The Ultimate Bandwagon

by user Phoenix Superfan

This originally appeared on another site 11/22/06 so I apologize if parts are no longer time relevant. I have posted it here by request.

Part of what makes The Superfan different from most sports writers out there is that I really am an average fan. Well, if you consider life size cut outs of Jeff Gordon and John Madden in your living room average. What I mean is that unlike the guys you read in the newspaper I actually pay for my tickets. I am not on any team's payroll, or anybodie's payroll for that matter. I can openly root for or against anyone that I want. I also don't know any of the athletes on a personal level. Therefore I don't have biases such as so and so is a bad interview. To me part of being The Superfan is writing about the fan experience itself. We aren't just breaking down numbers here, we are talking about the games that we love. This is going to be my first entry that is more about the fan experience than the actual games themselves.

Before I go any further I have an admission to make. I am the world's biggest sucker for stadium giveaways. I love the things. What can be better than going to a game and getting a free souvenir? I have over 100 bobble heads. The front of my refrigerator is covered with schedule magnets. Most people buy tickets based on opponent. I buy tickets based on give away.

(It is so bad that one time I was watching an Oakland A's game on MLB Extra Innings and saw that it was Dennis Eckersley Bobble Head Night. Within minutes I was on Ebay not only ordering the bobble head, but preordering the figurine that they were giving away the following day. My wife threatened to cancel the baseball package if it happened again.)

Tonight, the Suns start off their stadium give-away schedule with a Phoenix Suns Mr. Potato Head. I got one of these from the Coyotes last year and I must say they are pretty cool. I have added a picture of the Suns Potato Head under my photos. Unfortunately, I will be getting the Potato Head and the rest of my Suns stadium giveaways off of Ebay this year.

One of the worst parts about Phoenix fans is that unlike The Superfan they are transplants from other cities for the most part. Most people in Phoenix have an allegiance to their hometown team first and Phoenix teams second. (If they even really care about sports at all.) However, a special phenomenon happens whenever a Phoenix sports team goes on a two or three year run of winning. Suddenly, the elite and wannabe elite of the city take notice and the game becomes the place to be. The Valley of the Sun is the world's largest bandwagon. After all, most of these people sold–out their old cities for better weather, why would they be any different with their sports teams.

(In the early '90's conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh was the Suns' most famous fan, and I can't imagine a better mascot for this group then that bag of hot air.)

We'll call this phenomenon "The Ultimate Bandwagon." The first time this happened was in the early '90's with the Barkley Era Suns. As a kid I could regularly attend games at the old Veterans Memorial Coliseum. However, once the Suns moved to America West Arena and Barkley came on board the Suns suddenly had a few hundred thousand new fans. Tickets literally sold out for the entire season within hours of going on sale, and that was well before that advent of the internet.

This all lasted about five years. Once Barkley left and the Suns had a string of good, but not great years, the entire city completely lost interest in basketball. In the early 2000's the Suns had difficulty even keeping the building half full. The "The Ultimate Bandwagon" had a new darling, and they lived right across the street.

Beginning in 1999 when the Diamondbacks won 100 games and won their first NL West title, the new, state of the art ballpark, became the place to be. The once beloved Suns were completely forgotten. Folks waited in line in 110 degree heat for two hours to get Diamondbacks bobble heads in 2001. Across the street at America West Arena you could walk up at game time and get a bobble head. This all culminated in an embarrassing incident of one of the Diamondback's World Series games being shown on the Jumbotron during a Suns regular season game!

Phoenix remained a baseball town until the "The Ultimate Bandwagon" got into a head on collision with a 111 loss season in 2004. By 2005 there were record attendance lows at Bank One Ballpark which became Chase Field, the first of many unwelcome changes. Meanwhile, across the street at America West Arena, while the rest of the city was stuck in a baseball hangover, the Suns were winning 62 games on the way to the Western Conference Finals.

The 2004-2005 NBA season, is without question, the most memorable season of The Superfan's life. If memory serves me correctly I made it to 23 games that year including all but 2 playoff games. One of the most exciting teams in NBA history was playing in our own backyard and no one cared. I could log online and get the $10 tickets (the kind a Superfan can afford) the day of the game anytime I wanted. I would try to talk to people about the Suns at work and would always get the same answer.

"The Suns, I haven't watched them since Barkley was here."

(In April of 2005 the Suns were getting ready to win their division and go to the playoffs. I was at a luncheon for an award that I had won at my previous job. The luncheon was with several of my higher up managers. One of my managers commented on my wearing a Suns jersey to the luncheon, I explained to him that I was going to the game immediately after work. (I don't really care if he liked this explanation or not, the game meant more to me than the stupid lunch.) Anyway, he went on to say that he hadn't been to a Suns game since Barkley was here. He mentioned it was a pretty good game and that Majerle hit a half court shot at the end to win it. The Superfan sat for a moment in stunned silence then asked if it was against the Lakers in 1993. He looked at me like I was "The Rainman" or something and said, "yeah I think so." Amazing, this guy had been in attendance at the famous "Majerle half-court buzzer beater game" and didn't even remember the opponent. I was 12-years-old, lying in bed, listening to that game on my clock radio and I remember it like it was yesterday.)

After making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2005 the Suns sold out most of their games last year, but there were tickets to be had. I didn't get to as many games as I did the year before, but didn't try either. I got to most of the games I wanted to go to including the bobble head nights.

This year, I had known that Mr. Potato head night was coming up for a few weeks but hadn't really been in a rush to decide whether or not I was going to go. I assumed that since it was a Potato Head, not a bobble head, tickets would be available if I wanted them. This morning, when I logged on to see if there were tickets left it was clear that the "The Ultimate Bandwagon" was in full swing again.

There are significantly less tickets left in all sections than previous years. The affordable seats are sold out, and when I say the affordable seats I mean the $10 seats. By the time you pay fees from Ticketmaster any of the other seats are going to end up costing at least $40. I am not willing to pay that much for an upper level seat, especially considering the other costs involved in going to a game. If you want to sit in the lower level expect to pay over $100. This isn't just day of game either. If you want to go to Al McCoy Bobble Head Night on, March 7, 2007, the cheapest available ticket is $38.75, after Ticketmaster fees.

(Why does Ticketmaster charge you $2.50 for the printable tickets? You are using your ink and your paper and they don't have to pay for shipping. It seems like they should be giving you a discount. I picked Standard Mail once and didn't get the tickets until the day of the event. These are tickets I ordered a month ahead of time too. Would you take that risk again? There is no Will Call option anymore either.)

There are definitely some things that I will miss about the live game experience. I will miss getting there two hours before game time to wait for autographs. I will miss seeing how close I can park to the stadium without paying for parking. I will miss paying $14 for a pitcher of beer at Jackson's and bragging that it's cheaper than drinking inside. I will miss trying to sneak down to better seats. I will miss the way the stadium erupts when Amare throws one down. (Something I haven't experience in over two years.) Most of all, I will miss giving my free McDonalds French Fry coupons that they give away after each Suns victory to a bum on the walk back to the car.

Either way, I won't be going to anymore games until there are cheap tickets left again, or I am making enough money to actually get good seats. I would rather watch games for free, on TV at home, and drink cheap cans of beer, then pay $40 for upper deck tickets. Inevitably, "The Ultimate Bandwagon" will come crashing down again. Only then, will The Superfan be back at US Airways Center with the rest of the real fans.