How to Enjoy the Super Bowl on Less than $5 a Day

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so.

Training camp opens for the World Champion New England Patriots in a few days. Now that the All-Star game is past, I find myself looking forward to another amazing season with the NFL.

As you probably know, the Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years earlier this year. As an ardent fan, I made sure to enjoy the season in as many ways as possible.

Season tickets are scarcer than the proverbial hen's teeth. What few people realize though is that the Kraft family wants to keep the team's games open to ordinary fans. To help with that, the team holds back a few tickets that anyone can try to buy.

On May 21, a few seats were released along with some standing room only seats through Ticketmaster. Although the press says that the tickets were all gone in five minutes, I bought a ticket 42 minutes into the offering period. Including the handling fee, a standing room ticket cost less than $60. The lowest priced seats were about $101 including the handling fee.

A few months from now, the Patriots will make another offering of standing room only seats. To keep track of these offerings, be sure to check Patriots.com for news daily Monday through Friday.

Here's a tip. Preseason and late season games are the easiest to access.

What if you would like to enjoy a game, but cannot afford to go to one? There are many parking lots around restaurants and bars outside of the stadium. Many fans park, tail gate, walk over to the stadium, and then watch the game from a bar or a battery-driven television. They stay after the game to enjoy the party and head home when the crowd breaks up.

But you may have a yen to get into the stadium. The Patriots sponsor special events during the year when the stadium is opened up. Last winter, there was a Men's Health Day and you could walk around. I went down for that. Parking was free.

But one of my favorite secrets is that the Patriots have training camp days that are open to the public. Parking is free. There's no charge to attend. Few people come down and you spend a delightful afternoon lolling in the grass on a nice hillside overlooking the practice areas. After practice, the Patriots players come up to the fence and sign autographs for hours. If you bring some merchandise to be signed, you can probably resell it later for enough to buy a ticket to a game! The players are especially generous with youngsters, so you can help your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews have a special day very easily. On some of the days, the Patriots put on events just for children. Again, there is no charge.

The Patriots also organized special events for the Patriots around the Super Bowl. One was a send-off at Gillette Stadium. Again, it was free. There were hot coffee and free signs compliments of Dunkin' Donuts. Only a few hundred people came on the frigid January day, so it was easy to get close to the team. You could also greet the team at the stadium when they returned.

Naturally, the victor's parade is always a special day . . . and that's also free.

Many people haven't been to a Super Bowl and don't realize that there are many special activities going on. The NFL puts on a wonderful event called the NFL experience. The ticket price is usually pretty modest. Usually, you have many opportunities for free memorabilia such as having your own football card made with your picture on it playing football and videos of you and your friends winning the big game. There are lots of football-related activities for youngsters like passing, kicking and running competitions.

In the old days (before 9/11), you could also park at the stadium and tail gate there. That's not possible anymore, but you can often park in the area and tailgate there instead . . . and wander over to the parking area to enjoy the atmosphere.

If you do find someone who will sell you tickets who got them from another team, they will usually sell their tickets for less than what ticket agents charge. If you can afford to buy several, you can probably resell all but one or two and get your cost of attending down to zero. Be sure that you check out what the local laws are on this. In some states, you can legally resell outside of the state . . . but not in the state. In other states, you can resell away from the venue . . . but not at the venue. Be sure to obey the law!

Perhaps you have some other tips on cheap ways to attend a Super Bowl or to enjoy the football season. Please send me a comment to share your ideas.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell