Buy Now Or Take Your Chances Later
UK fans planning on attending the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in St.Louis can now purchase tickets to the event which went on sale Wednesday. The fact that tickets are made available to the general public is already different than most of the recent years in Nashville where the tickets usually don't make it past the season ticket holders and corporate sponsors. There were always tickets available from scalpers and secondary market sellers on the internet, but the fact that those tickets weren't sold to the general public generally meant a higher price for those waiting untli the last minute.
It Comes Down To Priorities
For Nashville, I always took the approach that if I could get my hands on tickets at face value to just get them and sell them later if my plans changed. Keep in mind, that buying in advance means that you are buying ALL sessions to the tournament. If you are one that enjoys all of the other games, then having the chance to get tickets in advance is a no brainer. If you are one that enjoys your hoops but not to the extent of attending a non UK game, then you are stuck with what in most years amounts to a worthless ticket for those games not involving the WIldcats. This year had the potential for some demand for games other than the Kentucky games, but with the Michael Porter injury at Missouri that higher demand potential may be gone. As one of those that enjoys watching the games from some host city establishment and the comaraderie of the BBN there, I tend to lean towards taking my chances on the single game ticket.
What About Other Fanbases?
If you have ever attended an SEC Tournament, you may have had a hard time finding fans wearing anything other than Kentucky Wildcat colors. I did not attend the tournaments during the days of those really good Arkansas teams so my experience has been with crowds that were probably 90 percent UK over the years. Even with the back to back NCAA titles for the Gators, it has always been that way in the years that I have attended. I expect it to be much of the same in St. Louis but with the location being farther west than usual it does open the possibility for fans that normally wouldn't go the tournament. Arkansas and Texas A&M have both had nice starts to the season and continued success in the conference could lead to some interest in a St. Louis trip for those fans. The location is ideal for Missouri fans, so I would expect an uptick (any increase from anyone other than UK is an uptick) in their attendance. To be fair, the Tigers have started well too and if they can make some noise in the conference they could have the 2nd largest representation in St. Louis. If I were a UK fan living in the western part of the state those factors may have me buying the entire ticket book knowing there may be enough nearby interest from fans of the other schools to dump my non Wildcat game sessions. As for now, I think I will pass on these upper level books at $360 and try for the single games once it gets closer to the second weekend of March. Thanks for reading, Go Cats!
