Will the Wild's Sellout Streak End This Season?

A lot has been made about the Wild's sellout streak possibly ending this season.

In reality, if you pay close enough attention, I think it's just a matter of time before it eventually happens.

Let's take a look at the signs.

A quick visit to Ticketmaster and you will find that there are still countless tickets available on the lower level and club level for the home opener against Anaheim. Searching about five times for a pair of tickets in the lower level, brought me to tickets all around the lower bowl from row four in section 102 to row 13 in section 117.

Remember years past?

Just last year, the home opener sold out in just eight minutes. If you weren't one of the first people in line last year when single game tickets went on sale, you missed out. Notice how there was no similar announcement from the team this year?

I joined the Wild Warming House almost four years ago. When I joined, Wild representatives informed me that a pair of upper level end tickets could take 15+ years to obtain, as even people who joined the Warming House shortly after the Wild formed, still haven't been able to get those tickets. I was also told that upper level sides could be a ten year wait.

This summer, the Wild have called me four times offering me pairs of season tickets in the upper level sides ranging from section 203 to section 216. Much to my disappointment, I simply had to politely decline as the staggering economy has hit me as hard as anyone. Hopefully, I will be able to accept next season.

Newly introduced this season, was the introduction of "companion games," where if people wanted to purchase tickets to the October 30th game versus the New York Rangers, they also had to purchase the same exact seats for the November 18th tilt against the Phoenix Coyotes. Or, if fans wanted to purchase tickets to the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 11th, they also had to get accompanying seats for the October 28th game versus the Nashville Predators.

It's a smart move by the Wild organization, because they knew fans would want to see the return of Gaborik when the Rags come to town or Sid the Kid and the Stanley Cup Champion Pens. But it's also painfully obvious, that this was an attempt at trying to sell tickets to games that they knew fans wouldn't normally show much interest in.

If you take a quick visit to the Wild's website, advertisements about purchasing tickets are across the top of the webpage nearly every time you visit you the site. Maybe it's just a sign of the tough economic times. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

While it certainly won't be an earth shattering moment if the streak eventually ends, it is something that Wild fans have taken pride in. The label of "The State of Hockey," is only further proven by the support that Wild fans have shown in the nine years the Wild have been here.

If the sellout streak does fall (currently at 367 games-preseason, regular season and playoffs), fans can rest assured that a new streak will begin sometime in the near future, especially when the economy returns to a state of normalcy.

With the new regime in town and Chuck Fletcher and Todd Richards promising exciting new changes, the Wild and it's future look as bright as ever; even if their ticket sales don't.