Season Tickets

It's never good to generalize about women. I'm one, and trust me, we don't like to be stereotyped - at least, most of us don't like it. (Maybe some do. Wouldn't want to generalize.) But when it comes to women who attend men's pro sports here in Philly, there's one inevitable truth about us females. Lady game-goers are the minority. No surprise there. At least, not if you've been to see the Phils, Flyers, Birds, Sixers or Union and taken a quick look around. Stand outside one of the gates at Lincoln Financial Field 15 minutes before game time.

It was a foray, you might say, into value investing, when my friend Matt Jordan and I decided to sample season tickets this year for the 76ers. At $197 a person, we snagged an eight-game package starring a team so deep, so young, so fearless, we hoped there'd be enough on-court fireworks to make up for the fact that our almost-corner seats were at a despairingly high altitude. "Hey," Matt preemptively consoled in pitching the far-from-center-court idea back in December, "at least we'll have something to do during the dark, cold weeknights of winter.

At the Major League Soccer draft this month, there was a lot of talk about how the expansion Philadelphia Union had sold 9,000 season tickets, and some of the conversation went like this: If those sales - sufficient to fill half the stadium - are the base for crowds of, say, 17,000 a game, then they represent a major accomplishment. If those 9,000 turn out to be most of the people who go to the games, then pro soccer is going to struggle in Philadelphia. Again. So what constitutes - and will constitute - ticket-sales success for the Union, now two months from their first game?

A New Jersey man who shot a flare across the field and into the stands at the conclusion of the Eagles-49ers game Monday night has been arrested. Police yesterday said Robert Sellers, 29, of Cable Drive, Toms River, faces a number of charges, including arson and propulsion of missiles. Meanwhile, another Eagles fan said he was assaulted by five men at the game because his friend was wearing a New York Giants jacket, said Sgt. Frank Vanore, of South Detectives. Scott Reader, 37, of Maple Shade, N.J., told KYW NewsRadio that his ankle had been shattered by the beating and that he cannot work.

GATHER 'ROUND, kids, and let me tell you a story about what used to be called professional football. Once upon a time, a team called the Frankford Yellow Jackets became the Philadelphia Eagles. I'd go to the games with your great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather. We had season tickets for 30 years. But the owners got greedy. They kept raising the ticket price until the average parents couldn't afford to take their kids to the games. Paying obscene salaries, they put more and more mediocre players on the field.

Add another ticket option for Phillies fans: The Three Game Pack. Tickets for individual games don't go on sale till Feb. 16, but this morning the club started selling three-ticket sets that include one of 13 desirable dates. Fans then have to select two other games, almost all of them scheduled for weeknights. A Summer Saturday Pack, for example, could include one of the following: the June 2 game against Miami, June 23 against Tampa Bay, July 7 against Atlanta, July 21 against Atlanta, Aug. 4 against Arizona, or Aug. 11 against St. Louis.

RE THE Feb. 11 letter on Jon Bon Jovi and the Philadelphia Soul: What really blew our minds was that "Mr. Know-It-All" Stephen Cornell said that Jon Bon Jovi, the Philadelphia Soul arena football owner, hasn't really been a celebrity for more than a decade. We hate to inform him, but for the last 20 years, Bon Jovi has been a part of the music, movie and TV worlds. He and his band have had sold out tours and sold many records. Through all this, Jon has remained a wonderful family man and father.

Frank Stone Brown, 82, formerly of Hatboro, a retired sales manager, died on Wednesday at Abington Memorial Hospital. For 43 years, he worked for Haydon Bolts Inc. in Philadelphia. He retired in 1982 as a sales manager. Born and educated in Philadelphia, Mr. Brown lived on Long Beach Island, N.J., from 1982 until he entered the Brighten at Lakeside nursing home in Middletown Township, Bucks County, 1 1/2 years ago. Previously, he lived in Philadelphia's Mayfair section and in Hatboro for many years.

If we sports fans ever forgot that professional sports is about private enterprise, the Eagles issued a firm reminder Tuesday, when they announced their Eagles' Stadium Builder Licenses. These are licensing fees for the right to buy season tickets for 29,000 of the best seats in the new stadium. If you hold season tickets now, you can pay the fee - ranging from $1,530 to $3,700 per seat - and then pay for the seat. These new fees are all about business. There was obviously no ill will intended in their announcement.

