Money Wasters

The Final Blog

2007-12-05T17:52:00.001-08:00

I’m sorry to inform you all that the time of the year in which I must depart from my perch of advice giving has come. Yes indeed, the end of my fall semester as a junior in college has arrived. But before I go, I would like to provide you with some parting words.
Over the past couple of months, I have provided you with advice, with direction of do’s and don’ts, in regards to some things I have personally experienced and other things I have not personally experienced, all with the hope that I could help you improve your ability to be a smart shopper in regards to shopping for sport related items. In a way, I have worded my advice as if each and every one of you were completely unaware of the issues I presented and whether or not that itself is true, what is true is that when this final blog is posted, you will definitely be on your own to make decisions.
Really, I can’t tell you what to buy or not to buy. What may seem to make sense to me and what is true for me may not make sense or be true to any one of you. So I will no longer highlight specific items to buy or not buy, I will just tell you to be careful.
I don’t know how much I have in common with you my readers, but one thing that I’m sure that we have in common is that we all greatly value our money—maybe some of us more than others. And because I’m sure that we all greatly value our money, I will advise you all to be careful of how you spend it. This doesn’t mean that you can’t make a semi-impulsive purchase every now and then, what this means is that you should just stop and think before you buy something. It maybe wouldn’t even be too bad of an idea if you paused for a few seconds before buying something and just asked yourself, “Will I eventually regret what I am about to buy.” By doing this, by stopping and thinking, you should be able to weed out the needless purchases so you can then only have to make the purchases that are worth your money.
Especially thus time of year. It is the Holiday Season and you will find yourself in stores and malls as you will be flooded by advertisements and images of appealing looking items. The temptation to go crazy will be there. But while sme craziness can be fun, I advise you all to not go too crazy or at least crazy in a way that you will eventually feel bad for what you did.
So on this night, my final word is for you to go out, shop, have fun, but all while being careful. With that, I’m sure you’ll be fine.

My Greatest Buy

2007-12-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

I remember one particularly memorable vacation that my family took way back in July 1996. The destination for that now famous vacation: none other than Niagara Falls themselves.
This was a great and memorable trip for yours truly. I mean, on this trip, in our hotel room, it was the first time that I ever watched the movie HAPPY GILMORE, not to mention that when I saw the actual Falls themselves, I was able to see the exact spot where John Candy and Rhea Perlman were “hunting” for suicide bodies—supposed to be funny—in the 1995 Michael Moore movie Canadian Bacon. Oh yeah, and there was this other thing about seeing one of nature’s true landmarks. What can I say, I was 9. But perhaps best of all was that my oh so great parents decided that my family would stay on the Canadian side of the falls, i.e. hockey country.
I love hockey now. I loved hockey in 1996. It is my passion. One thing that troubles me though is that when I am in the lower 48, not counting The Might Ducks or D2 as “real” hockey movies, it is virtually impossible to find hockey movies/documentaries anywhere. For me, as someone who loves learning about hockey, as a kid then who hated reading and absolutely preferred watching about hockey as opposed to reading of it, what was fantastic was that in Canada, there was actually an abundance of hockey tapes (no DVDs back then) available for purchase. So I bought three tapes: NHL 75 seasons, Top 50 Playoff Goals, and Hardest Hitters. Eleven and a half years later, those tapes still sit in my college dorm room. THEY ARE MY GREATEST BUYS.
The NHL 75 Seasons tape was made in 1992 to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHL’s formation in 1917. And this tape, completely in documentary form, is perhaps what has taught me more about hockey history than any 1 entity. This tape even begins documenting the history of hockey before the NHL’s formation in 1917 and with starting at the very beginning of the history of hockey, covers all of the biggest events through 1992—when it was made. Although now, for a fan, 15 years of information has yet to been covered, for me, as the only 15 years left out are the 15 years I have been an actual fan in person, this 75 Seasons tape teaches me about all hockey events and famous people that I may have never gotten the privilege of seeing live myself. This tape, only 90 minutes long, it covers everything.
The NHL Top 50 Playoff goals is an hour long production with CBC in Canada’s Ron MacLean and Dick Irvin Jr. as “hosts.” This tape is exactly what it says it is. Made in 1993 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup, Top 50 Playoff Goals is merely a countdown of what are perceived as the top 50 playoff goals, in terms of stories and skill throughout hockey history. Although there have been many goals scored since 1993 that would make it onto this list, even though the list is now somewhat outdated, the tape itself is still a great watch. I have it on in the background right now.
The Hardest Hitters is exactly what it says it is as well. It highlights the absolutely most bone-crushing hits and collisions—there is a difference—of the then prior 5 years or so. Although the tape is only about 35 minutes long and features some hits on more than one occasion, there is just something about seeing Luke Richardson nearly decapitate Tony Granato from 1989 that is strangely appealing. Who would have guessed that lumbering Luke would still be in the NHL in 2007. Although this tape is short, it is great entertainment for hockey and non-hockey fans alike as it captures that little part of everybody that loves a good hockey hit.
I have watched all 3 of these tapes hundreds of times. I first watched them in 1996 and I still watch them now. Although by this point I basically have them all memorized, these tapes have been through a lot with me. Back in high school, I started a tradition of always watching one of these 3 tapes before any game I played in. Now that I am in college and play men’s league hockey, I still follow this tradition. I have great memories of watching these 3 hours total of footage.
I bring up these tapes because they are absolutely my greatest buy. For probably only about 30 CANADIAN dollars total, they have occupied me and even put me to sleep some nights for 11 years now. And I know that no matter what my future holds for me, these tapes will occupy a place in my home. So I bring up these tapes also as because it is the holiday season, so I advise you, when shopping, do not overlook what may seem like the most insignificant of items. Because of you choose wisely, the items that you buy and give as gifts, they may be able to hold a special place in the heart of the recipient for the rest of that person’s life. Although my tapes were not a gift per say, they will absolutely hold a special place in my heart for the rest of my life.

