How to Make Someone's Life

On Sunday, hubby and a good friend of ours took Sons #1 and 2 to their first Rangers game. Both play hockey and are big fans of the team (and never fail to point out when Mom's team, the Islanders, takes a nosedive). Hubby got the tickets (face value over $100 apiece) through a deal with his boss. He'd saved a pile of cash for souvenirs...because how can you take the kids to their first game and not get them official NYR jerseys etc.?

They took the train to MSG, scheduled to arrive when the gates opened. They had good seats, at least as good as you can get in the upper deck. About 20 minutes before game time, hubby called the house, almost yelling with excitement. A representative of MSG had gone up to their section and saw them all geared up in their Ranger attire...and told hubby that he was "comping" them for seats at ice level. Hubby was suspicious at first but he thought that they could still return to their original seats if this was a gag.

It was 100% for real. I guess they have some season tickets that get returned at the last minute, and this is a good way to fill the seats with genuine fans. So they show up in their new location, and a waitress comes over to ask whether they would like food or drinks. Pretty cool not to have to stand on line at the concession area. So hubby is relating all this to me on the phone, and the kids are screaming in the background. "This is AWESOME, Mom!" Whoops, the food arrives, so they have to get off the phone.

OK so the Rangers didn't win the game, but don't we think that the four of them will tell just about everyone they know the story of how they were comped down to ice level seats? A Cinderella kind of tale...kids' first game and all. How much good will does that generate for the Rangers/MSG organization...and guess what, the ice seats have a face value of $250 apiece...so the difference was only $600. Advertising in the traditional way costs millions for a 30 second commercial. Smart, n'est-ce pas?