"Happy" Labor Day

I really wasn’t sure as to what subject I should begin to warn you all about first until a light bulb went off in my head this morning. This morning I was having an Instant Messenger conversation with an old friend from high school which while the conversation was brief, it really brought an important issue to the forefront to me. Our conversation—about a whole 5 minutes—was basically us just asking each other what our plans for Labor Day were. Of course, my plans were to watch San Pedro Day—what Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson calls everyday that Pedro Martinez pitches— as Pedro Martinez made his first start—a win—in 11 months. However, my friend told me that she was home from college visiting her family for a Labor Day barbeque. She of course went on to mock me as barbeques have never been favorite events of mine—I don’t eat burgers or hot dogs—but as she mocked me, something popped into my head.
I started thinking of that Chevrolet commercial that is played during baseball games. I’m sure you have all seen that commercial with the utterly ridiculous jingle; “We love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet….” Yeah that commercial has always driven me up the wall. It’s just so stupid. Before it gets really stupid by mentioning Rally Monkeys and using modern technology to make it seem as if a younger Jimmy Carter is talking about Rally Monkeys, it mentions hot dogs. Considering that my friend had just mentioned that she was going to a barbeque—hot dogs likely—and I had just mentioned that I was going to watch a baseball game—where hot dogs are sold—it all seemed to come together for me. Hot dogs as food are not sold at baseball games. Hot dogs as an institution are sold at baseball games. The reason that hot dogs are by far the most widely served, sold, and eaten foods at baseball games has nothing to do with how they taste—horrible if you ask me—it has to do with the fact that they are tradition. So the first subject I would like to discuss with you my readers is the many money traps that are peddled to baseball fans across America on a regular basis.
I do not want to sound un-American, I don’t want to trump tradition, and I don’t want to sound like some joint smoking—supposed to be funny—conspiracy theorist. But really, I’m just going to do a quick run through of my memories of going to baseball games as a kid.
As soon as my father and I would walk through the gates at Shea Stadium, we headed straight for the concession stand where we would easily spend more than $30 on our FIRST trip. Then we would buy a program and head off to our seats. Some point during the game, usually during the 6th inning or so, I would buy one of those ice creams served in the little plastic baseball helmet. Then when the games were over, without failure, we would hit the souvenir stand where we would either buy a pennant, a T shirt, or some other form of paraphernalia representing the Mets or some other Major League team, most likely, whoever the Mets opponents had been that night. Then we would go home.
As I said, I don’t want to mock these experiences that I and so many other kids have had. These memories are some of the best memories that I have of childhood. But now, I cannot help but read further into these past experiences.
First we would buy food—usually hot dogs and soda. Not only were we buying food at the games, by buying food, we were foregoing a chance to have a good meal at home or at a New York City restaurant. But whatever the case, we always ate at the games we went to. In fact, it never seemed to us then as if we even had another choice. I don’t even want to go into what those hot dogs we ate were probably composed of, so I will just simply say that they were FAR from a nutritionist’s delight. But besides being a heart attack in a bun, these hot dogs were unbelievably expensive. If my father and I each ate 2 hot dogs—we probably ate at least twice that—then we could easily spend $20. At well over $4 a piece for food items that stadiums acquire at cheap prices, for every hot dog sold at baseball games, stadiums turn a huge profit. And between $5 sodas—I won’t mock beer prices because anything to keep excess beer out of crazed New Yorkers hands is a good thing in my opinion—and ice creams, and peanuts, and whatnot, at every professional baseball game, stadiums turn huge profits from the food they sell.
In the realm of souvenirs, we would first buy a program. Originally, in the old days, programs served the purpose of allowing fans to more easily identify players on the field. But in the modern day, with 70 foot jumbotrons introducing all players—players also now where their names on the back of their jerseys—it is probably easier to identify a player by listening to the P.A. announcer or by looking at the jumbotron as opposed to squinting to read the small writing in the program. There is another $7 down the drain. Then there are the post game souvenirs. I know that in stores throughout the metropolitan area, it is very easy to finds Mets hats, Mets shirts, Mets whatever, but for some reason, it is always presented as more alluring to buy a shirt or a hat in THE stadium itself. This concept is all well and good, but while this idea is presented, it is also likely that stadiums charge at least 25%--an estimate— more for a shirt or hat than say a Modell’s would. So once again, between programs that are unnecessarily sold and over priced shirts and hats, stadiums turn an unbelievably high profit based on the relatively low costs in putting these items up for sale on their shelves.
You may ask as to what my point is. I’m sure you all know that going to games is expensive. Well let’s just take an alternate point of view. Although people have to eat and eating will always costs something, just try eating dinner—or lunch—at home before going to a game. While your home meal will cost something, it will definitely save you a significant amount of money—and cholesterol. Then say you go online and print out both team’s rosters, stuff them in your pocket, and bring your office paper to the game. The cost of two sheets of paper is almost nothing compared to the cost of a program. Then say on the way home, you stop at a Modell’s—or whatever store—and buy a T shirt that you could wear to the game the next time you go. There is another $15-$20 saved. With this alternate plan, the average fan could easily save $40 per person for every game they go to. While this plan might seemingly make the event of going to a game seem less fun, let’s just examine this. If 1 fan saves $40 and many tickets—not field level or even second level—cost about $40, then by making these minor spending changes, a fan will allow themselves to go to twice as many games as they would otherwise be able to go to.
Of course, the whole process of going to games that includes overspending one’s money is a tradition that I’m sure many people do not want to part with. But I just wanted to let you know that there are alternatives. And while I’m sure it would be tough for many people to part with their traditions, with the benefit of saving money and perhaps going to twice as many games being out there, I feel it is something that should definitely be considered.
I understand my views on these issue are different from many people, so I would love to hear comments as to whether or not you feel I have hit the nail on the head by discussing poignant issues or if you think I’m completely off base—to these people I say I guess my wallet will be thicker than yours! Just kidding…