You Tell Me

2007-11-27T08:41:00.000-08:00

I understand that I am about to strike a soar chord with many of you my readers on this subject. I understand that this will be a soar subject because there are a great number of you who buy these products that I am about to address. I also understand that many of you go to great lengths to acquire these products which many times translates into forgoing a fortune to obtain just 1 of these products. I understand that this will be a soar subject because the very products that I am suggesting are huge wastes of money are also products that many people hold near and dear and often present very loudly and proudly in their homes and even their offices as well. The products that I am addressing are autographed merchandise.
First of all, I am not saying that all autographs are wastes. I mean if you are a kid who has the great privilege of meeting a professional athlete, getting an autograph as a souvenir of your experience is a great memento and a great memory that will often last a lifetime. For me, I have great memories of getting autographs. I even remember which sports people were particularly nice to me and which sports people were particularly mean to me. No matter how much I try to ignore my lone encounter with a player as being the deciding factor of their character, it is impossible to forget as a kid. These events have a great impact on kids. As such, I will always be a fan of guys like Turk Wendell, Dan Reeves, Doug Bodger, and even Mark Messier. I will not go too far into that but as I HATE the New York Rangers and as I HATE the New York Yankees, I once got Mark Messier’s autograph on a baseball at a Yankees game. But anyhow, I will always be a fan of all of the sports figures as a result of the kindness in which they showed me as a kid—EXCEPT MESSIER! And on the opposing side, I will never forget how rude hockey player Bobby Holik was to my mother and me—after a week of being in his hockey school—and I will never forget how Mets reliever Mark Guthrie treated me like garbage on 3 occasions during the 2002 season. I will not forget and I may never forgive. But even though all of my memories aren’t great, my encounters, for better and for worse, have no fiscal value as they are priceless.
I am instead addressing the grown men and women who shop online for autographs of signed memorabilia who then received their “signed” memorabilia in the mail regardless of whether or not they ever meet the athlete and regardless of having any guarantee that the autograph and memorabilia that they are receiving is actually authentic. I guess there are certificates of authenticity with many of the pieces of memorabilia, but seriously, if an autograph can be faked, couldn’t a certificate of authenticity then be faked as well? I mean, how could a person ever be absolutely 100 percent with no doubts sure that the artifact that they will later brag to their friends of how they spent a fortune for it is absolutely real unless they saw the person sign it themself. How would anybody tell the difference between the signatures of Jim Carey the goalie and Jim Carrey the actor- 1 r may not be able to be examined in a non aesthetically beautiful autograph scribble? Answer: you could never be absolutely sure.
Not to mention, even if the mail order autograph is real, what is the thrill of having such a memento. The child experience autograph is a memento of actually meeting a famous sports person. An adult receiving an autograph in the mail is just random scribble from someone that they themselves have never even met. Is this just me, or does it sound stupid to pay a fortune to receive a handwritten signature of a person you never even met? But then again, it’s your choice if you want to spend for such an item that I guess I can only be described with one of Carrol O’Connor as Archie Bunker’s best words from yesteryear: “Crapola.” I guess it’s your money after all.
I just feel it’s necessary to address this issue because in the modern day, I see a breathtaking number of people spend such hard earned money on products that to me seem so pointless. I guess that as much as I am advising you my readers to never buy such mail order autographs, I am also asking for someone to perhaps explain to me what the big deal is. Is there that big a desire to even get a smell of someone famous—or not that famous?
For a few months now I have provided you all with my analysis and my advice; now I am asking for some reader analysis, advice, and opinion. Would someone please tell me what the big deal is in buying signed memorabilia of someone you never met which is probably not even authentic? Please tell me!

Opposite Of A "Money Waster"

2007-11-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

For weeks, I have been telling all of you about products to avoid wasting money on. Now I would like to inform you all about a product that is the opposite of a money waster as it is in fact a bargain. The one product in the sports world that more than any other is a bargain and is an otherwise unbelievably useful product is MLB.TV.
MLB.TV is a system that is a section of MLB.com that allows baseball fans to watch every single Major League Baseball game for the entire season either live or on re-run.
By far, the most useful area of MLB.TV is the ability to watch games on re-run. All games are available on delay within a half hour of their completion. The reason that such a feature is so useful is because it allows rabid baseball fans to never ever have to miss a game ever while allowing such an activity to be done without buying numerous blank video tapes and having to go through the hassle of setting your VCR on a regular basis. Though Tivo could also perform the same function, as your computer is portable while your TV is not, you can have “your team with you” also as long as you have your computer— no matter where you go. Never would you have to have the fear of missing a game ever again. Tivo would be just as useful if you were always to be stationed in your home, but as MLB.TV can both be useful in your home and abroad, MLB.TV is a much better buy for the purpose of baseball only. With MLB.TV, wherever in the world you are, you can watch your team’s games on demand. The reason that this product is so useful for rabid baseball fans is because it sets them free from the slavery of their team’s schedules.
I am one of those fans. I don’t like missing games. For years, the stories of the lengths that I have gone to in order to see games have become family legends. The reasons that these stories have become so legendary is because many of them—most of them—are utterly ridiculous in nature. Some involve cell phones being held up to TVs and others that shall remain unspoken of go to even further lengths than that, but the bottom line is that for years, going through the “pleasure” of trying to see all of my team’s games was a ridiculous hassle in my life. If I ever was in a situation where nobody could tape a game for me, then I was put in a situation where I COULD NOT miss the game. For someone who also desires an active social life, this “responsibility” to my team could put me in very difficult situations on a regular basis. But with MLB.TV, no matter where I am, no matter what my plans are, no matter who may be around to help—or not help—me, I know I will be well taken care of. For only $130 for full-access MLB.TV for the entire season, for rabid fans, this is often times a life saving purchase.
For me, MLB.TV has been a life saver. Instead of summer nights of having my mother setting VCRs and getting blank tapes ready for me, now, I can miss a game to go out with my friends always knowing that when I get home, that night’s game will be waiting for me. No longer does anybody’s schedule—including mine—have to be compromised for the sake of a baseball game. MLB.TV is a relatively cheap way of acquiring every single MLB game—when you buy it you get all 30 teams—and putting thus games into your computer to be enjoyed at your disposal. I didn’t even mention how with MLB.TV your game-watching experience can be cut by up to a half hour at times via the ability to fast forward through commercials. But as I feel now as I have made my case for the usefulness of MLB.TV, I would like to provide you with some true examples from the 2007 season in which MLB.TV saved me.
First, as you all should know, I am also a huge hockey fan. During the time in which hockey is in the final stages of it’s regular season and if my Islanders make the playoffs—they did in 2007—those games also become un-missable entities for me. And as hockey does not offer such a system as MLB does with MLB.TV, I can watch my hockey games live and then watch my baseball games in re-run immediately after. There I can keep my allegiances to my multiple favorite teams at once.
Other such uses could involve games of teams other than your favorite team. One example for me was this summer when Barry Bonds hit home run 756. I was not home that night, but with MLB.TV, when I got home, I was able to go to that night’s Giants game, fast forward to the record breaking at bat, and then watch the home run being hit as well as I was able to also enjoy the post home run ceremonies. No Sports Center condensed highlight for this guy. I watch San Francisco Giants Fox Sports Bay Area’s coverage of the event. Without MLB.TV, I would have missed history.
Whether it is the ability to see your team when on vacation or after a hard night’s partying or whether it is the ability to see full coverage of history making moments, MLB.TV allows a fan to be as fully involved in the sport of baseball as possible while not having their time consumed and schedule continually altered as it would be otherwise. For me, MLB.TV is perhaps the biggest bargain that I have ever purchased. If you are a crazy big baseball fan, I urge you to go buy it NOW! Or at least before the season starts in April.

