Sellout Streak: Legitimate or not?

[Caven]

I voted no. There were a few games in the (I think) 2007 season that Nebraska gave away several tickets on Friday evening before the game to preserve the streak. I know of this only because several of my co-workers in Omaha that were recent graduates and members of the alumni association received emails telling them that they could reserve tickets to pick up either Friday night or Saturday morning before the game for free on a first come, first serve basis in order to preserve the streak and one of them asked me if I wanted to go to the game with them. They had tried selling them on Wednesday and Thursday but couldn't get them sold and they needed to do something with them.

Thus in my opinion since these were given away and not sold it should be over. Any school can just give away their tickets for free and claim a sell-out streak. Most don't.

 

[Enhance]

I voted no. There were a few games in the (I think) 2007 season that Nebraska gave away several tickets on Friday evening before the game to preserve the streak. I know of this only because several of my co-workers in Omaha that were recent graduates and members of the alumni association received emails telling them that they could reserve tickets to pick up either Friday night or Saturday morning before the game for free on a first come, first serve basis in order to preserve the streak and one of them asked me if I wanted to go to the game with them. They had tried selling them on Wednesday and Thursday but couldn't get them sold and they needed to do something with them.

Thus in my opinion since these were given away and not sold it should be over. Any school can just give away their tickets for free and claim a sell-out streak. Most don't.

I'm not saying you're wrong, Caven, but I'm a little confused by this. I was under the impression all Nebraska tickets, except for perhaps the allotted tickets for opposing fans, were sold before the season began. I'm almost positive Nebraska doesn't have unsold tickets just sitting in the ticket office, even in a season like 2007. Therefore, where did the ticket office get them?

 

[Caven]

There are always a few extra tickets for some of the early games due to the need to keep a few tickets back for special event type stuff. Most schools will have a small block set aside for this kind of thing. They could have also been tickets returned to the athletic department by the visiting team.

I know at Iowa they keep a few thousand tickets back for homecoming and parents weekend which then can't be sold as a full season ticket so they sell a few 3 game packages and then have a few single game tickets to some of the games.

 

[Enhance]

There are always a few extra tickets for some of the early games due to the need to keep a few tickets back for special event type stuff. Most schools will have a small block set aside for this kind of thing. They could have also been tickets returned to the athletic department by the visiting team.

I know at Iowa they keep a few thousand tickets back for homecoming and parents weekend which then can't be sold as a full season ticket so they sell a few 3 game packages and then have a few single game tickets to some of the games.

But haven't all of these tickets already been sold, regardless of who actually buys and uses them?

 

[JTrain]

If Caven is correct, then it isn't a SELLout streak, is it? That implies tickets were sold, not given away.

And if, say, they were bought by a donor or sponsor for a reduced price, then it could technically still be called a sellout streak, but not one that I would be particularly proud of, since the pride of the streak comes from the display of how loyal our fan base is, not how deep our pockets are.

 

[Caven]

There are always a few extra tickets for some of the early games due to the need to keep a few tickets back for special event type stuff. Most schools will have a small block set aside for this kind of thing. They could have also been tickets returned to the athletic department by the visiting team.

I know at Iowa they keep a few thousand tickets back for homecoming and parents weekend which then can't be sold as a full season ticket so they sell a few 3 game packages and then have a few single game tickets to some of the games.

But haven't all of these tickets already been sold, regardless of who actually buys and uses them?

The tickets for the special events yes - but there aren't special events at every game so that will leave a few tickets for a few games that need to be sold individually. Again, not sure if this is how Nebraska does it - I can only speak for how I know Iowa does it that could have potentially left a few tickets that needed dealt with when demand was lower. I know that the waiting list for season tickets was gone by then as several friends picked up season tickets for the first time that year and none were denied so potentially there were a few tickets left over for the one and only time in decades. Don't know for sure - just spitballing it a little for possibilities that fit in to what I know.

 

[ADS]

Was it just me, or did there seem to be a lot of Hawk fans at the game today?

It was not just you - there were a TON. And they were making a bit of noise for about the first quarter. After that.... not so much.

I was forced to sit next to a Hawk fan. She was very nice, quite cute, and we had a blast.

Did you put the moves on her?

 

[Hingle McCringleberry]

NU season tickets are handed down generation to generation. Seacon tickets are not something that are easily obtained.

No. You cannot inherit tickets, and you cannot sell or transfer your season tickets...(not if the university finds out about it)

They are VERY easily obtained, if you donate enough money.

