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Notre Dame Football: Let’s Talk About Selling Tickets to Georgia Bulldogs Fans

There’s going to be a lot of tantalizing offers. If you’ve got an extra, do you sell?

NCAA Football: Temple at Notre Dame Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Bulldogs fans are invading South Bend this weekend. And with a visitor’s allotment of just 8,000 tickets, demand among Bulldogs fans for seats in Notre Dame Stadium far outstrips supply.

The cheapest ticket on SeatGeek is $554, which is nearly six times the face value of that upper tier seat. The most expensive ticket currently is $2,498. Anyone who purchases that seat is paying 8 times more than the $300 face value.

So let me raise the question: Under what circumstances, if any, is it permissible for a Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan to sell their tickets to a Bulldogs supporter?

I couldn’t conceive of such a scenario in 2000, when I entered Notre Dame Stadium with my student ticket and was floored by how much red I saw.

I was angry.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had an estimated 25,000 fans inside the stadium, which means at least 21,000 Notre Dame fans had sold their tickets to Huskers faithful.

View of Team Prayer

Those 21,000 greedy bastards had robbed my team of its home-field advantage, and I blamed the Irish’s narrow defeat at the hands of the No. 1 team, in part, to that greed. (With the hindsight of age, Notre Dame’s offense was putrid that day.)

Now I’m older. I love attending Notre Dame games and rarely, if ever, have extra tickets. If I do, there’s inevitably a guy or girl at our tailgate that is looking for one. I sell it for face value and don’t think twice about it. When I went to the Texas Longhorns game last year, I bought two tickets from a Notre Dame fan at a tailgate. He charged me face value and I gladly paid it.

But I’ve got to be honest: If I had a $300 Georgia ticket — which I don’t — and a Bulldogs fan wanted my ticket for 8.3 times face value, I’d sell it to him and have no second thoughts. As a dad of two and a husband, $2,500 would probably pay for most of a nice vacation to Disney World.

Yes, that makes me selfish.

Yes, that makes me greedy.

But I don’t feel that my obligation to fellow Notre Dame fans outweighs my desire to provide something nice for my family. I also happen to think “home field advantage” is a nebulous term that can’t be quantified, which helps me justify my position because I don’t feel like I’m directly responsible for my team winning or losing. (Of course, 21,000 people thinking exactly as I do now is how we got the Nebraska scenario.)

Now, a disclaimer: My opinion is likely a little-held one and does not represent the views of One Foot Down or the other writers.

So let’s do a couple of polls and let’s discuss this in the comments.

Scenario #1: You purchased a $95 upper tier ticket, but your buddy bailed on you. So it’s an extra. A Georgia fan stands in front of you, offering $95. A Notre Dame fan is also there, but only has $50. Who do you sell to?

Poll

Scenario #1

This poll is closed

  • 18%
    Sell the extra to the Georgia fan for $95.
    (215 votes)
  • 81%
    Sell the extra to the Notre Dame fan for $50.
    (941 votes)
1156 votes total Vote Now

Scenario #2: You purchased a $95 upper tier ticket, which is now an extra. A Georgia fan is offering $190 for it or you can give it to a broke Notre Dame fan for free. What do you do?

Poll

Scenario #2

This poll is closed

  • 49%
    Sell the extra to the Georgia fan for $190.
    (552 votes)
  • 50%
    Give it to the Notre Dame fan for free.
    (566 votes)
1118 votes total Vote Now

Scenario #3: You have a $300 preferred ticket, which is now an extra. A Georgia fan is offering you $1,500 for it. A Notre Dame fan is offering $300. Who do you sell it to?

Poll

Scenario #3

This poll is closed

  • 65%
    Sell the extra to the Georgia fan for $1,500.
    (727 votes)
  • 34%
    Sell the extra to the Notre Dame fan for $300.
    (391 votes)
1118 votes total Vote Now

Scenario #4: You have a $300 preferred ticket, which is now an extra. A Georgia fan is offering you $3,000 for it. A Notre Dame fan will give you $400. Who do you sell it to?

Poll

Scenario #4

This poll is closed

  • 79%
    Sell the extra to the Georgia fan for $3,000.
    (869 votes)
  • 20%
    Sell the extra to the ND fan for $400.
    (227 votes)
1096 votes total Vote Now

Poll

What is your general opinion about re-selling an extra ticket?

This poll is closed

  • 35%
    I want to maximize the price I get, regardless of the rooting interest of the buyer.
    (361 votes)
  • 47%
    I will always sell to someone who roots for my team instead of someone who roots for the opponent, assuming I can at least receive back what I originally paid for it.
    (484 votes)
  • 16%
    I will always sell to someone who roots for my team instead of someone who roots for the opponent, regardless if I have to lose money to do it.
    (171 votes)
1016 votes total Vote Now