The Good Old Days in Miami Are Long Gone

Two years ago, you were able to walk up to the American Airlines Arena for a regular season Miami Heat game and find decent prices for tickets for that game. You could probably sit a few rows behind the Heat bench for about $100, and the 400 level (the Nosebleeds) were going for $10. The Heat were so desperate to sell tickets that they came up with the idea to sell season tickets for $10 a game so that was $410 for the entire season.

But, the good old days are gone. Since the addition of LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Miami has seen a boost in ticket sales that are downright disgusting. The minute LeBron announced his decision, season tickets were sold out and the hunt for one mere ticket began.

A Fort Lauderdale ticket broker tells that some court-side seats for the Heat’s October 29 home-opener against the Orlando Magic are selling for $7,500-a-piece. “And if the Heat win their first 10-12 games, it’s going to go past $10,000,” said Todd Chitoff of ticketplayground.com

This ticket boom isn’t only happening in Miami but everywhere the Three Kings are headed. In Boston, Nosebleed ducats with face values around 50 bucks are going for an average of about $450, where the retooled Heat opens the season Oct. 26.  According to the website SeatGeek.com, which surveys ticket resale throughout the country, the two games are expected to be the two most expensive home openers of any NBA team.

Now, are you looking to be at the Heat/Cavaliers game on December 2? Well, don’t hold your breath; tickets are going for the minimum of $356. That’s a lot of money, but not even close to this next ridiculous price. Are you hoping Santa brings you two tickets for the Los Angeles/Miami game at the Staples Center on Christmas day? Well, the old guy won’t be able to pay the $900 price tag!

This is nonsense, and downright wrong. When will the regular average fan be able o watch their beloved Miami Heat? Well the simple answer to that is never.

It’s always been like that too, I remember having a theory two years ago and proving it right last season. Here’s the theory, the real die-hard, true Miami Heat fans are always sitting in the 300s and 400s where it’s cheap. The rich bandwagoners that could care less about the sport and let alone the team sit in the 100s. The people in the 300s and 400s are wearing their Heat jerseys, face painted, jumping up and down...for what? They will never be recognized in the jumbotron, but they should! They are the real fans! They are the ones that were behind their team for the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Yes, there are some exceptions to this rule. I have a friend who has 100 level season ticket and he’s a die-hard fan. I applaud him for this act of courage and sitting in the midst of all the business people and ignorant band wagoners. But usually the people who sit in the 100s don’t really care about the game; they care more about their status symbol. They come to the game with mini-skirts, or mini-dresses, or a dress shirt with a tie. It’s a basketball game for crying out loud, not a business meeting!

Here’s my proposal to the Miami Heat organization when it comes to ticket sales… Have a simple quiz. You know, basic Miami Heat questions that all true Miami Heat fan should know, like, Who’s the all-time leading scorer, who’s the franchise leader in assists, when was the team’s inaugural season, who were the starting five of the first ever Heat game in the inaugural season… you know, things like that. What players have their jerseys retired by the team… simple questions.

That would not only help the real fans, but it would also help weed out the fake fans. But hey, that’s just what I think... what do you guys think?

I suppose Wade was right when he said that every arena they come to would sell out.