I recently wrote a post on the madness over at the Blue Sox – where people are buying memberships and not using them. I still have to write the post on why this is an inefficient process (I know, I know, I’m so behind in all the posts I want to write) but for now, I thought I would help the Blue Sox out and talk you through how to select the one that is best for you. With the Australia Series next weekend and the season opener just around the corner, is there a better time for this post?
From the website (and hopefully from my previous post!), you see that there are many, many different membership options.
Those options are: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Base or Supporter and you can get them for an adult, child or family (with discounts for students and seniors). They mean the following:
Gold: Tickets to ALL games. Every single one.
Silver: Tickets to HALF the games.
Bronze: Tickets to ONE GAME PER SERIES.
Base: 10% discount on tickets.
Supporter: Awesome Blue Sox stuff (like caps and other cool things) and discounts on things AT the game. Special access to tickets… but no actually tickets or discounts on tickets. You get the Supporters pack with any membership purchase. Even if you just buy the Base membership… it’s totally worth the money. A cap is about $30, so you practically get your money’s worth right off the bat (no pun intended). Members also get a ticket to the Australia series… as long as you sign up before then.
(Sorry – I’m in a colorful mood today)
Why should you even bother with a membership? Because you save money. For example, let’s say that you want to attend one game per series and sit behind home plate, without a membership. If you pay at the gate, that’s $40 per game and for 7 series, that’s $320. If you got the membership, it’s $198, which means a savings of $122. THINK OF ALL THE MERCH YOU CAN BUY WITH THAT SAVINGS!
So which one should you get? I know what you’re thinking: GOLD. OBVIOUSLY. Because it sounds the coolest. I agree – it really does. But does it make the most sense?
First, remember that there are 23 regular season games (plus, a few exhibition games and, MAYBE, a few surprises 🙂 ). In order to choose the best membership for you, here’s the question you need to ask yourself:
How many games can I actually attend?
Before you answer that question… Remember that most of the series happen in this order: Thursday, Friday and Saturday night games, and a Sunday afternoon game. So think about these things:
Work: Will you have the energy to go to a Friday night game when you’ve been working all week? Can you actually make it on time and enjoy it? Likewise, are Thursday night games going to be a possibility? Do you work late? Will you be tired (or slightly hungover) on Friday morning after cheering a team on for several hours? Will you be prepared for work if you spend Sunday afternoons at the ballpark?
Family: Does your family share your enthusiasm for baseball? Do they also want to spend four days in a row at Blacktown Stadium (if you can answer yes to this, I envy you!)? Can you afford to buy them all the jerseys, balls and inflatable hands they will, most certainly, want? And how will bedtime got if they’ve been hopped up on sugar all day? If you bring your kids to the games, will you enjoy it as much? Or if you’ll be leaving them at home – are you certain you’ll be able to find a babysitter for every game? Do your kids play baseball, as well? How much does that interfere with the games? What about their school commitments or birthday parties or… what ever it is that kids do?
Other commitments: What events do you have coming up? Weddings? Vacations? Anniversaries? Birthdays? The Swisse Color Run? (Sorry about that one – I’ve just registered and I’m pretty excited) Do they interfere with games? How likely is it that something big comes up that need immediate attention? If I can’t make it to a game, do I know someone who may want to use these tickets?
If you can foresee lots of these being an issue, than a Gold membership isn’t for you. Sure, you might save a bit of money, but is it really worth having if you can’t use it? A Silver or Bronze membership is probably better for you. And no, you don’t get the pleasure of saying you’re a Gold member, but you also don’t feel the guilt of not attending games and taking tickets away from someone who actually wants to (and can!) go to that game. It’s not fair to keep your ticket and not use it when someone else wants it! (I say this because that someone could be me) So should you get a Gold membership? Only if you’re able to go to AT LEAST 23 games. Otherwise, depending on how you answered the above questions, get the Silver or Bronze. It just makes more sense.
This is not meant to put you off the Gold memberships – not at all. If you are able to go to every game (or nearly every game) then, by all means, buy that Gold membership and enjoy every minute of it. You have my jealousy. But for the sake of the Blue Sox fans who have been turned away… think about the practicality first.
My last thoughts: Don’t be scared of memberships. They are not a big commitment, honestly. If you’re hesitant… maybe check out a game first, before you buy? The game will convince you – I swear.
