LOTS of time, much more than you would think.

Good plan, what lucky guys (although I hope the Steelers represent the AFC). If you ever think of adopting another son let me know.

To Patrick - I think $4000 is absolutely insane to spend on a football game - could not agree more. Have some money socked away from inheritance some years back and have not spent a dime of it on anything so idiotic - both husband and son deserve this chance. Maybe all the stories of those who lost loved ones in tsunami are making me realize how short life can be. Will only buy tickets if Patriots are in Super Bowl.

To those who mentioned traffic - thanks - a factor I had not even considered. Will add traffic horrors into the equation.

gail, there are bridges everywhere in Jax that connect one side of town to another, that is where the big traffic jams can be found, as well in the small neighborhoods where the good restaurants are.

I would not be interested in spending money on a ball game but there are plenty of people who would not want to go to Paris lol so whatever you want to spend your money on is your business .. ((F))

My thoughts exactly, Patrick.
Yes indeed, life IS short (and God bless and help those affected by the tsunami)
So short in fact that I would spend my $4K on a trip that includes my entire family.
A trip that might even include $100 seats to several theatre productions.

I'd check around and/or wait on buying tickets. The price should come down.

Patrick, probably not appropriate to post this here, as highjacking this thread, but what irritates me so much in CA is that when the schools have budget crisis (and most of them do) the first to go is the music and art programs. Than the minor sports. But never the football. Never, never!!
It is a big gripe of mine.

loveitaly, football doesn't go because football brings in money that benefits the whole school. At high schools in my town, the entire Friday night football gate money goes to the ASB, and football parents still have to fundraise about $15,000-20,000 so that their will be a football program. Football supports itself and helps everything else.

Music and the arts get cut - and I agree that they shouldn't be - because credentialed teachers have to be hired for them as they are part of the school curriculum.

Sorry, my pet spelling peeve - "there"!

Am I allowed to hijack my own post?

My town charges "athletic fee" to participate in any sport. We are not in area where any sport, including football, is revenue generating. Fee is same regardless of how many sports kid participates in per year. My kids run track - they pay same fee as kids who play ice hockey and football, obviously more expensive to run - and they have to pay for their own uniforms as well (hockey, foootball do not).

My mother, daughter and I are going to London this spring - for about same money as Superbowl trip would cost. Neither grouping would want to change places with the other!

Gail,

There is nothing wrong with your plan!

Back when the Chicago Bulls were great, my wife presented me and our 2 sons with 3 tickets for the game on Christmas Day. She sent us out of the house within hours of opening gifts and stayed home by herself for several hours that day. Very nice!

That doesn't approach your generosity cost wise but I love your plan...go for it!

Gail,

Buy the tickets and see if the Make a Wish foundation will bring two kids from the competing cities to the game. Donate the tix in your husband's and son's names. Bring your son home and have a big superbowl party...Everyone at the party bets on the game, the winner of the pool makes a donation of the complete pool to MAW in his / her name.

You will have magnified your good fortune immeasurably.

To gc - interesting that you mention Make a Wish - my husband is on board of directors of local chapter and we have both donated time and money to that charity (I am a rehab RN and have had occasion to make several referrels as well.) Great organization, good suggestion, but I think we will go with our original plan. Thanks for the idea, though.

Can I suggest you consider contacting the Patriots ticket office and ask them what they did last year when it came to tickets and game packages. The reason I suggest this is that a few years ago when the Giants played the SB in Tampa, the travel agency owned by the team, Big Blue Travel, had packages that included airfare, hotel, and a game ticket. (Not sure what they charged.)

If you have the money and the $4,000 isn't going to present a financial burden, than by all means spend it. I went to that game in Tampa and can honestly say that is unlike any other game I've been to.

Gail, I don't have any problem with you spending all that money. if the Chargers make it, I'll consider doing that myself!

To get back to the hijack subject, in California, it is illegal to charge kids a fee to play any sport in high school. School boards do not have any spare money for athletics and so huge amounts of fundraising are done year-round. My son played football and ran track, and now runs track at college. I know that in other parts of the country the whole athletic-funding thing is different, but that's how it is here.

In your town, is Friday night football free? If not, that is revenue generation.

What I find interesting about this post is Gail asked about the logistics of her plan -- staying in Savannah and traveling to Jacksonville. And all sorts of folks weighed in with their opinions about how much the tickets cost and how she could donate to charity.

How come if the question was "Can I stay somewhere in New Jersey and travel to NY to see the opera?" there would no such replies? The answer: high-minded hypocrites who have swarmed this board in the past two years.

Barbara --funny one about them making it!

Patrick -- sp. "visible"
LoveItaly -- "then," not "than"

Yawn...just wait!

Thanks for all the replies - I have honestly enjoyed reading them. Here's what I think we will do. First, make a cancellable hotel reservation in Savannah for 3 nites (don't want to risk flying in Sat. and getting stuck with a weather delay). Also, will make a USAir FF flight reservation - worst that happens if USAir disappears is we will lose miles, which would be worthless anyway. Don't want to make a paid reservation on another airline yet, as they will only go if Patriots are playing. Hope price of tickets goes down, and will also check sports travel agency packages.

I especially appreciate the traffic advisories - that is why I value this board, since that is something I had not thought of.

And thanks to all who offered slightly off-topic comments. I am one of those who frequent this board who is greatly entertained by the twists and turns each post takes. If I wanted dry travel info, I would buy a book. My favorite current thread is the one on kids at weddings. Happy New Year to all.

"How come if the question was "Can I stay somewhere in New Jersey and travel to NY to see the opera?" there would no such replies? The answer: high-minded hypocrites who have swarmed this board in the past two years."

Like this same poster who posts correcting the spelling of others, but clearly left out the word "be" in her own post above.

Ah well, one hypocrite deserves another, I guess.

By the way. You will notice that the original post was "is this plan crazy?" I fail to see where gail was suggesting she didn't want comments about the whole plan including the price of the tickets, which she readily admitted herself was "way too much". When one asks, one should expect replies.

I think some people post silly responses about how other people's posts are silly. What do you think?

Patrick..I agree with you, sir! The "plan" to me would mean anything and everything beginning with Step 1 and ending with Step 500.....