The Hockey News, "Arbour Day" In November, And Me

2007-11-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

For me, November 2007 is a milestone month. For me, November 2007 is the month that I have decided to end my long-running subscription to The Hockey News. Having been disappointed with that publication for a while, but not having ha a strong enough disappointment to end my subscription, I have now finally been pushed over the edge. For me, The Hockey News and other such weekly/monthly publications no longer have any ability to inform me in any way. The reason that the have no ability to inform me in any way is not because they don’t provide accurate and meaningful information, but rather the reason that they have no ability to inform me is because I am too big of a hockey fanatic.
Let me explain. I eat, breathe, and sleep hockey. It is an obsession. It doesn’t matter if it is in-season or off-season, not a day goes by where I don’t think of hockey or read of hockey. You can say that 24/7/365; I have my finger on the pulse of the sport.
Almost exclusively, I gather my information from the internet. Often, I am reading rumor web sites that verify events for me before they even happen or I am visiting TSN.CA—the Canadian version of ESPN.com—which despite being a very official web site is either breaking the most major stories or commenting on the most major stories within minutes of their occurrence. As I check these web sites several times a day, you can say that the longest I ever go without having had the latest hockey-world related story given to me is the length of a long night sleep. Trying to sneak a hockey story is like trying to sneak a ray of light pasta rooster; you can’t do it.
Take this example. This past Saturday, former Islanders head coach Al Arbour returned to coach the Islanders for one night only. Arbour returned at the request of regular Islander coach Ted Nolan so Arbour could coach his 1,500th game as Islander coach. His 1,500 games as Islanders coach are by far more than any other coach has ever coached with any 1 team, his 740 wins are the most, and as he is now 75 years old, he became the oldest man ever to coach an NHL game. To say that this was a big story in the hockey world would be an understatement to say the least.
In regards to me, as an Islander fan, I circled this game on my calendar one it was announced over the summer. On Saturday night, I watched this entire game and all of the involved ceremonies and coverage. Since Saturday, I have read stories from multiple web sites on this event as I have also re-watched both the post-game celebration and tribute video on YouTube. You can say that less than 72 hours after this event, I have seen it from every imaginable angle.
As big and as nice of a story as it was, quite frankly, I’m done with it and ready for the next piece of news.
I’m sure that The Hockey News will have something to say on the event. But while I am already done with this story, it won’t even be in The Hockey News for another couple of weeks. By the time that the edition of The Hockey News with Al Arbour stories sin it is released, who knows what hockey stories will be first and foremost in my mind then. Whatever stories they may be, it certainly will not be the story of Alger Joseph Arbour. In terms of The Hockey News and its coverage of the event, for me, quite frankly, it’ll be a few weeks too late.
I understand that most people are not like me. I understand that most of the population either doesn’t even care about hockey or only follows hockey on a casual basis. I understand that during some games and instead of reading hockey blogs, some fans have jobs, other hobbies, or other events that they go to besides hockey. Ignoring the fact that THESE people are completely inexcusable losers—just kidding—The Hockey News does still maintain the ability to inform this portion of society. And to this portion I say, “Go out and buy The Hockey News.” It will be a good and informative read.
But my advice today is for that small portion of you that are die-hard obsessed hockey fans like me. To you—us—I urge you to ignore The Hockey News and similar publications because for us, continuing to live the way that we now live will provide us with all the hockey information that we could ever need. Plus, assuming that you would have the Internet anyway, OUR WAY IS FREE!

Names On Backs

2007-10-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

I would like to share with you a personal story. When I was in 1st grade, 14 years, I was my favorite Mets player, Bobby Bonilla for Halloween. Despite the fact that our differing “skin tones” made it impossible for me to really look like Robert Martin Antonio Bonilla, an integral part of my costume was my Bobby Bonilla racing stripe style Mets jersey. As Bobby is still my all-time favorite baseball player, as he was my favorite then too, to wear the jersey with his name and number 25 made me feel proud. Then a couple years later, on July 28, 1995—a very dark day for yours truly—the Mets traded Bobby Bonilla to the Baltimore Orioles. I cried. Gone was my first ever favorite player. But also, gone was the ability to use—this predated the idea of retro jerseys—my Bobby Bonilla jersey. And thus a trend began, whenever I have ever bought a jersey with a player’s name on it, the player has left my favorite team in very short order.
My next favorite—but not my all-time favorite—Mets player was Lance Johnson. Still a bit skeptical about buying another jersey, I instead bought a Mets Lance Johnson T shirt with the #1 on the back. I bought that shirt so I could go to a game and wear it proudly. I bought the shirt that day, by the time I got to the game just hours later in fact, Lance Johnson had been traded. That was 1997.
Feeling burnt, I waited 4 more years before I ever bought another jersey. In 2001, as I was an Italian descent middle school 3rd baseman, I bought the jersey of the Italian descended Mets 3rd baseman, Robin Ventura in June of that year. That October would mark the ending of Robin Ventura’s Mets career. The curse followed me to hockey as well.
With hockey jerseys, for years I had only bought jerseys with no name or number on them. I had owned dozens of jersey over the years, but I did not buy my first islanders jersey with a name on it until September 2004. I bought the jersey of my all-time favorite hockey player, Adrian Aucoin during the Lockout as an investment in the better days that surely awaited me somewhere in the future. Although the NHL would return from the Lockout 13 months later, Adrian Aucoin was then a Blackhawk and never even played a game for the Islanders while I owned his jersey.
Next, just before the beginning of the first season after the Lockout, I bought the jersey of my formerly 2nd favorite—now 1st favorite—Islander, Oleg Kvasha. 5 months later, Kvasha was traded to Phoenix.
Whew I have been burnt. Today, I wear a David Wright jersey to Mets games and a pre Reebok Edge Brendan Witt jersey to Islanders games. I cannot help but live in fear that those players will move on to new teams.
This week, I am not trying to tell you to NOT buy something. I love owning jerseys with players’ names on them and I in fact believe that they are a great investment and a great tool to be used to support your favorite team—or player. But I am advising you to be calculated before you buy a jersey.
What I am suggesting is buying a jersey that even if the player ever got traded or moved onto a new team in some other fashion, you would still feel comfortable wearing that jersey to a game. My Mike Piazza jersey that I still keep in my closet at home is an example. With this method, you can buy a jersey of a current player and even if the player were to move on, their once-held popularity was so high that it would never be seen as taboo to represent that player at their former team’s venue.
Or, if you are deadest on owning a jersey of one of your team’s current players, try to calculate which player is least likely ever to leave that team. For example, as Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro is in the 2nd year of a 15 year contract in which he receives a salary that most teams believe is too high for a goaltender of his quality, it is likely that DiPietro will not leave the Islanders until MY mid 30s and with that, buying a Rick DiPietro jersey can be regarded as a safe purchase. So could a David Wright or Derek Jeter jersey. Those players mean so much to their organizations, both on the field and off, that it really is unfathomable that they would ever leave their respective teams. Although in sports, the unfathomable often does come to fruition, there can be no sure thing and as I said if you are deadest on owning a jersey of one of your team’s current players, this I definitely the best way to go. Note: Buying a Kobe Bryant Lakers jersey may not currently be a good idea.
So really, you are free to do whatever you want here but please, for your own sake, think before you act and please be careful!

