Quit Selling Your F'in Tickets to Opposing Fans @ssholes
How many times have your entered the Verizon Center to see your Georgetown Hoyas play in front of a home crowd and been blinded by the amount of Syracuse Orange, Notre Dame Green or Duke Blue in the stands. How many times have you heard the student section get drowned out by chants of opposing fans, whether against Pittsburgh, UConn or even Illinois and that horrific ILL-INI cheer? As a season ticket holder, I dread going to my section every game, fully knowing that it will be filled with opposing fans who bought their tickets from unprincipled and dishonorable alumni and Hoya fans looking to turn a quick profit off of their seats. And because of their lack of integrity, Georgetown has never had nor will never have a true home court advantage.
Now I understand that it is nearly impossible to fill a 20,000 person arena with Georgetown fans alone, and that it is unfair to shut out opposing fans from games. But that is what the 400 section is for. I have been to countless road games and the only time I had remotely good seats were at Madison Square Garden. I am fine with walking into Verizon and seeing the upper deck not colored Blue and Gray - but not the row in front of me; not the lower bowl.
Tickets for the Duke game do not go on sale to the general public until January 4th. The only people in possession of tickets right now are season ticket holders - students, alums and fans who donate to the Hoya Hoop Club and receive packaged tickets. Even alums who submitted requests for individual tickets through the Hoya Ticket Office have yet to be notified or sent tickets. Yet, over 400 tickets are currently for sale through StubHub, half of which are for the lower bowl.
A quick look at the tickets up for sale on StubHub shows a disappointing trend. The same opportunistic assholes that are selling their tickets for Duke are also selling their tickets for the other major home games. Of the people selling their Duke tickets, over 80% are selling their tickets to UConn and Villanova, and nearly 70% are selling their tickets to Syracuse. Over 60% are selling their tickets to all four games, while nearly 85% are selling their tickets to three out of the four (always including Duke).
Unfortunately StubHub doesn't allow you to see the exact location of the seats until the purchase confirmation page otherwise I would definitely publish the seat locations. Regardless, next time you go to your seats take notice of the opposing fans sitting in your section and wait for the Georgetown fan to show up and then drop kick them, throw beer at them, politely voice your displeasure (after confirmation that these Hoya fans did not purchase their tickets on Stubhub).
Good talk.
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Comments
The only positive
It does make taunting opposing fans much easier when they are sitting right by you
It's not you, it's me.
Home Court Advantage
We’ll only have a true home court advantage once the Athletics Department comes to its senses and disbands the woeful football program, and injects all of those funds into the realization of a legitimate on-campus arena and athletic facilities befitting a nationally ranked powerhouse.
Casually.
Double true
Hofstra is going to be shutting its football program down today. Always good to follow their lead.
Documented
by itsallthatmatters on Dec 3, 2009 11:07 AM EST up reply actions
Holy crap
Wayne Chrebet, Marques Colston, Giovanni Carmazzi and Lance Shulters need to step in with some funding. On second thought, who cares.
by James Kannengieser on Dec 3, 2009 11:09 AM EST up reply actions
where will the jets practice now?
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 11:11 AM EST up reply actions
No sir
But I do hold season tickets and haven’t sold them to opposing fans.
Documented
by itsallthatmatters on Dec 3, 2009 12:01 PM EST up reply actions
Nor Do I
Sell to other fans.
Lay off Hoya Footbal. I know where your new seats are. You might be wearing a Peroni on Saturday at around 4:12
Blip
by JahidiLikesPie on Dec 3, 2009 4:12 PM EST up reply actions
CasualHoya
Run for GUSA President!!!
Blip
by JahidiLikesPie on Dec 3, 2009 11:21 AM EST up reply actions
Adult Beverages
You realize you wouldn’t even get 5 minutes into the second half to get beer if the on campus arena were to happen right? Most likely you’d (as would I) be at the Tombs before the game trying to get one more in before you went to the AOL on campus arena and before you know it when you arrive it’s already halftime. For some reason I need beer while at the games. Kind of like playing softball, it doesn’t work without beer.
by iheartgregmonroe on Dec 3, 2009 11:39 AM EST up reply actions
The problem is that many of these season ticket holding “Georgetown fans” are actually scalpers. That’s why they’re selling their tickets to all the games.
