Frankly, the average fan's chances are lousy for scoring Eagles tickets Thursday morning, when seats for single games finally go on sale.
Starting at 10 a.m., fans can order either by calling Ticketmaster or going to ticketmaster.com. No in-person sales are planned.
Within a dozen minutes or so, all that will be left will be seats for the two preseason games.
But there are strategies that can improve the odds of snagging some tickets. They've worked for fans, including me, in the past.
Nothing is guaranteed, of course, because thousands of other fans, as well as dedicated ticket brokers, will be rabidly competing for theirs, too.
What's more, Ticketmaster's policies and procedures can change from year to year, complicating the best-laid plans.
BASIC TIPS
Put together a team. Since no strategy is foolproof, get together a group of at least three people to simultaneously try all the approaches below. You'll need at least one good computer with a fast Internet connection, and a phone with a crystal-clear connection that can redial. A static-riddled cell phone won't do.
Decide on games. You don't want to waste precious minutes fumbling for schedules or debating how many seats to request. Less popular games should be easier to get. So look over the schedule as sooon as possible, and discuss with your co-conspirators. Keep that schedule handy. If you call, you'll be asked for dates. (Note: Will the Dallas game be easier to get? Because it ends the season, it could be meaningless and cold - or the biggest game of the year.)
Decide on how many tickets. There's a four-ticket limit per customer. Not per game, per customer per season, Ticketmaster and the Eagles said yesterday. So, a fan could get two tickets for one game, two for another, for example. A block of four tickets is toughest to score. So if a request for four gets rejected, try a lesser number, rather than another game.
Sign up at ticketmaster.com in advance. You don't want to be wasting time entering credit card information while your Internet connection starts to bog down.
Scope out numbers to call. Ticketmaster's Philadelphia line will be jammed. So plan to call another line. In another state. Away from any city playing the Eagles. Look up numbers at http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/orderbyphone.html.
Be ready to roll early. You'll want to start by 9:30 a.m., or even earlier, with schedule, phone numbers, credit cards, whatever you'll need, on hand.
