Minnesota Vikings are Taking Advantage of Brett Favre for Preseason Ticket Sales

, Charley Walters also reported that the announcement of Favre to the Vikings is expected to come before single-game tickets go on sale July 20. Does this seem like a coincidence to increase ticket sales? It does when you hear about the only way to see Favre play his former Packers' team.

Apparently, the Vikings are requiring anyone who purchases a single-game ticket to the Vikings home matchup against the Packers on Oct. 5 (Monday Night Football) to also purchase a ticket for the preseason matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 21.

Obviously, the Vikings-Packers game will be one of the most anticipated games of the 2009 season if Favre ends up playing this season. It's not even a debate this game will sell out faster than XBox's Halo series on the first day on the market.

This requirement by the Vikings means they will be one of few teams in the NFL who actually sell out one of their preseason games. For most fans, preseason games are not nearly as exciting as regular season games. Therefore, it's rare to see die-hard fans to go out of their way to attend a preseason game for their favorite team.

From a business perspective, this is a genius move by the Vikings to make some extra revenue in ticket sales for preseason games. However, this should not be a move necessary for the Vikings to make some extra revenue.

Before last season's home-playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Vikings had a streak of 114 sellouts in a row at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, a streak that has lasted since 1998. Obviously, the Vikings should not worry about ticket sales for their regular season games.

However, it's unfair for the Vikings to take advantage of their fans by requiring them to purchase tickets for a preseason game, just to see one of the most anticipated games of the 2009 season.

We are currently part of a recession where money is tight for just about anyone living in this country. It's already going to be tough for some of us NFL fans across the country to be able to afford tickets to watch our favorite teams play live this upcoming season.

The fact that the Vikings are forcing their dedicated fans to purchase two sets of tickets in this state of the economy just, to see the game against the Packers, is nothing short of ridiculous.

Considering all of the hype surrounding a team that finished on top of the NFC North last season and the success of ticket sales since '98, there is no reason not to believe the Vikings will have any issues selling tickets this upcoming season.

Still, the Vikings and the rest of the other teams in the NFL realize how hard it's to sell preseason tickets compared to regular season tickets.

Did the Philadelphia Eagles require their fans to purchase a ticket to a preseason game when single-game tickets went on sale against the Dallas Cowboys so they could see Terrell Owens? Of course not.

Like I stated earlier, it's a smart business move for the Vikings to require their fans to purchase preseason tickets against the Chiefs, if they want to buy tickets for the Packers game.

From a die-hard fan's perspective, this just seems like an expensive investment with no guarantees.

How will the fans react if Favre fails to make his decision before the start of single-game tickets on July 20? Better yet, how will the fans react if Favre ends up staying retired because his body can't handle another 16-game season.

No matter what happens with Favre and the Vikings in the next couple of weeks, one thing is for sure; it is unfair for the organization to require fans to purchase tickets for a preseason game against the Chiefs when they really just want to attend the game against the Packers.

This article was originally posted on FantasyPros911.com

Dan Parzych covers the Eagles for www.NFLTouchdown.com and is a columnist at www.FantasyPros911.com.

You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Eagles_FanVoice.

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