I Got Dooped

2007-10-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

I just got shafted again into buying something in a ridiculous manner. I want to share my story with all of you so you can perhaps more easily identify scams yourself in the future.
Before this hockey season, I have never played fantasy sports. For some reason, I was never open to them, learning about them, or being associated with them in any matter. I guess I was worried about becoming another fantasy sports playing/obsessed “nerd”—I apologize if you are one of these nerds. But now, the inevitable has become a reality as I have become a fantasy hockey obsessed nerd.
It all started this summer during my internship. I intern for a hockey writer and in our office, there are a number of my-age guys who all claim to know more than each other about hockey personnel—nobody is crazy enough to question my trivia prowess. But for years now, never have we had a way to settle this dispute.
Then this fall, our office’s senior intern—age not experience—decided that we should all create a fantasy hockey league for just the Fischler Hockey interns. Although I have no experience in playing any fantasy sport and although I really wasn’t even pen to the idea of playing any fantasy sport, as I take great pride in my hockey knowledge and as I am ultra competitive in these regards, I could not help but being dragged into this battle.
So about a month ago we held our fantasy draft. And not only was I determined to win our league, I was determined to do so by using non-big name players. So I went analyzed the 2006-07 stats and developed an elaborate cheat sheet to help me decide which players could best help me succeed in all fantasy hockey areas. In goal I took a first time number one goalie Niklas Backstrom (Minnesota Wild), I took second year defenseman Shea Weber (Nashville Predators), and second year forward Milan Michalek (San Jose Sharks). Although I would add a few established veteran stars, my fantasy hockey roster was sprinkled with young talent under the age of twenty-five. Then our season started an din week 1, I went 1-9-1. Not to impressive. But then in the next two weeks, as I went 9-1-1 and 8-2-1, as my “genius” began to be revealed, I could not help but begin to be obsessed with my fantasy team. Every night, I would go onto our league’s yahoo.com page to change my roster for the upcoming day and to more importantly, check my progress through checking on that day’s stats. Then a few days ago it happened.
Yahoo.com said that for me to be able to access player stats through yahoo.com fantasy sports, I would have to for 10 dollars purchase a stats tracker. I immediately bought the tracker.
The next day, I realized that I had been dooped in a very terrible way. You see, without the Stats Tracker, I would not be able to see my fantasy stats on the night that they occurred. But what I hadn’t realized was that while I would not be able to see my fantasy stats on the night they occurred, even without Stats Tracker, I could see my players and my entire team’s stats the following day. If I could just go to bed without knowing my fantasy hockey progress, I could have saved 10 dollars. And just like that, I was dooped out of 10 dollars.
You see, many times, these sucker-buys are not the couple hundred dollar jerseys or over priced ticker and season ticket packages. Sometimes, these products are marketed with the Wal-Mart mentality in that the goal is low price but high quantity. The idea is that if a person sees a product for maybe only $5 or $10 or whatever, then there is a good chance that the person would be willing to buy the product with little provocation.
I fell into the trip. With little provocation I though, “what could be the harm in spending only 10 dollars?” And just like that, my money was gone on something that I really didn’t need to buy.
That is how I got dooped. In order for you to not get dooped I have only one bit of advice, “think before you buy.” This may seem like a painfully simple concept but in reality, practicing this such behavior can go a long way. Maybe even sleep on a decision. I am not advocating putting yourself in a position where you never buy anything. I am just saying be careful and choose your spots. Or in other words, don’t be like me.

The Biggest Step Of All

2007-10-15T11:00:00.001-07:00

Ok fellow money wasters, the time has come. The time has come for your biggest challenge to date…. and that is not purchasing something that will cause great agony deep within the confines of your bosom. But this pain, if it can be collectively ignored, then a great break through for all mankind can be made. Let me explain.
Last week I addressed the fans of the NHL teams who DID NOT modify the designs of their uniforms while this week, I will address the fans of the many NHL teams who actually DID also change their uniform designs. I happen to be one of you.
The reason that these NHL teams made these changes is to make money—and a lot of it. I mean, these teams were wise enough to see that simply adopting the Reebok Edge style of jersey would by no means be a guaranteer that jersey sales would increase. So, as in changing the style of jerseys was not enough for these teams, they change their designs in some cases so drastically that fans would be utterly compelled to go out and buy one—or two! I find myself in the boat where I am finding it very difficult to resist buying the new New York Islander jerseys. I mean, I feel left behind as the team wears new and as many fans now wear the new jerseys while I am stuck with an old and as a result, my impulse to shop is on high alert. I am that close to just dropping $400 to get me 1 new road Islander jersey and 1 new home Islander jersey also. I am trying to overcome my impulses…
The reason though that I must ignore my impulse is that if I act impulsively and buy the new jerseys, that in a way gives the Islanders permission to change their jerseys again in 5 years so that I would be forced again to spend several hundred dollars. And if millions of fans spend a couple hundred dollars on new jerseys now, then their teams may very well change their jerseys again in 5 years—or sooner. If I and other shopping addicts like me give into out impulses and buy new jerseys now, then we may be costing ourselves THOUSANDS of dollars over the next few years! The only way to avoid these damaging ramifications to our actions is to alter our actions now and take a stand now! If collectively, fans are able to resist buying an abundance of new jerseys now, then, teams will not be given an incentive to change uniforms again. Because that’s what the goal is. To prevent teams from changing their uniforms again. Because quite frankly, as much as many of us like and are attached to the old uniforms, they are not coming back. But as we become attached to the new jerseys, to avoid having them eventually replaced, for now, we must avoid buying them if that makes any sense. Because if fans buy the new jerseys gradually over the next few years instead of all at once, then teams will not be given reason to believe that every time they concoct a uniform change that they will make a huge profit.
I know in the past I have spoke in a derogatory manner about retro jerseys. But now, at least for now, I am giving my go-ahead—sort of—to wear a retro jersey. Because as it now turns out, the jersey that you wore last season is now a retro jersey. When it was bought it was modern; now it is retro. So now, wear your “new retro-fied” jersey. Remember the good times you had in at and swear to yourself that you will have many more great memories wearing that jersey even if your team themselves will no longer be wearing that jersey themselves. And gradually, in a few years, if you want—maybe in 5 years—then go and buy the jersey that your team has started wearing this season.
I understand that I may have rambled a little bit here so let me give you a bottom-line shortened version. Do not buy a new Reebok Edge jersey. Continue to wear your old one. You still look awesome in it. So you have no reason to replace it. I know your impulses may tell you otherwise, but I know what I am talking about and you can listen to and trust me. I have your best interests in mind and if we together can just avoid buying Reebok Edge jerseys, then both for the present day and in the future, we all will be saving a great deal of money and really, what could be better than that?

THE TIME HAS COME

2007-10-11T11:39:00.001-07:00

Now, I have finally arrived on the topic which was my motivation to become a master of exposing all of the areas of the money wasting realm regarding sales of sports and sport related products; the new NHL Reebok jerseys. I had been made aware over the course of this summer that the NHL was going to switch the “style” of its jerseys as well as I was made aware that many teams would be switching the “design” of their uniforms, but now, as the hockey season is over a week old, as I have been able to observe the new uniforms in action and mull over my thoughts: I feel now is finally the time for me to speak on the subject.
First, because I know that there are a few non-hockey fans out there—I don’t forgive you—I feel compelled to explain the supposed idea behind the changing of the style of NHL jerseys and the history behind NHL upper-wear.
Originally, in the era before the 1970s, NHL jerseys were exclusively called sweaters because their material, well, it was the same as a regular sweater. These sweaters were first utilized so long ago that it was during the days in which professional hockey was played outdoors. As games outdoors during winter in Canadian cities could be quite cold, the sweaters were developed to maintain warmth and allow players to function despite their harsh climate. Even once professional hockey began to be played indoors—just before the 1920s—for many years, the tradition of the sweater material uniforms remained.
Then in the 1970s—and through the 2006-07 season—the NHL abandoned the sweater material for what had been known as the modern NHL jersey. I wish I could clarify better on what the material of those hockey jerseys was but because as viewing and wearing them had become second nature for me, for years, I would just describe the feel of those jerseys as being “jersey material.” Really nothing more specific than that. I’m not really sure exactly how even to describe them. But apparently, while for years I had functioned and while hockey fans in general had functioned quite well with these jerseys, in 2006, the powers that be—hockey marketers—came to the conclusion that these always seemingly functional pieces of equipment were no longer exactly modern. The main claims were that these jerseys did not absorb liquid well so when players would sweat or have water/ice residue brushed onto them, then their jerseys would get increasingly heavy making them no longer technology efficient.
So, despite no complaints from any hockey players or fans, before the 2007-08 season, the NHL decided to modify the style of their jerseys and sponsored by Reebok, the new jerseys are known as the Reebok edge. The Reebok edge jerseys are snug in fit and apparently better absorbers of liquid—or at least to the point where the statement is said that players can skate 8% faster with a Reebok edge jersey. But besides being marketed as the most efficient way for hockey players to have their upper-body covered, these uniforms were marketed as being stylish.
As the new style of jerseys came, apparently with the co-mission of portraying a new attitude in NHL hockey, many NHL teams modified their uniforms to cooperate with this mission of expressing a new attitude. Besides the overall style changes of the jersey, the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, Phoenix Coyotes, AND Dallas stars—did you get them all—decided to change the design of their jerseys and in doing so, left their fans without the most modern uniforms. But I will address fans of those teams on a later date. Today, I will address the fans of the teams with unchanged designs in their uniforms: the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Atlanta Thrashers, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, and Los Angeles Kings—study quick, there might be a quiz on this later. Because while these teams have accepted the mandatory ruling of changing the materials of their jerseys, despite the material and supposed style change, after viewing, these uniforms look EXACTLY the same as the old ones. They look exactly the same as the old uniforms because except for the synthetics and materials that are stored unbeknownst to fans beneath the jersey’s exterior surface, they are exactly the same. So really, my statement to fans of these teams is quite simple: YOU HAVE NO NEED TO BUY A REEBOK EDGE JERSEY! Your “outdated” jersey is not outdated at all and as it functioned well for years, it will continue to function more than adequately while allowing you to maintain the same look that your favorite players sport when they skate up and down the ice. There really has been no change so avoid the words of the marketers that tell you to buy a Reebok Edge Jersey. More than anything I can think of, for you fans, sending money on a Reebok Edge Jersey that looks exactly the same as your team’s old jersey is a waste of money. You other fans, sit tight. I will address you next week. Until then, even if your instincts condone your splurging on a new jersey, just sit tight. I will take care of you!

