Seattle Seahawks: Does Playoff Ticket Policy Lack Class?
By Todd Pheifer
Jan 11, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks fans cheer against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of the 2013 NFC divisional playoff football game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
The Seattle Seahawks will host the NFC Championship game next Sunday at CenturyLink Field. Apparently, opposing fans are not invited. Are they ever?
A loyal fan of the San Francisco 49ers sent me a link to this story. The title of the story suggests that the Seahawks will not be selling tickets to people who have billing addresses in California or North Carolina, which would seemingly discriminate against fans of the Niners and the Carolina Panthers.
When you dig a little deeper into the article you find that the team is not excluding California and North Carolina specifically. Instead, the team is just limiting sales to the Pacific Northwest region. Now, this is a fun story and it adds fuel to the rivalry fire, particularly between the ‘Hawks and the 49ers. Unfortunately, this may be as much about the post office and availability as it is about strategic maneuvers.
I will agree that it does not appear to be classiest of moves. However, I would be curious whether this is a new policy. Based on the number of season ticket holders that the Seahawks have, it is likely that there will be very few tickets available to the general public. After all, season ticket holders get first crack at playoff tickets and I am guessing that just about all of them will go to the Clink.
Also, this policy won’t prevent fans of the Niners or the Panthers from seeing the game. Opposing fans can still get tickets on broker sites such as StubHub, which won’t have similar restrictions and might be an easier outlet to get tickets anyway. The Seahawks would know this, so if fans think the restriction is designed to thwart opposing fans, I question whether the team would be that calculating.
Besides, do you really think the city of Seattle is devoid of Niner and Panther fans? I’m guessing that in addition to Russell Wilson, there are a few Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton jerseys rolling around the Emerald City.
Now, if the team really wanted to dissuade opposing fans, the stadium would ban opposing jerseys or make all entrants swear an oath to the Seahawks as they came in the gates. Say, that isn’t a bad idea.
Enjoy the game, regardless of where your loyalties (and mailing addresses) reside.