Yes, there’s war in the Middle East, democracy may or may not break out in Lebanon, social security will continue to screw my generation because of gutless Republican US Senators, State Senate Republicans will cave and raise taxes, state Democrats will continue to insist there is no problem with voting in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee County Board will continue to behave like corrupt jackasses, and judges are getting targeted by a homicidal cancer patient.
But a couple more items on football.
I like Brett Favre, and for $9.5 million in '05, including $6.5 million in base salary and $3 million in roster bonus, I was almost positive he would return.
Favre is no hero for returning. He’s getting a lot of money to come back and anyone will tell you, if they’re being honest, that even if you want to quit for all the reasons reporters keep coming up with, you’re going to play. And someday some player is going to look some reporter in the eye and say, “For $9 million dollars, you’d go out and get the crap beat out of you for six months, too.”
On an unrelated but belated Packer point, the Green Bay Packers are raising their ticket prices by $4.00/seat. Most Packer fans will whine. They will be the ones who didn’t take an economics class in college and think that waiting twenty years (unless they know someone) for tickets is cool. Or else, they will be the current ticket holders, most of whom have no concept that they are getting a price well below market value. However, many of the tavern owners do have this understanding and have been reselling the tickets as part of a “package” (bus, beer, food, ticket) for years. They will be upset because the increase eats into their profits.
If there is still a waiting list (and I haven’t seen a mention of it lately) the prices need to be raised until the point where the waiting list nearly vanishes. The Journal Sentinel reports,
Last season, the Packers ranked 18th in the National Football League with an average ticket price of about $55. With the increase, their average seat will cost $58.39.
"The one thing we don't want to do is fall too far out of that middle category," said Mark Wagner, the team's ticket director. "Otherwise, it takes a lot to catch back up. We always try to be in the middle."
That should not be the goal. The goal should be to maximize revenue, to sell the tickets at their true market value. If the Packers are not willing to sell their product at the market level, why in hell should there be continued taxpayer support for the stadium renovations? The state legislature should haul in Bob Harlan and ask him these questions, and Governor Doyle should issue statements about the screwing of taxpayers by the Packers instead of celebrating the return of one of their employees.
