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The photo on our paper’s Thursday sports section front showed a smiling Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma carrying the Stanley Cup.
I took a real good look at the picture.
It’s the only chance I – and thousands of hockey fans in the region – will get to see the Cup while it’s in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
It’s not that I lacked the desire for a rare up-close look at one of sports most treasured trophies. I just didn’t have the several hundred dollars it took to see it.
Anyone who wanted to see the trophy won by the Pittsburgh Penguins several months ago was required to have a ticket to last night’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Black and Gold Game at Wachovia Arena. The contest features players from the WBS and Pittsburgh Penguins.
When all was said and done, that meant purchasing a five-game, 12-game, 22-game or full-season ticket package. The game was sold out before the public had an opportunity to purchase single-game tickets.
A handful of tickets to the Black and Gold Game were “held back” in case someone wanted to purchase season-ticket packages.
In other words, if you have enough money, you can see the Stanley Cup.
Curious to see how much it would cost for my family of five to attend the Black and Gold Game, I attempted to get specific information about five-game season packages from the WBS Penguins ticket office. I ended the call after being on hold for almost 15 minutes.
After doing a little math involving the starting price of 12- and 22-game packages – $177 and $324.50, respectively – I figured it would cost about $70 for each five-game package – or $350 for all five of us.
I didn’t have to shell out $350 to see the World Series trophy won by the Philadelphia Phillies last year. In fact, I saw it twice – once at a Penn State men’s basketball game and again at Mohegan Sun in Plains Township.
And it didn’t cost me a penny.
Baseball fans were given many opportunities to see the World Series trophy up close. In fact, when it was on display at Mohegan Sun in Plains Township, people were allowed to have their picture taken – and even touch – the trophy.
I’ve met WBS Penguins CEO Jeff Barrett, team president Rich Hixon, and chief financial officer Greg Petorak. All three are very nice, down-to-earth, business-savvy people. In fact, there’s a professional sports franchise located a bit north of Wilkes-Barre that could use a little help from those guys. But there are times when good people don’t make the best decisions.
This was one of those times.
The 35-pound Stanley Cup is rich in tradition. It’s been all around the world. It’s been used as a baptismal. A Kentucky Derby winner ate from it. Players have taken it to strip clubs. It’s been at the bottom of Mario Lemieux’s pool.
No one knows how special the cup is more than Bylsma – and how much it means to those who see it in person.
“I describe it as a day changer,” the coach said in a published report. “Whether you’re really a hockey fan or not, a sports fan or not, there’s something about seeing the cup that makes even passers-by go run and get their camera phones and take a picture. It’s a unique experience.”
Unfortunately, it’s an experience most of us didn’t get an opportunity to enjoy. There are thousands of us who didn’t have enough money to see the Stanley Cup.
Yet we’re the ones paying the price.