Chiefs BRC is no longer a "real" fan.

**BigRedChief** · 06-09-2008, 03:42 PM

Edited version of my email to the chiefs........................

After being on the season ticket waiting list for 4 years I finally became a season ticket holder in 1996. Back then 3 season tickets cost me $1,113. This year’s bill was $2,604. By the time you tally in parking, gas to and from the games the yearly bill easily exceeds $3,000. That doesn’t even include tailgating supplies or anything bought inside the stadium. With that kind of money I could plan a major family vacation, house improvements, and provide additional funds for college etc.etc. Spending $3,000 for something that has lost its value just doesn’t make sense to me anymore.

I’m sure that the season ticket prices will continue to go up at a rate higher than inflation and with the re-opening of the “new” Arrowhead really escalate in price. I’m not having a financial hardship. I’m still way over paid for the work that I do. There is no reason to doubt that in the future that my pay scale will continue upward. So I can afford the season tickets even the club level seats if I so chose to do so. It’s just that I don’t think it’s a good value for my family anymore.

When I have to pay for 2 pre-season games (close to $500.00) that are glorified practices it reduces the value of being a season ticket holder. I’m now unable to sell my tickets at face value to anyone. Sometimes I can’t even give them away for free. That decreases the value of being a season ticket holder.

When I try to upgrade my seats to a better location I’m told that there are no real upgrades available. I feel this is because of the Wolf pack Club program that saves lower level seats and premium upper level seats for new season ticket holders. You can pay $400 - $500 a year to join the “club” and you jump in front of me. 12 years of season tickets are worth $400 to the Chiefs. How many $1,000’s have I spent on pre-season games and down year games? Again this has de-valued being a season ticket holder.

I love tailgating. I love seeing old friends and meeting new ones on game days. The game day experience no matter if the Chiefs win or lose is always an excellent time. Year after year I have seen some hard core long time season ticket holders give up their tickets. This has taken a toll on the fervor of the fans inside Arrowhead.

These hard core fans have been replaced by people seeking social time with friends and family, co-workers and businesses rewarding employees. They love their pre-game tents with the no fuss ready to eat buffets. They will really love the new club level. Nothing wrong with this new social dynamic except that a by product of this is that they are not as committed to the team and making Arrowhead the loudest stadium in the NFL as were the fans that they replaced. And that decreases the value and fun of being a season ticket holder.

Maybe if I had no faith in King Carl to rebuild our team I’d still see a value in being a season ticket holder. King Carl deserves to be in the KC Chiefs HOF. He is directly responsible for making the Arrowhead game day experience one of the best if not the best in the NFL. But his arrogance has also brought the Chiefs down to levels that have been shameful and very distasteful to experience as a Chiefs fan.

King Carl has had 19 years to get this right but he still can’t admit mistakes. His failure to evaluate talent is why we are in the current re-building mode. His time as GM should have been up a long time ago. I feel that he has stayed on as GM because of the great business skills he has and the profit he makes for the franchise. I believe King Carl wants to win as much as any of the NFL GM’s, he just doesn’t know how. After 19 years its time to give someone else a chance.

One of the benefits of being a season ticket holder is keeping the same tickets for playoff games. One playoff game at Arrowhead in 10 years doesn’t increase the value of being a season ticket holder.

I’m optimistic about the future. The last 2 drafts have given us fans hope. I’ll still go to the games. I’ll just cherry pick the games. Home opener, Broncos, Raiders etc. Maybe in a couple of years from now when we are good again I’ll see the value in being a season ticket holder. I can just buy the rights to someone’s seat with the $6,000 that I saved from not giving that money to the Chiefs front office for 2 years. I’ll always be a Chiefs fan and shall cheer no other. It’s just that the majority of the time I’ll be doing that cheering in front of a big screen TV.

stlchiefs · 06-09-2008, 03:45 PM

Carl Lover

hawkchief · 06-09-2008, 03:46 PM

Eerily similar (only nicer) to the letter I addressed to Lamar 6 years ago.

kstater · 06-09-2008, 03:48 PM

teedubya · 06-09-2008, 03:50 PM

Good job, BRC. They will probably mail you a letter back, saying... Enjoy watching the Big Screen TV, when KCTV5 is blacked out.

