So I finally found something worse than watching Eric Gagne pitch this season - a free ticket giveaway that isn’t free.
(Q: What does Gagne’ offer and your rental car company have in common? (answer below))
Drew Olson of ONMILWAUKEE.com and ESPN Radio Milwaukee reports today that Brewers reliever Eric Gagne is giving away 5,000 tickets to tonight’s Brewers-Pirates game via the team’s official site (hurry up!).
Olson: “Gagne, who has drawn fan ire with some shaky relief work this season, purchased 5,000 tickets to the game, which will be given away free to fans through the team Web site.”
Why, how tres genereux of our friendly, neighborhood underperforming Quebecer who used to be a roided-up Dodger.
Sadly though, much like that price your favorite airline and/or rental car company and/or hotel quotes you, there’s a catch.
More Olson: “Fans requesting the complimentary tickets will be subject to a one-time $2 fee for printing their ticket order at home, or a $4 per order fee for picking up at Miller Park will call. “The tickets are first come, first served, and the inventory of 5,000 available is expected to be exhausted quickly.“
So the Brewers are charging you a fee for printing your own tickets on your own computer - or a $4 “order” fee to pickup the “free” tickets at the ballpark?
The team’s cheap seats for the game are listed at $14 for tonight’s game, so I suppose you still enjoy a tidy little saving on the nosebleeds … UNTIL YOU PAY $15 TO PARK.
Whoops!
Now, I know the Brewers are in the middle of a frenzied push for the playoffs, but what about having 5,000 tickets just hanging around doing nothing for today’s game against the Pirates? Think this might be a bit of a marketing ploy by The Crew to drum up attendance for the game? Nah, course not.
So to recap: Gagne offers free tickets that you actually have to pay for - for seats that would’ve gone mostly unsold anyway. And if you end up buying taking them, you could very well pay $19 out of pocket for the privilege of those gratis ducats. All to watch the Pirates while seated somewhere southwest of Kenosha.
Merci, Monsieur Gagne!
A: Hidden Charges
5:43 pm on September 25th, 2008
If Gagne wants get more people out to Miller Park, maybe he should serve up some poutine.
French fries covered in cheese curds & gravy - how can this *not* be a hit among Wisconsinites?
5:58 pm on September 25th, 2008
If Ticketmaster sold these tickets there'd be a hidden alabaster dildo ass probe included somewhere in there.
6:19 pm on September 25th, 2008
Now does the $4 fee include the car batteries to chuck at Gagne?
6:30 pm on September 25th, 2008
Only if I get a written guarantee that Gagne dosen't pitch in this game.
6:37 pm on September 25th, 2008
"HazelMaesLandingStrip"?
Since when isn't it a patch?
7:15 pm on September 25th, 2008
Your $4 order fee actually is going to provide enough material to make Prince Fielder's uniforms for the rest of the season.
11:05 am on September 26th, 2008
Just when I thought people in this country couldn't be any less appreciative of a kind gesture, I read this post. Where do you brew up this garbage?
11:35 am on September 26th, 2008
Yeah, you're probably right about Gagne, I was a little hard on the guy.
But the surcharges, I boiled over.
I love when you now rent a car and the taxes cost more than the rental - and you don't find out about the charges many times until you get the bill.
11:45 am on September 26th, 2008
@Greta: It became a landing strip when she left Boston, she found the patch left a rash.
@ Brooks: You can never be too hard on Gagne, please if you can continue to rip him.
4:54 pm on October 8th, 2008
Listen, Gags is a friend of mine, and he told me that it cost him $50,000 to do this for the fans. He was disappointed that they were charging a $2 or $4 fee for the tickets, as he wanted them to be completely free. And if you question his motives, look into who gave the biggest single donation of all time to the MACC fund and who spent $200,000 to improve baseball fields after the floods in June. If you question a baseball player's character based on his performance (throwing batteries at him?!), you should be ashamed of yourself.