Sunday, February 17, 2002
Scalpers sing a fine whine
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Ottawa Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- The biggest Olympic sport not being covered at these Games is scalping.
Take a walk downtown to Latter Day Saints Plaza where the few protesters who have shown up hang out and they're drowned out by people trying to sell tickets to whatever event tickles your fancy.
While hockey and figure skating are among the most popular tickets on sale -- even writers have to have ticketed seats for those events -- the hottest seller is the nightly events at the Medal Plaza which include a concert with a headliner.
More than 20,000 people pack the location near the Delta Center -- the main figure skating venue -- using tickets they received before the Games by making purchases at local greeting card stores.
Though the concept is a nice gesture, nobody from out of town was able to get seats, which means they were snapped up by scalpers.
Plenty of great acts have played, including the Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow and the Barenaked Ladies. Alanis Morissette is coming up, but the place is surrounded by guys trying to scalp tickets because it's not illegal here.
It hasn't paid off as much as they'd like. A guy trying to sell Dave Matthews tickets on Opening Night was seeking $100, but ended up having to settle for $30 just before the show started.
One businessman was even spotted giving away ducats just before Crow went on.
THE MEDAL PLAZA: Until women's hockey improves, should it really be in the Games? Going into yesterday's action Canada and the USA, who will meet in the finals, had outscored their opponents 36-1 in four games. Everybody was giving the girls from Belarus credit the other day because they only lost 7-0 to Canada and that's not right ... Speed skater Catriona Le May Doan didn't have her seats in the corner for the Canada-Sweden game because of preferential treatment. She bought them months ago, but couldn't have left the building happy with Canada getting stomped 5-2 ... The letters are pouring in from Swedish fans, and of course, journalists are saying the Canadians didn't give the boys from overseas enough credit for the way they played Saturday ... Memo to boss:I've been living on Fruit Loops and toast. Please send money ... Good-guy Lance Pitlick called from Florida to complain about the liquor laws in Utah. He's never been here, but he said reading my column he can understand the troubles I'm having. Okay, I get the message, no more complaints.
AROUND THE RINGS: It only took the Salt Lake Tribune until yesterday to notice the big story of the Games was figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. They were getting front-page coverage everywhere but here ... Comic Howie Mandel had everybody laughing after he acted as a security guard at "Bud World" in downtown Salt Lake for the Tonight Show. He had people patting themselves down and left them standing there with their arms out for long periods of time ... The city has a $40 fine for jaywalking, which may explain the flags and timers at crosswalks, because it has been picked as the 12th deadliest city in the United States for pedestrians. Remind me not to walk anywhere ... Cleaners at the U.S. Olympic Village at the University of Utah have labelled their country as "biggest slobs."
Have a nice Sunday.
2002 Games News Coverage