**HemiEd** · 06-09-2008, 03:56 PM

Damn, BRC, that is a big step. One they should not take lightly, hopefully they will have Glen Dorsey give you a call.

**BigRedChief** · 06-09-2008, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Damn, BRC, that is a big step. One they should not take lightly, hopefully they will have Glen Dorsey give you a call.

Nzoner/JSPChief were as hard core fans/tailgators as me and they gave em up 2 years ago. Wonder if they got a call from a red coater?

siberian khatru · 06-09-2008, 04:08 PM

Luzap loves you.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 06-09-2008, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Luzap loves you.

**Rausch** · 06-09-2008, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ari Chi3fs

They will probably mail you a letter back, saying... Enjoy watching the Big Screen TV, when KCTV5 is blacked out.

Yeah, like what I need is more motivation to find a more fruitful use of my time at this point.

Getting a letter like that would just reassure me that spending the money elsewhere was a good idea...

**HemiEd** · 06-09-2008, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Nzoner/JSPChief were as hard core fans/tailgators as me and they gave em up 2 years ago. Wonder if they got a call from a red coater?

I hate seeing this change, really. The hardcore fans are the key to the small market success IMO.

**ShortRoundChief** · 06-09-2008, 05:13 PM

Geez

I wonder if Carl will get blamed for global warming if he doesn't recycle all those unopened envelopes.

**Rain Man** · 06-09-2008, 05:18 PM

I bet the ticket sales group was really concerned about this until Herm stuck his head in the door and told them to get over it.

**ShortRoundChief** · 06-09-2008, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I bet the ticket sales group was really concerned about this until Herm stuck his head in the door and told them to get over it.

It'll be alright.

It happens.

**Buehler445** · 06-09-2008, 05:52 PM

Wow BRC. Nice work. Can't blame you for finding the best value. It is a very candid look into the head of a fan. Hopefully it will not fall on deaf ears.

