Do you spend money on Sports apparel or Events?

[Nutria]

But I truly cannot understand the mindset of sports fans. It's bewildering to me. How can mass numbers of people be so obsessed with a sports team that when "their team" loses, it ruins their day (or week... or year). And when the team wins, they brag & go nuts (or worse... Fights? Riots? Destruction of property? Killing people? Ridiculous.)

Well, fan does come directly from fanatic...

Anyway, we're a heavily clannish species who always wants our clan to be the best. Teams of metaphorical warriors (heck, football players are even called gridiron warriors) are a perfect way to feed into that ancient part of our brains.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Great thread Dave! I'm a huge sports fan but don't spend a lot of money on apparel or events. But when it comes to sports betting, watch out here I come (lol). I'll bet anywhere from $20 to $50 per sporting event. My TV is tuned into sports events at night. I don't watch the news, so you think you dance, Bachelor/Bachelorette, American idol, or whatever prime time shows they play these days. Once or twice a season I'll go to a Dodgers or Angels game. I'll buy the nose bleed seat for $12 way up in the upper stratosphere, park my truck along the perimeter of the ball park and ride my bike inside to avoid the $15 - $20 parking fee. And I'll bring my own bottled water and not purchase any food or drinks once inside the stadium. I have an Angels jacket bought from their website on sale for $49, regular price was $150. BTW, I'm not an Angels or Dodgers fan, I'll bet against them if I think I can make money off of them.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

We go now and again. It adds up fast but so does going to the movie theater! So either way with kids we just enjoy it and realize it doesn't happen every week like the movie theater for some people.

[Outdoorsygal]

No. I'd almost pay not to attend such.
I'd rather be participating in them first hand

[dawnwes]

No.,

DH's work has raffles for tickets to our local hockey, football, and basketball games. Occasionally DH has won them and taken the boys.

But my boys just aren't interested so he hasn't even entered the raffles in the last few years.

I did buy a ticket to our professional BB team this last year because a lot of my friends were going but that is the first one ever. It was $25. It was some special deal where afterwards we met with one of the players and he talked about moving to our area, etc.....it wasn't that exciting.

[Fishindude77]

Was thinking about buying one of my family members a pair of NFL (Colts) tickets to a game. Looking on a couple websites, anything lower level between the 30 yard lines runs in excess of $300 per seat ! Good seats, as high as $1,000. The cheapest seats up in the rafters run around $100.

So .... a pair of seats, parking, eating out, a few $9 beers and snacks at the game, etc. Easily $800-$1000 for a couple to attend a game. The average citizen is pretty well priced out of this sort of thing.

[disneysteve]

The average citizen is pretty well priced out of this sort of thing.

And yet sporting events across the country routinely fill their stadiums so somebody is buying all of those tickets.

[DaveInPgh]

How can mass numbers of people be so obsessed with a sports team that when "their team" loses, it ruins their day

I confess that I was once like this. Not so much for a "regular" game, but playoff & tournament losses definitely had a negative impact on my mood. There is still some disappointment immediately following a loss, but I now am able to just move on.

[phantom]

I live in the same sports city as the OP. When my husband and I cut cable, the only reason we hesitated was that we didn't want to lose baseball and hockey on TV. So, we agreed that we'd attend more live games to make up for it. We also decided that if there was a big game we couldn't see at home or in person, we'd go to a place with a big TV for dinner to watch it.

We tend to go to at least one live sporting event per month. Sometimes it's a cheap night out, and sometimes it's a significant splurge. For example, we went to "Buc Night" this year, which was a baseball game where tickets were $1, as were hot dogs and popcorn. It was early in the season, so it was freezing, and we only lasted 5 innings. But, it was still a lot of fun. We've also gone to games where we've paid close to $200 for the two of us.

As for apparel, I don't buy much for myself. My uncle is an usher and PNC Park and Consol Energy Center, so he gets an employee discount and likes to give gear as gifts. So, I can usually count on a new shirt or two every year.

I skipped buying a 2016 Stanley Cup shirt, but I did buy one in 2009. IIRC, it was on sale and I had a coupon. I happily pulled that shirt out of my closet the day after the Stanley Cup win this year and confused a bunch of people. I don't see an issue with buying the event specific gear as long as you're going to keep wearing it for years after the event.

[DaveInPgh]

I live in the same sports city as the OP.