Hating On Hockey Haters

2007-10-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe it happened again. I feel like I have just been given the shaft again after making a sports-related purchase. Allow me to explain. Since I have been in Ithaca, every year, before hockey season, I subscribe to the NHL Center Ice package on my dorm-room TV. Besides gaining the access to watch “every” NHL game for the season, it ensures me that I can catch every single Islander game which for me of course is a life necessity. In Ithaca, we have FSNY (channel 69) and MSG (channel 28) and although both of those channels air Islander games, between the Sabres, Devils, Rangers, and Knicks, the Islanders become a 5th team that must share those two channels and on nights when more than 2 teams play, the Islanders usually are given the axe. In those cases, I turn to my handy Center Ice package. And considering the Islanders do not play until next Friday, my Islander hunger which is of my life necessities will be fulfilled. I am not worried about that. But as I write, I have just been given the information that my Center Ice package will not cover the Los Angeles Kings against Anaheim Ducks from London which as a game is the opening of the 2007-08 hockey season.
This is so preposterous! More than advice, this is a personal rant! Apparently, I am unable to have the access to this game. It turns out that US TV (Versus) will be in England, but although they are making the cross an ocean journey, they will only be covering the second Ducks vs. Kings game on Sunday. No opening game. CBC in Canada is doing the game. CBC is the only North American outlet covering the game. Under these circumstances, Center Ice would feed its viewers with the CBC broadcast. But not for the opening game this season! For some reason, it has been blacked out. It turns out, as I am in an Ithaca dorm room, the only way for me to watch the season opener would be if I bought HDNet channel 812.
My plans were to order HDNet today and cancel my order tomorrow allowing me to get the game and avoid most of the cost burden—my level of savvy is vast. But apparently, I can’t even do that. As my dorm room TV is not an HD TV, I am actually unable to even buy HDNet. As I am unable to buy HDNet, as Center Ice has blacked me out, and as US TV has refused to cover the game, I as a hockey fan am left out in the cold.
Unfortunately, as a hockey fan, I am used to this. This leads me back to last spring. Last May, I was in Villanova, Pennsylvania on a Saturday afternoon as part of a weekend of attending my sister’s college graduation. But also on that afternoon, the Ottawa Senators were playing the Buffalo Sabres in game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on NBC. With a win, the Ottawa Senators would advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
First let me set the stage. It is a Saturday afternoon 3:00 game in May. NBC ordered that this be a day game as opposed to the original 7:00 designated start time. NBC would only air the game if it was a day game. At 3:00 what’s more. But there were a few things that NBC didn’t account for. For one thing, the game was on a Holiday weekend in Canada and as one of the game’s two teams was Canadian, they were putting millions of Canadians ( the team from Montreal is spelt Canadiens) and Ottawa Senators fans in a precarious position in terms of being able to get themselves in front of a TV while fulfilling family obligations. Second, NBC scheduled this game at 3:00 on a Saturday which at 5:30, they would also be airing the Preakness Stakes. Does anybody think allotting 2 and ½ hours for a sporting contest with no time limit is a bad idea? I did and the inevitable came to fruition. The game went to overtime. Just minutes before overtime without announcement, NBC pulled the potentially conference deciding game for PRE-RACE COVERAGE. It took until 5 minutes into the overtime period until I found the hockey game placed on Versus. But it turns out, as Versus is based out of Philadelphia which was only 10 miles away from me, I was able to get the hockey game while many cable outlets in the US who don’t carry Versus—including Buffalo!—left their viewers out in the cold. Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa promptly scored the game winning goal to win the Eastern Conference for the Ottawa Senators. Most of the US was unable to watch this game.
Networks complain about and ESPN analysts mock hockey in every way, shape, and form. They mock its lack of popularity. But how can they expect hockey to grow if you don’t air the most important games of the season? Well, although I love the sport, I know the sport will never gain popularity in the US with this type of treatment. So my message is to US TV executives, “GET YOUR F****** ACT TOGETHER! JEEZ! ESPECIALLY YOU NBC! AREN’T YOU THE SAME NETWORK WHO GAVE US THE HEIDI GAME!”

P.S. I find it semi-ironic that as I was at my sister’s college graduation during this NBC blunder and as I now speak, my sister works for NBC.

Parking

2007-09-24T09:36:00.001-07:00

I have see Major League Baseball played live in 17 ballparks, I have seen NHL hockey played in 4 arenas, I have seen NBA basketball played in 2 arenas, I have seen NFL football in 1 stadium—sorry not much of a football fan—as well as having seen Swedish Elite League hockey games in 3 arenas and Minor League and Spring Training baseball in various locations. What is my point you may ask? My point is that I have paid an awful lot for parking over the years.
More than anything, parking is a team’s monopoly to do what they want with. If a person is investing to go to a game and they buy their ticket and such, they will not get to the venue parking lot and turn away because they don’t like the price. That is just absurd. So really, fans are willing to spend whatever a venue tells them that they are going to spend. Fans are really at the mercy of the price-makers.
There are stadiums such as Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park with independent parking lots that operate near the stadium. And by independent, I mean there is no official stadium parking lot; just a series of random scattered parking lots which offer a price of there own choosing. In those places, a fan can hypothetically search for the best price available.
But while there are some places with this system, most stadiums have the Shea Stadium/Dodger Stadium system which basically consists of the stadium being surrounded by one huge parking lot. In places such as these, there is one universal price for parking. However, this universal price is determined by the team and as there is no alternative, fans are forced to pay the fee. And in most venues, the fee is not reasonable in any way.
Besides Nassau Coliseum which offers parking for $5.50 in a lot that is so easy to access from the roadways and which offers such short walking distance to the arena itself that it is a gratifying experience to park, in most venues, parking is sold at an absurd price. Prices have gone from $12, to $13, and even up to $20 at many venues and based on what is being sold—just parking—this is in my opinion is completely ridiculous. Every time I park at one of these venues, I feel my dignity being sucked directly out of me.
But if teams have a stranglehold, what you may ask can you do to save your dignity? Well, with the exception of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, ALL of these venues offer some form of mass transit to access the venue.
I come from New Jersey. I know all about people who are OBSESSED with taking their cars out of their suburban homes and driving to their destination wherever they may be, regardless of how difficult to reach their destination may be. What can I say, Jersey folk like their cars. I know what I am proposing is a tough sell. But seriously, taking mass transit to games is a simple, money-saving venture which based on the surroundings of many venues—Wrigley Field for example—which are so festive that passing through them is an enjoyable experience in itself, taking mass transit can even be a fun thing to do. Mass transit saves money, time, energy, and lessens road traffic near venues before and after games, and in many cases, as I said, is a very enjoyable experience. So really, consider taking mass transit to you local stadium or arena. Even if you have never ridden a subway or a bus before, just try it. You have nothing to lose—no you probably will not get mugged on the 7 train—and so much to gain—or retain in this case.
There are some places as I said such as the Meadowlands Sports Complex to which there is no form of mass transit system to access the facilities. Well, considering that the Devils have now vacated the Meadowlands, considering that there are plans for the Nets to vacate the Meadowlands in the next 3 years, and considering that there are proposals which would move the Jets and Giants out of the Meadowlands in the next few years, I think my point is proven. Facilities without the benefit of serviceable mass transit systems nearby are failing facilities which are unable to survive in the long run. As NFL teams, the Jets and Giants have maintained solid attendance over the years, but as for the Devils and Nets, despite tremendous success over recent years, they have never been able to maximize attendance in the Meadowlands and in my opinion, the lack of mass transit has hurt those teams. I mean, to access the Meadowlands, you MUST drive. Considering that New York City is a nearby potential source for spectators, considering that many people in New York City do not own cars, the Meadowlands becomes unreachable.
My point today is that I am suggesting that all fans try and take mass transit the next time you go to a game. It benefits you, it benefits the teams, and it benefits Jersey people like me who as I drive to games, will now have less traffic on the way out!