06-09-2008, 03:42 PM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $-561038 VARSITY	BRC is no longer a "real" fan. Edited version of my email to the chiefs........................ After being on the season ticket waiting list for 4 years I finally became a season ticket holder in 1996. Back then 3 season tickets cost me $1,113. This year’s bill was $2,604. By the time you tally in parking, gas to and from the games the yearly bill easily exceeds $3,000. That doesn’t even include tailgating supplies or anything bought inside the stadium. With that kind of money I could plan a major family vacation, house improvements, and provide additional funds for college etc.etc. Spending $3,000 for something that has lost its value just doesn’t make sense to me anymore. I’m sure that the season ticket prices will continue to go up at a rate higher than inflation and with the re-opening of the “new” Arrowhead really escalate in price. I’m not having a financial hardship. I’m still way over paid for the work that I do. There is no reason to doubt that in the future that my pay scale will continue upward. So I can afford the season tickets even the club level seats if I so chose to do so. It’s just that I don’t think it’s a good value for my family anymore. When I have to pay for 2 pre-season games (close to $500.00) that are glorified practices it reduces the value of being a season ticket holder. I’m now unable to sell my tickets at face value to anyone. Sometimes I can’t even give them away for free. That decreases the value of being a season ticket holder. When I try to upgrade my seats to a better location I’m told that there are no real upgrades available. I feel this is because of the Wolf pack Club program that saves lower level seats and premium upper level seats for new season ticket holders. You can pay $400 - $500 a year to join the “club” and you jump in front of me. 12 years of season tickets are worth $400 to the Chiefs. How many $1,000’s have I spent on pre-season games and down year games? Again this has de-valued being a season ticket holder. I love tailgating. I love seeing old friends and meeting new ones on game days. The game day experience no matter if the Chiefs win or lose is always an excellent time. Year after year I have seen some hard core long time season ticket holders give up their tickets. This has taken a toll on the fervor of the fans inside Arrowhead. These hard core fans have been replaced by people seeking social time with friends and family, co-workers and businesses rewarding employees. They love their pre-game tents with the no fuss ready to eat buffets. They will really love the new club level. Nothing wrong with this new social dynamic except that a by product of this is that they are not as committed to the team and making Arrowhead the loudest stadium in the NFL as were the fans that they replaced. And that decreases the value and fun of being a season ticket holder. Maybe if I had no faith in King Carl to rebuild our team I’d still see a value in being a season ticket holder. King Carl deserves to be in the KC Chiefs HOF. He is directly responsible for making the Arrowhead game day experience one of the best if not the best in the NFL. But his arrogance has also brought the Chiefs down to levels that have been shameful and very distasteful to experience as a Chiefs fan. King Carl has had 19 years to get this right but he still can’t admit mistakes. His failure to evaluate talent is why we are in the current re-building mode. His time as GM should have been up a long time ago. I feel that he has stayed on as GM because of the great business skills he has and the profit he makes for the franchise. I believe King Carl wants to win as much as any of the NFL GM’s, he just doesn’t know how. After 19 years its time to give someone else a chance. One of the benefits of being a season ticket holder is keeping the same tickets for playoff games. One playoff game at Arrowhead in 10 years doesn’t increase the value of being a season ticket holder. I’m optimistic about the future. The last 2 drafts have given us fans hope. I’ll still go to the games. I’ll just cherry pick the games. Home opener, Broncos, Raiders etc. Maybe in a couple of years from now when we are good again I’ll see the value in being a season ticket holder. I can just buy the rights to someone’s seat with the $6,000 that I saved from not giving that money to the Chiefs front office for 2 years. I’ll always be a Chiefs fan and shall cheer no other. It’s just that the majority of the time I’ll be doing that cheering in front of a big screen TV.
Posts: 81,254

06-09-2008, 03:45 PM	#2
stlchiefs Veteran Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: St. Loser, MO Casino cash: $10005674	Carl Lover
Posts: 4,160

06-09-2008, 03:46 PM	#3
hawkchief Veteran Join Date: Oct 2005 Casino cash: $-431400	Eerily similar (only nicer) to the letter I addressed to Lamar 6 years ago.
Posts: 1,918

06-09-2008, 03:48 PM	#4
kstater Custom User Title Join Date: Jan 2007 Casino cash: $-1553437	__________________
Posts: 40,003

06-09-2008, 03:50 PM	#5
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $9003042	Good job, BRC. They will probably mail you a letter back, saying... Enjoy watching the Big Screen TV, when KCTV5 is blacked out.
Posts: 36,826

06-09-2008, 03:56 PM	#6
HemiEd Supporter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ozarks Casino cash: $-279436	Damn, BRC, that is a big step. One they should not take lightly, hopefully they will have Glen Dorsey give you a call.
Posts: 34,809

06-09-2008, 04:08 PM	#8
siberian khatru 21st Century Schizoid Fan Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Gates of Delirium Casino cash: $-1135050	Luzap loves you.
Posts: 71,850

06-09-2008, 05:13 PM	#12
ShortRoundChief Embrace the love Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Joplin Casino cash: $4197192	Geez I wonder if Carl will get blamed for global warming if he doesn't recycle all those unopened envelopes.
Posts: 33,927

06-09-2008, 05:18 PM	#13
Rain Man Seize life. Be an ermine. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $-452449 VARSITY	I bet the ticket sales group was really concerned about this until Herm stuck his head in the door and told them to get over it. __________________ Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history.
Posts: 145,246

06-09-2008, 05:52 PM	#15
Buehler445 Supporter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Scott City KS Casino cash: $-1365266	Wow BRC. Nice work. Can't blame you for finding the best value. It is a very candid look into the head of a fan. Hopefully it will not fall on deaf ears.
Posts: 59,931