What are these assertions!?
by DHB Enterprises on Dec 3, 2009 10:28 AM EST reply actions
true of the 400 section
but all seats in 100/200 require donation to hoya hoop club – doubt the scalpers are doing that.
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 10:41 AM EST up reply actions
I’m sure that some are though. You can probably make up the donation from selling tickets for a few big games online, and then make some more cash from selling the lesser ones on the street before games.
What are these assertions!?
by DHB Enterprises on Dec 3, 2009 10:46 AM EST reply actions
how about not issuing paper tickets
all tickets emailed in pdf the day before the game.
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 10:52 AM EST up reply actions
Counterpoint
With all the $$$ made from selling tickets you can go to a cheap bar and drink to your heart’s content during the game, which isn’t possible in the Verizon Center due to high prices and the 15 minute cutoff.
by James Kannengieser on Dec 3, 2009 11:07 AM EST reply actions
However
I would never sell a ticket to this game.
by James Kannengieser on Dec 3, 2009 11:07 AM EST up reply actions
ILL Seats
I figure that Illini comment was made just so I would respond. I didnt remember the date so I googles it…Dec. 9, 2004 No. 1 Illinois 74, Georgetown 59 (The Rev led the Illini with 19 Points that night).
If DC were not over 10 hours away from Champaign and it wasn’t right before finals I would have been sure to be one of those opposing fans buying a ticket. However, I totally agree with you Student Seats and Fan sections are for Fans of the home team. If you are not a fan then buy season tickets in the upper deck and go ahead and scalp away. A simple way for your school to regulate these tickets is to check STUDENT IDS, just like most schools do. It would be pretty obvious if a fan walks in wearing the opposing teams colors to know he is not a student of G’town. At that point you take their ticket point them up to the top row, and say you have a seat up there. You can do a nice Fed-Ex Seat Upgrade for the G’town that actually has those shitty seats.
G’town should advertise its ability to sell Beer at games unlike other major programs with arenas on campus.
And even though I didn’t get a chance to watch the game, great comeback win for the Illini last night not like anyone who reads this blog cares about it.
Nightmare game
That ILL – INI chant has to be the most grating in college athletics. Probably even worse than WVU’s “Let’s Go Mountaineers.”
Documented
by itsallthatmatters on Dec 3, 2009 11:09 AM EST up reply actions
Criminals
The ‘U-C-O-N-N…UConn UConn UConn’ chant is right up there.
Wasn’t heard very often when we played them up in Storrs last season.
Casually.
You-Con
They tried to start it once or twice, but I like to think I personally drowned them out shouting “You SUCK” at the end. Long night in Hartford for the Huskies.
What are these assertions!?
by DHB Enterprises on Dec 3, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions
You were right
No one cares about IL here. Unless they are beating UMCP.
Blip
by JahidiLikesPie on Dec 3, 2009 11:18 AM EST up reply actions
ILL
The issue isn’t people infiltrating the student section. It’s with people buying reserved seats and selling them to opposing fans.
What are these assertions!?
by DHB Enterprises on Dec 3, 2009 11:39 AM EST up reply actions
although
two student are selling their tix to uconn
not the norm by any means, however
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 11:52 AM EST up reply actions
Alumni
don’t have student ID’s – the student section isn’t the problem.
by iheartgregmonroe on Dec 3, 2009 11:40 AM EST up reply actions
its about time
This article has been a long time coming..it’s good to see this serious issue is getting addressed. I mentioned this problem briefly in my article, “What I’ve Gathered After Just Two Games,” and it truly is absurd. I don’t get care whether its disloyal fans selling or scalpers that have no relation to the school. What I do care about is that fact that the school does nothing to insure a home court advantage. The Georgetown Athletic program should have a mechanism or some sort of strategy in assuring the 100 and 200 sections are donned in Blue and Gray. It is essential to have primarily Georgetown fans in these sections. Tickets to opponents should be sold strictly in the upper tier of the 400 section.