100% correct... Dig deep enough on the huskers.com site and you can find out how much per ticket, per year, to sit in a certain zone... West between the 35s is jaw dropping...

 

[JTrain]

NOTHING being done by UNL to sell tickets is not done by every other major, and most minor, universities.

I did not imply otherwise.

This whole debate is as ridiculous as the last "sellout streak" thread we had. Every ticket is sold. It doesn't matter who buys them.

I think the discussion is entirely reasonable. If tickets were given away, it isn't a sellout streak. And if a large number of tickets were sold at a significantly reduced price to a business or big donor, then the streak is technically alive, but the real spirit of the streak is pretty much bypassed, in my opinion.

If a recording artist has an album go Platinum because he personally buys 50,000 copies and then creates a deal with Amazon.com to package the album with DVD players for an extra 50 cents, does that technically count as a Platinum record? Yes. But should he and his supporters be proud of that? Well, probably not nearly as much as if he actually sold 1,000,000 albums at retail price to actual music fans who actually wanted to buy and listen to the album.

I'm fine saying that we have a great fan base who fills up a pretty big stadium 99% of the time, through extreme heat and cold, wind, rain, snow, cupcakes, Bohls, Cosgroves and Callahans. And we're (almost always) nice and respectful to the opposing teams and fans. But I would feel a little silly continuing to flaunt our 50-year sellout streak to the Iowa fans around me if we had to use some of the tactics mentioned in this thread and others to keep it alive. That's pretty much all I'm saying.

 

[Caven]

I know that I have to bite my tongue anytime my Nebraska friends bring up the streak. Nebraska fans are certainly (ever so slightly) more fanatical than Iowa fans I will admit But at least none of my work friends that received that email ever say anything about it as I think I would probably give them all kinds of crap.

 

[Enhance]

There are far too many technicalities you bring up, JTrain, to make this an honest discussion. All big universities sell tickets as best they can, however they can. Has the athletic department done some things to make sure the streak continues, specifically in 2007? Maybe...maybe not. As far as I know...nobody here has any proof one way or another. As you said, they're "mentioned tactics" on a message board. So what's the point of this discussion? We've sold every ticket, in one way or another, since 1962. That's good enough for me.

 

[knapplc]

NOTHING being done by UNL to sell tickets is not done by every other major, and most minor, universities.

I did not imply otherwise.

This whole debate is as ridiculous as the last "sellout streak" thread we had. Every ticket is sold. It doesn't matter who buys them.

I think the discussion is entirely reasonable. If tickets were given away, it isn't a sellout streak. And if a large number of tickets were sold at a significantly reduced price to a business or big donor, then the streak is technically alive, but the real spirit of the streak is pretty much bypassed, in my opinion.

If a recording artist has an album go Platinum because he personally buys 50,000 copies and then creates a deal with Amazon.com to package the album with DVD players for an extra 50 cents, does that technically count as a Platinum record? Yes. But should he and his supporters be proud of that? Well, probably not nearly as much as if he actually sold 1,000,000 albums at retail price to actual music fans who actually wanted to buy and listen to the album.

I'm fine saying that we have a great fan base who fills up a pretty big stadium 99% of the time, through extreme heat and cold, wind, rain, snow, cupcakes, Bohls, Cosgroves and Callahans. And we're (almost always) nice and respectful to the opposing teams and fans. But I would feel a little silly continuing to flaunt our 50-year sellout streak to the Iowa fans around me if we had to use some of the tactics mentioned in this thread and others to keep it alive. That's pretty much all I'm saying.

Then go ahead and feel silly. There is zero legitimacy to Caven's talk about "special event" tickets. There are no seats in Memorial Stadium that are not sold on a season-ticket basis, with the exception of student tickets and opponent tickets. Every seat in Memorial Stadium has been paid for for the last 39 years. If you don't want to "believe" in the streak then don't. You seem to have made up your mind that it isn't legitimate and you're just looking for proof that it's not.

I'm not going to try to convince you. Believe what you want.

 

[Alamo City Husker]

NOTHING being done by UNL to sell tickets is not done by every other major, and most minor, universities.

I did not imply otherwise.

This whole debate is as ridiculous as the last "sellout streak" thread we had. Every ticket is sold. It doesn't matter who buys them.

I think the discussion is entirely reasonable. If tickets were given away, it isn't a sellout streak. And if a large number of tickets were sold at a significantly reduced price to a business or big donor, then the streak is technically alive, but the real spirit of the streak is pretty much bypassed, in my opinion.

If a recording artist has an album go Platinum because he personally buys 50,000 copies and then creates a deal with Amazon.com to package the album with DVD players for an extra 50 cents, does that technically count as a Platinum record? Yes. But should he and his supporters be proud of that? Well, probably not nearly as much as if he actually sold 1,000,000 albums at retail price to actual music fans who actually wanted to buy and listen to the album.

I'm fine saying that we have a great fan base who fills up a pretty big stadium 99% of the time, through extreme heat and cold, wind, rain, snow, cupcakes, Bohls, Cosgroves and Callahans. And we're (almost always) nice and respectful to the opposing teams and fans. But I would feel a little silly continuing to flaunt our 50-year sellout streak to the Iowa fans around me if we had to use some of the tactics mentioned in this thread and others to keep it alive. That's pretty much all I'm saying.

Then go ahead and feel silly. There is zero legitimacy to Caven's talk about "special event" tickets. There are no seats in Memorial Stadium that are not sold on a season-ticket basis, with the exception of student tickets and opponent tickets. Every seat in Memorial Stadium has been paid for for the last 39 years. If you don't want to "believe" in the streak then don't. You seem to have made up your mind that it isn't legitimate and you're just looking for proof that it's not.

I'm not going to try to convince you. Believe what you want.

Right, sellout means SELLOUT. It is the same for concerts too. Some "purists" just enjoy splitting hairs Knapp.

 

[Singe]

NU season tickets are handed down generation to generation. Seacon tickets are not something that are easily obtained.

No. You cannot inherit tickets, and you cannot sell or transfer your season tickets...(not if the university finds out about it)

They are VERY easily obtained, if you donate enough money.

100% correct... Dig deep enough on the huskers.com site and you can find out how much per ticket, per year, to sit in a certain zone... West between the 35s is jaw dropping...

I agree, not 'Literally' Inheirated. But there are dozens of ways around every problem if you put your mind to it.

 

[JTrain]

NOTHING being done by UNL to sell tickets is not done by every other major, and most minor, universities.

I did not imply otherwise.

This whole debate is as ridiculous as the last "sellout streak" thread we had. Every ticket is sold. It doesn't matter who buys them.

I think the discussion is entirely reasonable. If tickets were given away, it isn't a sellout streak. And if a large number of tickets were sold at a significantly reduced price to a business or big donor, then the streak is technically alive, but the real spirit of the streak is pretty much bypassed, in my opinion.

If a recording artist has an album go Platinum because he personally buys 50,000 copies and then creates a deal with Amazon.com to package the album with DVD players for an extra 50 cents, does that technically count as a Platinum record? Yes. But should he and his supporters be proud of that? Well, probably not nearly as much as if he actually sold 1,000,000 albums at retail price to actual music fans who actually wanted to buy and listen to the album.

I'm fine saying that we have a great fan base who fills up a pretty big stadium 99% of the time, through extreme heat and cold, wind, rain, snow, cupcakes, Bohls, Cosgroves and Callahans. And we're (almost always) nice and respectful to the opposing teams and fans. But I would feel a little silly continuing to flaunt our 50-year sellout streak to the Iowa fans around me if we had to use some of the tactics mentioned in this thread and others to keep it alive. That's pretty much all I'm saying.

Then go ahead and feel silly. There is zero legitimacy to Caven's talk about "special event" tickets. There are no seats in Memorial Stadium that are not sold on a season-ticket basis, with the exception of student tickets and opponent tickets. Every seat in Memorial Stadium has been paid for for the last 39 years. If you don't want to "believe" in the streak then don't. You seem to have made up your mind that it isn't legitimate and you're just looking for proof that it's not.

I'm not going to try to convince you. Believe what you want.

No need to be defensive. I'm not attacking anyone. I would just like to know if actual fans bought every ticket intending to watch the game, or if some donor or business stepped in and bought thousands of tickets just to say that it sold out. Again, that would technically be a sellout-- I'm not denying that-- but it wouldn't really in the spirit of the sellout streak, which is supposed to be all about the loyalty of the fans, not about how much money some particular person or business is willing to spend on empty seats.

As far as Caven, he is either lying or telling the truth with this statement:

several of my co-workers in Omaha that were recent graduates and members of the alumni association received emails telling them that they could reserve tickets to pick up either Friday night or Saturday morning before the game for free on a first come, first serve basis in order to preserve the streak

I see no reason not to believe he is trustworthy from past experience on this forum.