Super Regionals: The Untold Story

N.C. State's Doak Field and UNC's Boshamer Stadium | Photos: N.C. State and UNC Athletics

You'll never find this story on the news or really anywhere for that matter.

The story? How about the ticket situation at both N.C. State and UNC? Obviously there was a high demand for tickets since both of these teams made it to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

But both schools decided to give their donor clubs (The Wolfpack Club and The Rams Club, respectively) as well as their season ticket holders first dibs on tickets to the Super Regionals. Any leftover would go one sale to the general public hours after the fact.

As I expected both schools were completely sold out of tickets before the general public even got a chance to buy them. I'm also pretty sure N.C. State didn't even let students buy tickets like when the team was in the Regional round.

As you may or may not know, I'm a student at N.C. State but a UNC fan at heart, so this is double heartbreak for me. Of course, being more of a UNC fan, I wanted to go to that Super Regional but I guess it won't happen now.

Prepare for the rant.

You know I'm really getting sick and tired of this. With such high demand it's ridiculous that N.C. State and UNC would resort to this scheme. I mean, these donors and season ticket holders basically get everything handed to them on a silver platter as it is. No need for more.

I mean, it's becoming harder and harder for the general public to get football tickets and you can forget about season tickets for men's basketball. The list goes on. Even lower sections of the Smith Center are closed off for The Rams Club and other groups during Late Night With Roy - which is supposed to be a general admission event. It's become anything but.

Quite honestly, the general public supports the athletics program much more than the rich folks. I've been to many UNC games where Rams Club members would file out long before the game was over. This is especially true for basketball. 

All the while, many (if not all) of the "lowly" general public stay in the Smith Center until the final buzzer sounds, win or lose. Not to mention, the general public is there for team send offs, welcoming the teams back home in the wee hours of the morning and more. I'm sure not as many Rams Club members do that kind of stuff.

Let me lay out some of the things my family has done for UNC Athletics:

• My mom and I have bought tickets to countless games and sat through each one until the very end; even in the cold and rain sometimes for football.
• I've gone to numerous team send offs for the men's basketball team, often waiting hours on end. Even bringing my grandma (who's a Duke fan) to some of them. 
• My mom and I have gone to a few men's basketball awards banquets before they shunned the general public away from those.
• We've bought tons of merchandise, concessions, etc. throughout the years; most of which the funds go directly back to the university.
• Most recently my grandma, dad and I went to the UNC/Clemson ACC Baseball Tournament game that lasted 14 innings - and saw every minute of it - as well as the ACC Baseball Championship two days after. Both my grandma and dad are Duke fans at heart but were cheering just as loud for UNC as I was.

I, and the many others who are in the general public, can't help that we don't have enough money to join The Rams Club or be season ticket holders. Some only have enough money or time to go to a few select games. With my busy school schedule I feel like I can't fully commit to a season ticket plan. That's why I choose individual games to go to instead.

We shouldn't be punished all because we're not able to join The Rams Club - which is not what it's all cracked up to be by the way - or buy season tickets. What fun is it to watch the game on a manufactured television screen with annoying commentators? 

The Rams Club did tweet that StubHub could be an option for those who "missed out" on tickets. As of Wednesday night, no tickets had been posted for sale and the tickets always cost out the yin-yang for buyers anyway; a lot more than face value in fact. That shouldn't have to happen in the first place.

The even more heartbreaking thing about it is, I knew this would be the last time I could see this amazing UNC team play in person this season. Either the team will lose or go to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series and I knew for a fact I couldn't afford to go.

Plus, I know I'll always remember going to that UNC/Clemson game. Those memories are priceless. You can't make any memories from watching a game on television - well at least I can't. 

I'm definitely not alone in voicing my frustration - to put it nicely - over this. Many people have voiced the same opinions on The Rams Club's Twitter account as well as the UNC Ticket Office Facebook page. More could follow.

So it looks like, for now at least, I'll be watching on TV. I'm still not sure if I'll even watch the games now since this happened. 

As if we needed another reminder, this goes to show that money talks. If you ain't got it too bad! I, for one, am glad I'm not a rich snob.