Catching the 518

I had written two weeks ago about how the Mets had snuck a little Plan Pre-Sale box on the bottom of their website, and wondering just what they meant, and if I would be included in such a pre-sale.

As it turned out, I was indeed among The Chosen for this special event, and thusly, I have procured a fine selection of tickets for the Inaugural Season at Citi Field. I don't know if this photo above is my section exactly, but it appears to be a fairly accurate representation of my seats, in the Promenade, Section 518. I have the Weekday Plan, which as you well know is more often than not my game of choice. Though the Yankees series was not included on this plan, that may well be the only drawback. The games are spaced out rather nicely, for the most part, and it includes the Grand Opening on April 13th, and each time teams like Philly and Atlanta come into town, among others. They did sneak two of those hideous Weekday Afternoon games in there, and for what it's worth, I may yet just blow off work that day and go to those games. We shall see.

It was an odd process in general. Though the Mets slapped the notice online before Christmas, I didn't actually find out what it meant until I got a letter from them the following week. Imagine that, people still use mail to communicate things like this. Last year, the Mets sent me a similar letter for tickets, which arrived about 3 weeks after the Single Game sales started, which was quite useful. This year, clearly, with their artificially created demand, they've obviously become a bit more careful about notifying the people who might actually WANT to plonk down money to see whatever mess Fabulous Freddie and the Boy-King put out on the Field (Good or Bad, we're still showing up, dammit!).

I got the letter. The Pre-Sale started January 6th, 10am. I was primed. I was ready to strike. The Guap and I had it planned out. And so, the clock struck 10am on Tuesday morning, and I pounced. The internet was a little slow, probably because I wasn't the only one camping out waiting for the tickets to go on sale. I ran through the process, and waited for the system to spit me out some seats...

...Section 505, Row 17.

I looked at the seating chart. Section 505 didn't sound so good. Last row, too. Maybe I'll try again. I keep the seats in my cart. Go through again. It hits...

...Section 506, Row 17.

Bah! Again...

...Section 508, Row 16.

Getting warmer...

Section 522, Row 15.

Now, we're all the way on the other side of the field. And it's confusing, the way they've numbered everything. I keep knocking off the prior selections, always keeping one set in my cart, just in case. One more time, I say to myself...

...Section 520, Row 17.

Can I get anything that's not Row 17? In fact, I haven't hit lower than a Row 15. One more...

...Section 523, Row 15.

That's no better. Sigh. Again...

...Section 518, Row 17.

That's as close to center as I've gotten. OK. If I can't find anything else, that's acceptable. One more time...

...Unable to secure seats in this price level.

Damn! They're gone already! Of course, about 3 of them are in my cart. The lines must be buzzing. I act quickly. Dump the 522 and 520 seats. Keep the 518. Race through the payment process. The E-mail comes in. I'm secure. I've got my seats. Citi Field, here I come!

Later in the day, I checked back to see if, by some miracle, I ran through and hit something like Section 515, Row 11. No dice. Still unable to secure seats. I try the Promenade Reserved. I hit a Row 6, but in Section 538, way out in Left Field. Whatever I did, whatever remains available for the rest of the General Public, I have no idea. I don't know what's being held back, if anything. The Plans hold an option for a pre-sale on General Tickets. I don't know what's going to be left. But I've got my seats. I beat the rush. I wonder how many of you out there had an experience similar to mine?

Say what you will about the Organization and the Owners and the Stadium itself, but I feel pretty damn excited, all things considered.