Alternate Uniforms

2007-09-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

You have all already heard my rant about Retro Jerseys. Besides serving the purpose of being nostalgia for sale, Retro Jerseys serve the purpose as being “something different to wear” for fans other than their teams’ traditional uniforms. Another phenomenon that has been created in recent years which also serves this purpose is the invention of the alternate uniform.
Way back when, teams had two uniforms; home and away. But into the 21st century, teams have created third and many times fourth uniforms that they wear in addition to their traditional home and away uniforms and to me, this definitely should raise a few eyebrows.
I’m thinking of my beloved New York Mets as the perfect example of this. I mean, at home, they have all an all white uniform, a white uniform with pinstripes, and an all black uniform. On the road, they have a gray uniform and a black uniform. From there, you are really special if you can identify the rules they have for the different hats they wear. In the beginning, the Mets wore a plain blue hat with their orange logo. Now, in addition to the blue hat, they also have a black hat, and a black hat with blue bill. Well, the rules for these hats go as follows: If the Mets are home and wearing a plain white jersey, they can wear a blue hat or a black hat with a blue bill; if the Mets are wearing pinstripes, they can wear their blue hat or black hat with a blue bill; if the Mets are home and wearing black, they will always wear their all black hat. If the Mets are on the road and wearing gray, they will wear the black, blue bill hat and if they are wearing their road black, they will wear their all black hat. There, I just explained it as best I can, but please do not ask me how many combinations there are. In layman’s terms: 5 jerseys, 3 hats, 1 team. At Shea Stadium, amongst fans, you can see all different arrangements of these 8 articles of Mets gear—not including retro and PRACTICE jerseys. Wheew that’s a lot of uniforms. Any more uniform additions and a Mets’ fans’ closet may begin to resemble that of a rich debutant.
I love the Mets. I like their colors and their logo. But really, I’m fine if they just had 1 home jersey, 1 road jersey, and 1 mutual hat. It would be simple but effective. The uses of these additional uniforms definitely do not serve a practical purpose, but they do have a purpose as all combinations can be seen being worn amongst Shea Stadium fans. If all articles that a team is going to wear can actually be sold to fans, why not have a team wear and you as an organization in turn sell as many different articles as possible?
As a Mets fan, I know there is no hope in rectifying this situation. But it isn’t just the Mets. I mean the Braves wear an alternate red jersey, the Nationals wear and alternate red, the Marlins wear an alternate black and throughout baseball, a majority of teams wear an alternate 3rd jersey and/or hat. And for none of the teams do these alternate uniforms serve any practical purpose except the purpose of providing more choices for a fan in shopping season.
I’ll move on to my favorite sport, hockey. More than any other sport, the hockey jersey—sweater—is a work of art. I mean besides sporting colors that are more visible than any other sport, hockey sweaters sport huge crests—logos— and patches in many cases and in my opinion, hockey sweaters are more aesthetically beautiful—for the most part—than the upper-wear of any other sport.
But while most teams had assembled masterful uniforms into the 1990s, in the mid 1990s, many NHL teams began to wear a third sweater. For the most part, it is the newer expansion teams that continually add alternate sweaters. But besides the Nashville Predators addition of a mustard-color sweater and my Islanders addition of a neon orange sweater—of course I own one though—even many of the league’s original 6 teams have added alternate sweaters. I mean, the Rangers have an alternate sweater with the Statue of Liberty as the crest and the Bruins have this honeycomb yellow looking sweater with a bear head as the crest as opposed to the traditional B in a wheel that they have been wearing different forms of for decades. So really, while not all teams have added an alternate sweater, a high majority have and really, none of these sweaters seems to have any practical sense to them except for once again serving the purpose of promoting higher sales. While in the up-coming 2007-08 season, no NHL team will be wearing a third sweater; all teams will be wearing a new style of sweater known as “The Reebok Edge”. But stay tuned for my analysis on them. I have a lot to say on that issue.
What the average fan can do to stop all this I’m not exactly sure. I mean, I have been victimized. I have bought a Mets all-black jersey on 3—Piazza, Ventura, 2000 World Series edition—occasions, I still frequently wear my all black Mets cap, and I still have my Islanders orange sweater hanging in my closet. I guess though, if all fans just buy ONLY what their favorite uniform is, if the fans make a choice by overwhelmingly buying one uniform much more than they buy another, I guess then that management would be forced to make a decision. But that event and management abandoning their abundance of alternate uniforms, well the probability of that event’s occurrence is slim. So I guess that more than providing constructive advice as for how you fans can right and obvious wrong, I am just giving you a piece of my mind on an issue that really bothers me.
I am though curious as to what other peoples’ opinions of alternate uniforms are. I would appreciate it greatly if I could get some feedback on what all of your opinions are on alternate uniforms, in particular, if you have any specific examples of particularly agitating alternate uniforms that you can think of. I look forward to reading your feedback. Until next time, I’m out….

