Got my Opening Day tix!
And it only took 8 1/2 hours of staring at the Virtual Waiting Room windows on 3 different computers.
Time for a quick history of Sox Pax…
Back in 1999, the Red Sox sold 6-game “Value Packs”, which were actually discounted from the regular prices, and were spread out with one game a month. I lived in Georgia at the time, but my brother was in New England and he got one. He got to see Opening Day, plus Nomar’s 3-HR (2 of which were grand slams) game with that package. In 2000, I moved back to Massachusetts, but they didn’t offer the packages that year. In 2001, I got 2 different “Value Packs” of 4 games each. There was a form to print off and mail in – pick a package and just say how many seats you want – and then we’d wait a few weeks before they’d arrive in the mail. For the next few years, they’d mail me a form with the current year’s packages before the general announcement. I’d fill it out, mail it in, and wait.
In December 2003, the Red Sox hosted the first “Christmas at Fenway”. They had bagels and coffee for $1 apiece, played the “Cowboy Up” DVD, and had a Q&A with new acquisition Curt Schilling. I had no trouble getting the Opening Day package (which were now called “Sox Pax” instead of “Value Packs” because they weren’t discounted anymore). The 2004 Christmas at Fenway was so chaotic after winning the World Series, that they don’t open it to the public anymore. (They used the excuse that they’d renovated the .406 Club and couldn’t hold as many people as in the past.) Now we have to register for an email lottery to get the chance to attend in person. I’ve never won this lottery.
So now I’m stuck in the Virtual Waiting Room every year. Twice the Opening Day pack sold out before I could get any. (I managed to get in by standing in the day-of-game line for several freezing hours.) Once I got the package, but only one seat, so my friends couldn’t come.
So today when I saw the 3:00 pm update that the Opening Day pack was sold out, my friend and I were prepared to camp out in April. But I never know when to give up, so I hung in there for 3 1/2 more hours. I finally got through at 6:30, and somehow, miraculously, managed to get 3 seats, in the bleachers, just like I wanted! I was able to add some single April and May games, too, and after a 2-hour VWR wait on Sunday, a September game.
So I will be at Opening Day! It was totally worth the 8 1/2 hour effort!
And the best part is I don’t have to go through this again until January…
