December 9, 2007
Commiseration Corner: Share Your VWR Stories
Red Sox fans have it good when it comes to the hometown team, but it's not always easy.
On one hand, the team has delivered two World Series titles in four seasons, and we're looking awfully good as we prepare for the 2008 season. But on the other, tickets to see the Sox play at Fenway Park are the hardest in MLB to acquire and they come with the biggest price tags. And while Bostonist was happy to see the reports on Saturday about the joy brought from the now-annual Christmas At Fenway festivities, we couldn't help but feel awfully grinchy.
That's what 13 hours of the Virtual Waiting Room will do to you, especially when you don't end the process with any tickets to justify the frustration.* The oft-maligned online ticket purchasing device screwed this Bostonist over big time, and we're wondering how many other hopeful ticket buyers were feeling a similar sting.
We know there are people out there: the message boards over at Boston.com were full of people posting throughout the day. We also know that scalpers got their hands on the goods and have already posted Sox Pack tickets on eBay (surprise, surprise!).
So we ask you: how did the process go? Did you get tickets? How long did you stare at that 30-second ticker? What did you do to pass the time - any clever discoveries (such as the Sox Pack design referenced at Cursed To First)? Are you starting to wonder about whether Theo and Company have blocked your IP address? Or were you in and out in no time?
Leave your thoughts on the VWR and any anecdotes from Saturday in the comments. We're here for you. We feel your pain. Let's all heal together.
*No, we did not stare at the computer for 13 hours straight. But we did leave the window open to see whether it was going to work out or not. And it didn't.
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I didn't even bother trying this year; I figure I used up all my VWR luck last season. So I'll take the money that I WILL NOT, under any circumstances, give to the scalpers and leech ticket agencies, and go on a trip to see some other park. Not even for a Sox game; just two teams I have no rooting interest in so I can enjoy a new park and watch a ballgame with low blood pressure.
If you're planning a tour, you can always follow Gagne as he breaks Milwaukee's heart.
I spent 4 hours in the VWR and saw all the "Sox Pax" go as every hour passed. I could not take it anymore, especially for select April and May games. I finally gave up, came back Sunday morning and was able to get single tickets for two games. Has this deterred me, ha! I will be back when tickets go back on sale in January like I do every year and devote an entire Saturday to the VWR. This must be what Purgatory is like.
after 28 hours I bought 4 pairs of SRO tickets... then the system would not let me complete the transaction for 5 minutes, regardless of clicking "buy tickets now"... then it told me I lost my tickets because I didn't complete the transaction in time!
One would hope but not expect that the Red Sox or MLB would upgrade their systems to deal with the demand. VWR is one thing, but they should at least make it work.
Fortunately I printed out the pages that show what I was attempting to buy, and perhaps the Sox will take pity. In the meantime we all know that the ticket agencies are all over this ticket sale.
From "Sports Redux: Celtics Win. Big Shock, Eh?":
"If you leave your computer, you will get in and then get bounced back out before you return." Don't you read your own blog?
I most certainly do, HarmyG. I'll clarify the Redux reference here - I know this because it happened to me last year:
If you are approved to transition from the VWR to the ticket-buying screen, your computer will be left with the image of the Fenway seating chart. According to your computer, you're in and you ought to be able to buy tickets. But according to the Sox, your opportunity has already passed. If you try doing anything, you discover that you're right back in the VWR.
Convoluted, insufficient system aside, the short version is: if you had a chance to buy tickets but missed it, you're made aware.
There you go.