And for those of you who are alums and are selling your tickets for a profit because you somehow came to the assumption that “we aren’t a good team this year” or “we are not going to beat those teams so I’m gonna sell my tickets,” well shame on you. You are part of the problem why we don’t have a home court advantage. I would love to have 100 section season tickets and for you to sell them off for a profit is simply pathetic. It goes to show you that alot of these “fans” don’t know squat about college basketball or the parity that is involved in it. Georgetown can and will beat some of these teams this year, even with your lack of support.
There’s nothing better then when I run into a true Hoya fan at a bar or at Verizon, when watching a game. But there’s nothing worse then meeting a phony. The minute you meet them, you can instantly realize they don’t know anything about the team or even the current game being watched. They are there for show and that is all.
phony hoya fans are needed
to fill the stadium. i dont care if they dont know names, numbers, stats. as long as they cheer and dont sell their tix
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 12:36 PM EST up reply actions
agreed
obviously that’s fine. I don’t mind phony fans that KEEP their tickets and go to the games….I just dislike the type of “fan” that will sell their tickets on the assumption that we aren’t good just because we didn’t receive a top ten preseason ranking or something like that. These types of dudes are fake.
by Phil Mufarrij on Dec 3, 2009 1:40 PM EST up reply actions
agree
I didnt ever go to Georgetown but I have been a die hard fan since I could walk and talk. I drive from Philadelphia for every home game for the past 10 years. The only thing I cant stand being a die hard is the lack of loyal fans. We are almost always out numbered for our big games. I know the school population isnt that big and the arena is huge but seriously. SHOW PRIDE IN YOUR SCHOOL abd the DC, GEORGETOWN COMMUNITY.
wow
That’s serious dedication, especialy since Jay Wright and his Foppish Dandies at Villanova are much closer to Philly than DC.
If you’re at the game on Saturday, let us know and we’ll buy you a Peroni (so long as it’s not after 15 minute mark in the 2nd half, because then we cannot since we are barred by the fan-friendly Verizon Center.)
Casually.
Colors
I also think that we should promote a uniform color for fans to wear. The decision to tell people to wear both blue and grey, while politically correct for anyone who still thinks the Civil War is going on, does not show uniformity. Before coming to Georgetown, I attended Rutgers football games and the tickets say “Wear Red” and the ENTIRE stadium is in red, and that is really impressive. We should tell people to wear blue, or tell people to wear grey, but not both.
tickets for the duke game
are printed with gray border and have text saying "wear gray to the game"
was very pleased when i received that in the mail. just wish they would do it for big east games. duke, while a big game, mainly becasue everyone has an annoying duke fan working in their office mailroom, is not a conference game
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 2:29 PM EST up reply actions
Section 101
This is my fourth year with Section 101 season tickets and even in the section behind the Georgetown bench there are issues. The guy who has the 4 seats next to mine consistently brings friends who are fans of the opposing team.
I would guess that he was completely shunned during his years on the hilltop (otherwise there would be no reason to be friends with anyone from cuse, nova, or duke). Without fail, those are three more opposing fans to every home game.
by Pride of Belarus on Dec 3, 2009 4:50 PM EST reply actions
layer his seat with krazy glue
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 4:59 PM EST up reply actions
Great Post
Thank you for this post. Definitely needed to be raised, and appreciate any effort at publicly shaming fans who betray the team. students have done such a wonderful job in the last few years raising the level of fan solidarity. We owe it to them to do the same.
Hopefully, the online ticket manager available to season ticket holders will be helpful here. At a minimum unused tix can be forwarded to athletic dept to ensure they go to G’town fans.
I heard from a fellow alum that a Duke alum who is a partner in his law firm buys a season ticket package every year just to guarantee himself tix to the Duke game and then gives the rest away or sells them. Is that possible?