A remarkable tradition started in 1953 when Hank Clinton and his best friend, Jack McCormick, bought season tickets to Eagles games. The pair had been best friends at South Catholic High School. Fifty-one seasons - and four stadiums - later, the families of the two men have blended into one, and the tradition has not only endured - but flourished. Now, 23 members of the extended Clinton and McCormick families - three generations of brothers, uncles, cousins, grandfathers and grandsons - hold season tickets together to Eagles games.

Add another ticket option for Phillies fans: The Three Game Pack. Tickets for individual games don't go on sale till Feb. 16, but this morning the club started selling three-ticket sets that include one of 13 desirable dates. Fans then have to select two other games, almost all of them scheduled for weeknights. A Summer Saturday Pack, for example, could include one of the following: the June 2 game against Miami, June 23 against Tampa Bay, July 7 against Atlanta, July 21 against Atlanta, Aug. 4 against Arizona, or Aug. 11 against St. Louis.

It was a foray, you might say, into value investing, when my friend Matt Jordan and I decided to sample season tickets this year for the 76ers. At $197 a person, we snagged an eight-game package starring a team so deep, so young, so fearless, we hoped there'd be enough on-court fireworks to make up for the fact that our almost-corner seats were at a despairingly high altitude. "Hey," Matt preemptively consoled in pitching the far-from-center-court idea back in December, "at least we'll have something to do during the dark, cold weeknights of winter.

It's never good to generalize about women. I'm one, and trust me, we don't like to be stereotyped - at least, most of us don't like it. (Maybe some do. Wouldn't want to generalize.) But when it comes to women who attend men's pro sports here in Philly, there's one inevitable truth about us females. Lady game-goers are the minority. No surprise there. At least, not if you've been to see the Phils, Flyers, Birds, Sixers or Union and taken a quick look around. Stand outside one of the gates at Lincoln Financial Field 15 minutes before game time.

In light of the NFL lockout, the Eagles announced to their season-ticket holders on Wednesday a deferment option on the second payment on ticket plans for the coming season. The Eagles are one of a handful of teams to give their fans this choice. Many teams have already collected full payment for next season, including Dallas, Pittsburgh, and New England. The New York Giants announced last month that they won't require their season- ticket holders to pay anything until there is a resolution between the owners and players.

Picture this: The aroma of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and corn fills the room as a family sits down for their Thanksgiving meal. Everyone is dressed in their Sunday best, excited to enjoy each other's company for, arguably, the best holiday of the year. They pull in their chairs, bow their heads to say grace, and commence their delicious home-cooked meal. Then the father grabs the television remote to turn on . . . an Oprah re-run? Imagine a Thanksgiving Day without NFL football, due to the current lockout.

Without a doubt, the economic recession has had an impact on professional sports. Even in tough economic times, rabid fans still find a way to stretch their entertainment dollars and root for their home teams - unless their home teams aren't winning. The Phillies and 76ers have had different experiences during the economic turmoil - reaping the benefits and ruing the consequences, respectively. Over the past three years, the Phillies have averaged 43,911 fans per game.

The Union have yet to play a game at PPL Park in Chester, but already the team has sold out its season-ticket allotment. The team cut season-ticket sales at 12,000 for the 18,500-seat PPL Park and will offer a limited number of partial-plan tickets. Single game tickets will be sold beginning June 7. For more information, see www.philadelphiaunion.com. Due to construction at PPL Park, the Union played their first two home games at Lincoln Financial Field, drawing 34,870 and 25,038.

With a little over a month to go before the grand opening of PPL Park, the Union announced yesterday that its season-ticket packages are sold out. A limited number of partial season-ticket plans are still available and single-game tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, June 7. Single-game ticket presales for the season ticketholders will be held until 5 p.m. Friday, June 4, but only a two-ticket maximum will be allowed for the June 27...

At the Major League Soccer draft this month, there was a lot of talk about how the expansion Philadelphia Union had sold 9,000 season tickets, and some of the conversation went like this: If those sales - sufficient to fill half the stadium - are the base for crowds of, say, 17,000 a game, then they represent a major accomplishment. If those 9,000 turn out to be most of the people who go to the games, then pro soccer is going to struggle in Philadelphia. Again. So what constitutes - and will constitute - ticket-sales success for the Union, now two months from their first game?