I was a huge Pirates fan growing up. My father used to get a 20 game package for the entire family to go, with most of the games being on weekends. Back in the day of 3 Rivers Stadium. We had box seats so I am sure that cost him some a good bit of money, but we knew as kids that we weren't going to buy much inside the stadium. We would either pack a lunch from home or stop at McDonald's in town before walking over the bridge to the stadium. Of course those were the days where you could actually go inside with bags without them being inspected.

I am happy of their recent success but have only been to one game at PNC park, and that was a work related outing.

[phantom]

I was a huge Pirates fan growing up. My father used to get a 20 game package for the entire family to go, with most of the games being on weekends. Back in the day of 3 Rivers Stadium. We had box seats so I am sure that cost him some a good bit of money, but we knew as kids that we weren't going to buy much inside the stadium. We would either pack a lunch from home or stop at McDonald's in town before walking over the bridge to the stadium. Of course those were the days where you could actually go inside with bags without them being inspected.

I am happy of their recent success but have only been to one game at PNC park, and that was a work related outing.

I've got a lot of fond childhood memories of 3 Rivers Stadium too. My family usually sat in the nose bleed section in the outfield. I spent a lot of time screaming for whoever was batting to hit me a ball, knowing that it was incredibly unlikely to happen. One thing I love about PNC Park is that even the worst seats don't feel nearly that far away.

The bag inspections are more about keeping weapons out than about keeping food out. I sometimes bring my own peanuts or a couple bottles of water, and I've never had a problem carrying them in. There's some really tasty overpriced ballpark food at PNC Park though. I'm a big fan of the pulled pork nachos.

[DaveInPgh]

I've got a lot of fond childhood memories of 3 Rivers Stadium too. My family usually sat in the nose bleed section in the outfield. I spent a lot of time screaming for whoever was batting to hit me a ball, knowing that it was incredibly unlikely to happen. One thing I love about PNC Park is that even the worst seats don't feel nearly that far away.

The bag inspections are more about keeping weapons out than about keeping food out. I sometimes bring my own peanuts or a couple bottles of water, and I've never had a problem carrying them in. There's some really tasty overpriced ballpark food at PNC Park though. I'm a big fan of the pulled pork nachos.

Yeah, I realize the bag inspections are a necessity to keep people safe. I personally wouldn't attend any sporting event without them.

Just would love to attend an event and not feel like I am getting ripped off if I choose to eat or drink something.

The last event I went to was the US Women's Soccer team at Heinz field. I gave in and bought a hot dog and as soon as I ate it I thought "why did I spend that much for an average hot dog?!" It wasn't anything special. There is a hot dog cart on Grant Street in town that have amazing hot dogs, and that was what I was expecting when I bought a stadium dog. Huge disappointment.

I've heard about the nachos and other tasty foods, but it is highly unlikely I would ever spend the money and try them.

[phantom]

Just would love to attend an event and not feel like I am getting ripped off if I choose to eat or drink something.

Yeah, I hate how expensive event food can be. My general policy is to either plan on bringing my own food, plan on not eating at the event, or commit to really splurging. I can't bring myself to pay $7 for a standard hamburger. But, if I'm committed to buying food, I'll spend a few dollars more for Burgatory, BRGR, Primanti's, or Manny's BBQ.

I suggest keeping an eye out for 2017 Buc Night at PNC Park: $1 tickets, $1 hot dogs, and $1 popcorn. I don't like hot dogs myself, and I don't think these are anything special. But, my husband swears they're worth at least $1.

[DaveInPgh]

Yeah, I hate how expensive event food can be. My general policy is to either plan on bringing my own food, plan on not eating at the event, or commit to really splurging. I can't bring myself to pay $7 for a standard hamburger. But, if I'm committed to buying food, I'll spend a few dollars more for Burgatory, BRGR, Primanti's, or Manny's BBQ.

I suggest keeping an eye out for 2017 Buc Night at PNC Park: $1 tickets, $1 hot dogs, and $1 popcorn. I don't like hot dogs myself, and I don't think these are anything special. But, my husband swears they're worth at least $1.

Totally agree on the splurging. If it is something really good, I don't mind treating myself and my family from time to time.

When you are at a sporting event for close to 4 hours, just about anything is worth $1

[sv2007]

If so, how much and how often?

Living in a city where Sports are a big deal, I am surrounded by people that spend a lot of money to "support their team." I have been a sports fan my entire life, but somehow I have never allowed fandom to have an impact on my wallet.

Simply put, I just can not rationalize spending money on it. The very few sports t-shirts I own were gifts, and I have only been to a few sporting events in the past 30+ years.

If you don't like it, then don't go. Peer pressure has no real place in adult lives.