Correction
I guess the law partner buys tix every year and has used Duke game for 2 of last 4. Wishful thinking that we hosted Puke at home every year.
lot of money to play
for 2 games in five years – we didnt have the home/home in ‘07-’08
how does ticket office discourage scalping? increase donation? make buying tickets a multi-year commitment with the majority of the donation up front?
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 7:22 PM EST up reply actions
Carrier Dome
Just saying the Carrier Dome fills with >30,000 SU fans…
Is there even anything else to do in Syracuse, NY?
Oh yea…I hear LeMoyne has a powerhouse squad this year.
by TheDoctorIsIn on Dec 3, 2009 8:19 PM EST up reply actions
cuse has 4x the student population of gtown
AND is in the middle of no where. what is the closest landmark – the auburn prison?
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 3, 2009 8:31 PM EST up reply actions
'Cuse fan here.
Only been to one game in the Booth, that was the Gmac 3-pointer to win. I remember such a non-home court advantage for you guys. I think some of it has to do with it not being on campus, as well as so many other schools being in the DC/Baltimore area.
I’m here to offer support because I remember a-hole Cuse STUDENTS selling tickets to their friends from other schools…which is fine when that school is Cornell.
But I once had to sit next to a full family of UConn fans who were brought in by their son, a Cuse student, who himself came in Husky garb.
In terms of other attractions, Dinosaur BBQ and Armory Square.
Other than that, that’s about it. You hit the nail on the head. In winter in Upstate NY. Aint nothin else to do.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
Also, I think that since a much higher percentage of your student base are graduate students,
many of their allegiances have already been placed elsewhere.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
tis true
over 50% of georgetown’s student population is comprised of grad. students
sucks because they are the ones that are able to receive subsidized tickets.
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 4, 2009 2:37 PM EST up reply actions
Syracuse sucks
And so do you
It's not you, it's me.
by JGD on Dec 4, 2009 2:56 PM EST up reply actions
Attendance
When discussing attendance at Big East arenas, namely Syracuse and Georgetown, I have repeatedly heard the retort “Syracuse is in the middle of nowhere, what else is there to do?” like that is somehow an excuse for Georgetown’s poor attendance. By no means am I going to argue that point- it is spot on. But it definitely begs the question- What important things are you doing on any given Saturday afternoon or Tuesday evening that prevent you from showing support for your team?
Seriously, where were you on Monday night when the Hoyas were playing Mt. St Mary’s in front of a thunderous 7,600 at the Verizon Center? How many times a week could you possibly take in a museum, go to the opera, or attend Georgetown’s distinguished lecture series? And if you honestly consider yourself a true fan, wouldn’t you try to pack all the things that you cultured people do into the 8 months each year that the Hoyas are not in season? I did hear that those 7,600 were so loud it felt like there were 9,000 there… That Verizon Center gets crazy.
For the sake of comparison, Syracuse had 18,500 for 0-6 Colgate and 20,000 for Ivy League powerhouse Columbia
And Syracuse has 18,000 students to Georgetown’s 13,000, graduates included. Just a hair under 4x
Well played
A very good point. Museums suck anyway.
It's not you, it's me.
by JGD on Dec 4, 2009 4:18 PM EST up reply actions
BUT....
(1) Cuse students don’t sell out the Dome, townies do. DC does not have townies.
The striking thing about DC is that the majority of people that live in the area do not call it home. I live in DC, work in DC, went to school in DC, but if asked where I am from – I’ll say New York, where my family resides. Given the chance to watch a Yanks game on TV or watch the Wizards play live, I’ll pick the former.
(2) The city of Syracuse is Syracuse University. There is only one team to root for, much like Columbus, Happy Valley, Madison a host of other schools. Syracuse, despite being private, has more similarities to a large state school than it does to a private institution, athletically speaking.
The city of Washington DC is not Georgetown. if you are from DC, it does not mean you are a Georgetown fan by any means. There are competing programs within miles of Georgetown.
