Best Song Lyrics (Part XIX)

If I said one of the greatest songwriters of all-time had the given name of Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, would you know who that is?  Maybe 1 out of 100 people over the age of 40 (and 1 out of 1000 younger than that) could tell you it was the artist currently known as Sting.

Sting first become famous as the front man for The Police, writing and singing big hits like Every Breath You Take and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic in the late 70s and early 80s,  He started his solo career in the mid-80s, and has been going strong ever since.

At the peak of his powers in the 90s, Sting had a string of great songs that included the hits If I Ever Lose My Faith In You and Fields Of Gold.  But it was one of his earlier efforts, a pre-Cold War ending song called Russians, which had the sharp lyrics that resonated with me both then, and now:

In Europe and America, there's a growing feeling of hysteria,
Conditioned to respond to all the threats, in the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets,
Mr. Krushchev said we will bury you, I don't subscribe to this point of view,
It would be such an ignorant thing to do, if the Russians love their children too

How can I save my little boy, from Oppenheimer's deadly toy,
There is no monopoly in common sense, on either side of the political fence,
We share the same biology, regardless of ideology,
Believe me when I say to you, I hope the Russians love their children too

There is no historical precedent, to put the words in the mouth of the President,
There's no such thing as a winnable war, it's a lie we don't believe anymore,
Mr. Reagan says we will protect you, I don't subscribe to this point of view,
Believe me when I say to you, I hope the Russians love their children too

We share the same biology, regardless of ideology,
What might save us, me, and you, is if the Russians love their children too

That's The Ticket

I recently attended the Big XII basketball tournament in Kansas City.  I've been to this event quite often over the past 25 years, back to when it was only the Big 8 basketball tournament held at an older arena in Kansas City,

In all of the tournament game sessions I've attended in that time, perhaps 25 or so, I've only had advance tickets in hand once.  Every other time, including this year, I relied on being able to buy tickets from those selling near the venue.

Given this experience of buying secondary market tickets on the street, a/k/a ticket scalping, I feel I can provide a good list of do's and don'ts in this area.

DO check the secondary ticket prices on-line before you go.  This is something that wasn't available years ago, the ability to look at StubHub or some other on-line ticket broker.  It's nice to have an idea of the prices going in, however, know that the on-line prices should generally be a bit higher than what you could get on the street, where there is no automatic third-party broker transaction fee.

DON'T get too excited.  Know why you often see ticket scalpers many blocks away from the venues?  It isn't because they're afraid of violating some scalping ordinance.  It's because they know rubes who have never bought/sold tickets on the street before are likely to buy/sell them at the first opportunity.  If a ticket scalper is blocks away from the stadium, you can be sure there will be many others closer to it, buying/selling at a more market-based price.

DO try to buy tickets from a non-professional seller.  A good rule of thumb is to look for someone wearing the school colors of a team.  Those folks are more likely to be happy to sell their extra tickets at a less-than-market-based price, just to not delay their getting into the arena.  This is the same reason why a professional scalper is constantly asking if anyone has any extra tickets; then they can buy low and re-sell them again.  (An easy rule of thumb for identifying pro scalpers is, it's anyone wearing a sign about buying or selling tickets!)

DON'T be afraid to negotiate.  No one selling tickets should expect to get the full price for which they're asking.  It's a barter system.  Ask for a lower price.  If you are far apart in price, just say you aren't ready to accept that and walk away.  You might end up buying from them later.

DO wait until as close to game time as possible to buy.  This is the most obvious, and most violated, strategy of buyers.  By game-time, the nervous amateurs will be gone, and the pro scalpers will be more eager to get rid of the remaining tickets they hold.  A willingness to miss some of the pre-game festivities, and maybe even the start of the game, is easily the most difficult and the most valuable thing a buyer can do.