Days like these I hate technology

Today is one of the most exciting and most frustrating days of the year for north side Chicago residents like myself – the day single-game Cubs tickets go on sale. It’s exciting because even for people like me who aren’t massive Cubs fans, a day at Wrigley Field is a ton of fun. But it’s also frustrating because there is no good way to distribute tickets in an orderly fashion given the demand for tickets. So this first weekend when tickets are on sale ends up being a mad dash all over the city with people using multiple phone lines, multiple computers at their workplace and even friends from out of state to try and secure those coveted tickets to the weekend series* against the White Sox and St. Louis.

Even more irritating is how the Cubs try to be “fair” by using a completely random selection process to decide who gets access to the ticket purchasing section of the website. So when you access the site, instead of getting to actually buy tickets, you are put into this “Virtual Waiting Room” page that auto-refreshes every 30 seconds or so. But instead of taking you on a first come, first served basis, the system just picks people at random who are allowed to actually leave the waiting room and buy tickets. So I’ve been in the “waiting tomb” all morning and gotten nothing. And five games have already sold out. Oh well, looks like it’s another season of Tuesday night games and Sundays for me once things calm down in a week or so. I wonder if they have sensors that can tell that I’m just another regular-guy boring fan who:

  1. Doesn’t pick fights
  2. Doesn’t drink until I puke
  3. Won’t urinate all over neighborhood front lawns after the game
  4. Isn’t a Lincoln Park Trixie, with their midriff-baring tops, tight shorts, and proclivity for talking on cell phones through the entire game

And because I don’t fit into one of the stereotypical categories, I’m continually getting left in the waiting room by some sort of evil algorithm. Damn you evil algorithm!!!

Otherwise, this weekend will probably be uneventful. Prepping for a board committee meeting for my theater company and picking the GF up from the airport when she gets back into town. Maybe I’ll head over to the ticket outlet down the street and see what’s left tomorrow morning.

* What’s plural of “series”? Serieses? Seriii?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi! :) You've been tagged.

5s:

1) 5 Things You Can’t Do
2) 5 Things You Can Do
3) 5 Things That Scare You
4) 5 Things You Love
5) 5 Things You Hate
6) 5 Random Facts About You
7) 5 Things You Want To Do Before You Die
grrrbear said…
UPDATE: After a mere 4.5 hours in the vitrual waiting room I just scored 4 tickets to an actual Saturday day game.

Of course, now I'm full of buyers remorse because had I picked a Sunday game I probably would have got better seats. The ones I did get are *WAY* upper deck.

Back in the waiting tomb again as we speak, hoping for a second chance.
grrrbear said…
Oh, and Ms. Danielle Lombard (if that is your real name) your tags have no effect on me...

I'm rubber you're glue, whatever you tag me with bounces off me and sticks to you!
KC said…
Glad to hear that you finally got some tickets! I've got friends coming from St. Louis so be sure to treat 'em nice, huh?

I'm on the board of directors of St. Louis Shakespeare. What theatre do you work with?
OleNelson said…
What's more boring? Waiting in a virtual waiting room for 4.5 hours to attain baseball tickets? Or actually sitting through an entire baseball game? Tough call.

Of course, I've discovered a newfound fascination for curling. So I can't really make fun of boring sports anymore.
grrrbear said…
I agree that watching baseball is usually pretty dull. But watching a game at Wrigley isn't about watching the game, it's about drinking and being outside and screaming crazily when someone notices that something exciting has happened. This is one of the reasons Sox fans hate Cubs fans, they view us as boors with no appreciation for the game.

By the way, I ended up with tickets to 14 Cubs games. Yeah, I wasn't expecting to get that many, but it was such a rush to find myself suddenly getting out of the virtual waiting room so easily, I couldn't stop myself!

Good thing I'll be able to donate a bunch to the Theater Company's benefit silent auction. Mmm...tax deduction...