(3) Graduate students at Georgetown do not live on campus. The majority live off campus or in Virginia. The law school does not have classes on campus. Syracuse graduate students are mixed in with undergrad, or they are at least close by.
SOOO… the argument that there is “nothing else to do” applies to the general population. A person in Syracuse has the option of going to the Dome for a Monday game or watching on TV. A person in DC has the option of going to a Hoya game on Tuesday, a Caps game on Wednesday, a Wizards game on Thursday, a Skins game on Sunday, a Ravens game Monday night. They are not going to do all, they are not going to do most, they are going to pick one. The optionality is what creates the problem.
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 4, 2009 4:48 PM EST up reply actions
Very well played
Hire Esherick – 1
knomsayin – 0
It's not you, it's me.
by JGD on Dec 4, 2009 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
Good points, but...
Before I address Craig’s weak counter, I would like to survey the Hoya faithful.
How many of you have 2nd favorite teams? As in “I’m a Georgetown fan, but my 2nd favorite team is _” Insert UNC, Notre Dame, Duke, UConn here. I was in the Garden a few weeks back watching Syracuse dismember the reigning National Champs and I encountered countless numbers of these fans. You may laugh, but I anticipate that this blog has an abnormally high rate of them.
On to your response, sounds like much more of the same- Excuses.
1) DC most certainly has townies. Just because they don’t go to the games doesn’t mean DC doesn’t have them. Take some time to venture out of NW DC, it’s a whole different experience and there are plenty of townies.
The actual city is about 4x as large and the metropolitan area is 10x the size of Syracuse. Here’s a thought- maybe nobody comes because the games are painful? Could it have something to do with the fact that 3 runs the most unexciting offense since the introduction of the shot clock? I’d rather go watch Georgetown Prep’s girls JV team. Insert your lame joke about how I like to watch high school girls. But seriously, they play a far more exciting brand of basketball.
2) Can’t really argue this point on the Syracuse end, BUT again the Hoyas draw from a metropolitan area that is home to 8 MILLION PEOPLE. Are you saying that GW, Mason, and American have stolen all the fans? In reality the Hoyas compete with MD for 8 millions fans. Pretty good odds.
I’m no city planner, but aren’t metropolitan areas designed to facilitate easy access in and out of a city? DC essentially has 8 million people that can get to the city in an hour. There is public transportation that drops off and picks up UNDERNEATH THE ARENA. There are also how many million people that commute to DC every day for work? Again I’m no city planner, but as far as I can tell these things should have a positive effect on attendance. You want to go to a game at the Dome, you drive- usually through the snow, you wait in traffic, you park, you walk up the hill in sub zero temps and do the same on the way out.
3) I think you’re vastly overstating the impact of graduate students on attendance. And even if you weren’t overstating the impact of grad students on arena atmosphere, you do understand that the law school is a 7 iron away from the Verizon Center? There is a Georgetown residence hall 4 blocks away. I would think this would fall in the category of things that have a positive effect on attendance, maybe that’s just me.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but basically what your ‘Optionality’ theory says is that Georgetown Basketball lacks true fans. These fans, given the opportunity, would rather go watch the Wizards or the Skins or the Ravens. I myself am a huge Yankees fan, but if I had to choose between a Yankee game and a Syracuse game, I’d go Syracuse every time. The same obviously holds true for a team that I am casually to not interested in. If someone told me I get to go to the Celtics game this week but I’d have to skip my trip to watch Syracuse play at the garden, it’s a no-brainer.
Thank you for strengthening my argument that Georgetown fans lack any real loyalty.
Student Populations: MD vs. GU
Georgetown Grad students are, generally, not as loyal to Georgetown athletics. A fair amount of them are not undergraduate alums and many are either older, have jobs (night classes – no weekday games) or are international students. It is not unrealistic to estimate the student body as not much larger than undergraduate total (somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000 tops).