The Retro Jersey

2007-09-09T08:57:00.001-07:00

For as long as I can remember—well 4 years anyway—one of my personal style trademarks has been that I always wear all white Nike sneakers. Twice annually, I set out to find new white Nike sneakers that while appearing similar to many, are actually VERY different shoes. Of late, I have found that Champs Sports on the first floor of the Rockaway Mall in Rockaway New Jersey—they didn’t even pay me to say that—offers a great selection of white Nike sneakers—and white shoe polish! But this summer, when I made my semi-annual run to Champs Sports, I actually took time to look throughout the store and not just at the shoes. I had always known that the store is engulfed in sports jerseys, but what I kind of thought was odd was that the most prevalent jersey in the store was an old-time Lawrence Taylor jersey. Even though I’m not much of a football fan, even I know that LT hasn’t played a game in well over a decade. I then began to examine an unbelievable phenomenon that has been present in sports stores throughout recent years, Retro Jerseys.
Besides the numerous #56 LT jerseys in Rockaway, there were many Retro Jerseys. I mean there were Joe Namath jerseys, San Diego Charger powder blue jerseys (from the 1970s), and even ugly Houston Astro snow-cone style jerseys. I mean, more than current jerseys, the store was packed with Retro Jerseys.
I am not immune to being attracted to these old-time jerseys. I remember a night last winter when I was out at an Islander game at Nassau Coliseum and saw a retro Mike Bossy jersey up for sale. Considering that I had often worn Bossy’s #22 in tribute when I played hockey growing up, I was immediately interested in purchasing the former-sniper’s old jersey. But then when I saw the price tag! It was over $300! A non-used, non-signed jersey of a player who hasn’t played a game in over 20 years. As much of a shopping addict as I am, even I realized that this would be an insane buy which even I couldn’t make. And when looking at the LT jerseys and the Namath jerseys, I realized something very interesting; they are just as expensive, if not MORE expensive than current jerseys. Immediately, I thought to myself, “Wow, they really have found another market to make money.”
While I balked at making the alluring Mike Bossy purchase, there are many people who do spend their hard earned pay check on these old time jerseys. I mean, I wear an Islander jersey when I go to Islander games and I wear a Met jersey when I go to Mets game, but really, wearing a jersey that the team itself has not worn in years or of representing a player who hasn’t played a game in many years at least seemed a little silly to me. But then I thought again.
There are only so many David Wright or Michael Strahan jerseys that can be sold. I mean after a while, although each of these players sells millions of jerseys, eventually, people want to be a little different. Or maybe, when a fan reaches his 20s or 30s—and beyond—the players of today are not able to gain that importance to a fan that their childhood heroes had to them. Really, Champs Sports and all of these stores are not selling retro jerseys, they are selling nostalgia. I mean, on the flip side, I would get a bit of a laugh if I saw a 50-something Mets fan wearing a Jose Reyes jersey. But I wouldn’t think twice if I saw that same fan wearing a Tom Seaver jersey. And because even in the 60s, Tom Seaver jerseys were not sold—selling jerseys wasn’t yet a market—for that 50 something Met fan to wear a Tom Seaver jersey in 2007, it would have to have been made and purchased at some point in the 21st century.
I think this is a fantastic marketing campaign that allows people to honor their favorite players. But where the money wasting aspect comes into play is when people wear jerseys of players who they never even saw play. At that point, they are really just spending money on something that is apparently trendy or looks appealing in the stores. So my rant is targeted at young fans.
I am talking to the 20 something Yankee fan who wears a Babe Ruth jersey or the teenager wearing a racing stripes style Strawberry Mets jersey. I mean, act your age. You just spent a couple hundred dollars to represent a player that you never even saw play. The whole idea of retro jerseys are to allow older fans to honor their past heroes; not for a bunch of youngsters to pose as fans of players they never even saw play. I mean, that is a waste of money because quite frankly, you are not fooling anybody.
I mean, I’m thinking of buying a pin-stripe 1993-esque Bobby Bonilla Mets jersey. He hit 2 home runs in the first game I ever saw and he is still my favorite player. But if I saw a 10 year old wearing a Bobby Bonilla jersey, although that is VERY unlikely, I would be a bit ticked off. I would know right off the bat that this kid never even experienced Bobby Bonilla as a Met and I would feel that this kid was at least cheapening the righteous homage I was making to my hero.
My point is that Retro Jerseys are not complete money wasters. They can allow fans remember a time in their life which was innocent, a time in their life which they never want to forget, and I am all for that. But what is silly is when young kids wear jerseys of players they never saw play and likely know nothing of. Those people, I am afraid are just posers and based on their obvious age, they NEVER fool anybody. By wearing a jersey of a player you never saw play, well you are cheapening the tributes payed to this player by fans who did see them play and based on these facts, if you are wearing a jersey of a player you never saw play, you are not rekindling a childhood rooting interest and if you are subsequently spending significant money to partake in this practice, well you are just wasting your money. So to you youngsters, take off the Keith Hernandez jersey and go out and buy an Oliver Perez jersey or something!

P.S. Even I think wearing a Keith Hernandez jersey might be a little bit awesome!

"Happy" Labor Day

2007-09-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

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…

What is Money Wasting

2007-08-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

I’m sure all of us—yes ALL of us—have spent money on something that after the fact, we may have wished that we didn’t buy (Or maybe you know someone like this). I’m one of those people. I buy things all the time that in stores look incredibly interesting, yet when I get home and see what I actually bought, I am overwhelmingly disappointed—I do have a tendency to throw receipts away. I guess you can say that this is the 5 year old that still lives in me.
As a sports fan, I am particularly ripe for marketers’ taking as I ALWAYS find it necessary to own the latest edition of everything to do with my sports and my favorite teams when it comes to jerseys, hats, shirts, equipment, etc.—except I still use an old school wooden hockey stick! But as one of these fans with an obsession for being always up to date with what is new and exciting, I waste lots of money. But mind you, I am not a blind babe in the woods who doesn’t realize that I have been dooped, I am rather ever conscious that when I am buying the things I buy, I even understand many times before hand that later I will regret this purchase. I guess I just can’t control myself!
I know I am not the only person in the world with this problem. If I wasn’t the only person with this problem, then sports’ entities wouldn’t so commonly assemble new money taking weapons of destruction—“items” in simpleton’s terms—that seem ever so appealing upon first viewing.
Oh sorry, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dan Marrazza and I am a 20 year old sports media major at Ithaca College. And if you haven’t been able to tell, allow me to confess, I am a shopaholic. For any problem, I guess the first step in solving it is understanding and admitting that you have a problem. I admit it and accept it, I have a shopping problem. But while this is the first step to solving any problem, I understand that my shopping problem is by no means a curable ailment. It is who I am. But while I understand that I am an incurable patient of shopping addiction, I, with this very blog, am set to educate my readers to the best for my ability as to what marketers’ schemes and what particular items of potential interest are obviously money traps. I, as being victimized many times over understand when these schemes are present, and I am set to uncover them. So fret no more, I am here now and you, a target of marketers, is about to be saved…at least if I am successful.
I encounter these marketing schemes all the time, so I have plenty to get off of my chest. So, with this blog, each week, I will introduce you to a new topic that you may or may not be aware of and with this, together, we can save some potential victims of the dastardly marketer’s scheme to thicken their own wallet at your expense.
To give you a tiny preview as to what you can expect to read, in this blog you can expect to read about professional teams additions of alternate uniforms—hats and jerseys, bobblehead dolls featuring the likeness of individual players, and even the National Hockey League’s decision to develop a new type of jersey for the 2007-08 season that while being of different material, feel, and appearance, also is seeing at least a dozen National Hockey League teams—my beloved Islanders included—completely change the style of their jersey and in even a few cases, of how teams have gone as far to completely change their logo.
My point is that as new jerseys and as new bobbleheads are introduced, sports fans clamor to own the entire collection and as sports fans get closer to obtaining the entire collection of any given item, their money supply gets lesser and lesser as marketers money supplies gets bigger and bigger.
So sit tight and before you buy something—before you buy anything!—it has become your duty to become educated—or you can read what I have to say—and aware of what is going on around you so you can beat this perhaps deadly epidemic of shopping addiction. And hey, if you can beat this epidemic—or even if you can’t—don’t hesitate to start educating others of these evil powers that be of money sucking prowess because if we as shopping addicts can some together as one pathetic group of individuals hoping to maintain their paycheck, then perhaps, we can all make progress and maybe even prevent more marketing schemes from being launched.
So stay tuned, and if you have experiences that are relevant to what I have to say, then by all means, post comments on my blog. Comments promote awareness, and awareness cures shopping addicts!