Also, almost as many GU alums live in NYC as live in DC eliminating them from the game attending population (along with the other students that move everywhere else after graduation). Meanwhile, Maryland, without a doubt the most popular school in the DC area (whether we like to admit it or not), has just under 20,000 (or about 3x the total game attending population of Georgetown students). This doesn’t even take into account the graduate student population (which, I don’t think generally helps attendance either way, but it has been discussed here). By default, this gives Maryland far more people in the area, rooting for them. This doesn’t even mention the fact that people FROM EVERYWHERE move to DC after graduating from college. It is a destination city for jobs, much like LA, NYC or Chicago. People in Syracuse are most likely to either be from there or have gone to school there (and therefore far more likely to be Syracuse fans than a typical DC-area resident is to be a Georgetown fan).
Georgetown doesn’t lack true fans. There simply aren’t as many fans period. Smaller school, bigger city. Georgetown is not competing with only fans of local schools. It competes with the alma maters of the rest of DC’s population.
And never accuse those of us on here about lacking loyalty. We remained fans through the Craig Esherick era. That defines loyalty.
"It was almost like if Harry didn't call it, it wasn't real." - Jayson Stark
SB Nation
Aggressive response lacking substance. Typical of a Cuse fan.
Hypothetical scenario here:
I move to Manhattan, Kansas and I am a big sports fan. I love going to see live sports, regardless of who is playing, and would like to support the home team. My options are… wait for it, keep waiting, KSU athletics. Nothing else. Now insert Syracuse, NY where I originally wrote Manhattan, Kansas.
Now instead I move to Washington, DC. My options are Georgetown, GW, Maryland, American, George Mason, James Madison, Wizards, Capitals, Redskins, Nationals, Orioles, Ravens. It is spread across multiple sports. And that is not to say you can’t be a fan of many sports, but assuming monetary constraints, I can’t attend every game. This is why Georgetown had 7,000 people against Mount St. Mary’s on a Monday night, but 20,000 against Pitt on a Saturday, last year. Syracuse, does not have that problem, people go to whoever they play because there is nothing else to cheer for.
Now to your numbered comments:
1) I have ventured outside NW DC, thanks. Any yes townies come to Georgetown games, but they also spend their money dedicated to sports doing other stuff (see above). Syracuse townies do not have that problem because there is nothing else to do.
2) I can see you are no city planner along with a lot of other things. Yes public transportation drops people off outside the stadium, when they come for big games. But for non big games, metro-area residents do other stuff (see above). Syracuse townies do not have that problem, because there is nothing else to do.
3) Graduate students have no effect on attendance – I bet the same percentage of grad students don’t go at Syracuse as at Georgetown. But of Gtown’s total student population, a higher amount are graduate students, over 50%. Around 30% are at Cuse. So by applying the same principle to both schools, more of Georgetown’s total population doesn’t attend games because more are grad students. I guess I should be angry at Gtown for having so many damn grad programs right?
The optionality theory does not state that Georgetown lacks true fans. It is that living in the city of Washington DC and liking sports DOES NOT make you an automatic Georgetown fan. Living in Syracuse and liking sports DOES. That is why the Carrier Dome sells out against Cornell – there is NOTHING else to do. I wouldn’t call them true Syracuse fans, I would call them bored Syracuse residents.
To your example about Yankees and Syracuse – if you lived in Columbus, OH, would you go to an OSU basketball game or watch the Yankees on TV. You failed to grasp the comparison.
Thank you for strengthening my argument that Cuse fans are morons.
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 4, 2009 7:19 PM EST up reply actions
and before you incorrectly respond
both hypothetical situations assume I am a graduate of UCLA. Don’t care for any team in Manhattan, KS, Syracuse, NY or Washington DC.
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Dec 4, 2009 7:21 PM EST up reply actions
I may not agree with everything Knomsayin says
But he has a casual avatar
Documented
by itsallthatmatters on Dec 4, 2009 8:08 PM EST up reply actions
Hey knomsayin
Take your weenie arguin’ self over to an Orange board.
not even sure how we got to the point of dc residents
the original post was about db alums and scalpers selling tix on stubhub
Good talk.

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