The cheapest Super Bowl ticket, in the upper level of the end zone, is currently selling for $3,500. Hotel prices in Miami and Fort Lauderdale have quintupled their regular rates. And it's not like Miami hotels are renowned for their cheap February rates to begin with.
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| 26-year-old Cornell graduate Sarah Spain. (Getty Images) |
For instance, for only $7,295 per person (double occupancy) you can get an all-inclusive deal with StubHub that includes an upper level seat, lodging, and a spot in a celebrity golf tournament. Don't worry, I'm sure your wife will understand.
But for the rest of us, fans without a tremendous bank account to draw from, there is hope. That's because the Internet has opened the door to outlandish, intelligent and creative fan schemes more than any other communication device in world history. And sometimes creative fans who would otherwise be watching the game from their couch can end up at the game itself.
Which brings us to Sarah Spain, a 26-year-old Cornell graduate and lifelong Bears fan from Lake Forest, Ill., who currently lives in Brentwood, Calif. Spain didn't have several grand for a ticket, but she did have a rather fetching figure, brains, cleavage to spare and an Internet connection. So she did what most of us would do in that situation: Put herself up for auction on eBay as a Super Bowl football date.
Spain's auction commenced last Wednesday night at about 11 p.m. Immediately the bidding caught fire and her quest ricocheted around the Internet. Because the ClayNation column is nothing if not the most hard-hitting paragon of cyberspace journalism, we tracked down Spain after a helpful link to her MySpace page on www.withleather.com and conducted a telephone interview about her brilliant plan. So meet Sarah Spain, Super Bowl XLI's most creative fan. And start thinking about your own schemes for next year. Or being her date. Read on.
1. Tell us about your quest.
"Basically I didn't have six grand to see the game so I was trying to think of ways to get tickets. It started out with me joking with my boss about wanting to set up a Web site and get Super Bowl tickets that way. Only I have no idea how to do HTML. So he said put it up on eBay. I think he was joking but that night at 11 on Wednesday (the 24th) I put it up. Asking for someone to take me to the game. I didn't really want any money, I just wanted the ticket to the Super Bowl. I thought it was a cute idea but I was worried about people thinking it would be shady and the bidding was going so high I thought I needed to add in the fact that this was just for a ticket to the game and nothing else. I thought that would be apparent, but you know, it's the Internet and there's no telling who's out there bidding or what they're thinking. But that first auction was shut down by eBay after the bidding got out of control. So I put up a second auction the next day where I said I was selling my pom-poms (literally the pom-poms) in exchange for the ticket. And then eBay took down that one too."
2. Who did you expect to respond to your auction?
"My thought was that a company or the Bears themselves would see it and think it made sense to send me to the game. And that happened. Look, I'm not an idiot. I didn't put up a picture of myself in a nun's outfit. I went to Cornell, I've got brains and I knew what it would take to get some attention. But some people still ripped me for the idea. I've got tough skin though so I didn't care if people in Kansas liked me or not. But, you know, now I'm going to the Super Bowl and I didn't have to be shady or take anyone's money."
3. Now, according to your eBay posting, you already had plane tickets to Miami. Was that a gamble that Miami was going to be fun no matter who played in the Super Bowl or did you buy them as soon as the Bears advanced?
"I bought them five minutes after the Bears went to the Super Bowl. If it doesn't happen again for 21 years that the Bears are in the Super Bowl, I didn't want to be sitting around waiting for it to happen. I wanted to do it while I could."
4. Do you remember the 1985 Bears Super Bowl team?
"I don't remember watching the game. I was too young to see it but then you spend the rest of your life hearing about the game from everyone. Then they don't create the magic again for 21 years. That's why you have to go if you can."
5. I understand that you have successfully obtained tickets to the Super Bowl. How did that happen?
"I was getting a bunch of contacts from people, but it was hard to try and figure out who was legit and how it would work. I didn't want to show up in Miami trusting that someone had tickets and then see that they had nothing. So I was worried about it. Then I started hearing from people who worked at ticket companies that I was sure had access to tickets. So that made me feel better. And then yesterday (Friday the 25th) Axe body spray said they wanted to send me with a girlfriend of mine and get the guys of America to compete to go as our date.
"I think it's going to be very interesting to see how guys respond to the contest because lots of guys were like, 'Oh, you're getting to do this because you're a hot girl. That would never work for us.' Now guys are going to do exactly what I did. You have to put yourself out there and see what happens. Best of all, I bartered to make sure that not only did Axe give me a ticket for one of my girlfriends, they gave me two. I said I needed to make sure both of my girlfriends got tickets so that I didn't cause a catfight between them. And now I'm going to pick a guy to go to the game with the three of us. Guys are going to go on the Internet and have to convince me that they deserve to go. So now I get to flip things around and make some guy's day."
6. How tall are you?
"5-11."
7. Does it bother you that if you wore high heels, your team's starting quarterback, Rex Grossman, would be shorter than you?
"I'd be on a date with Sexy Rexy so I wouldn't care about height. I've been around long enough to know that lots of guys are shorter than I am. But I'd wear my flip-flops for Rex."
I've got tears in my eyes. I'm a sucker for true love.
E-mail Sarah at hotsuperbowldate@hotmail.com to convince her you are worthy of being her date. And check out the rules and regulations on Myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/superbowldate
Basically, you have to be at least 21 years old, must include a photo (it's specified that you also have to be wearing clothes which really pissed off Paul Reubens), and you have to have a place to stay in Miami. Honestly, I really hope a ClayNation reader can pull this off. Good luck.
But if you aren't fortunate enough to attend the Super Bowl, you can spend the day with me. Sort of. Because I'm the most (least) important member of the CBS family, I'll be live on CBS SportsLine with you all day Super Bowl Sunday starting with the earliest CBS pre-game show and extending through the final play in the late evening.
We're talking hours and hours worth of commentary. To be quite honest, there's no telling what I'll end up writing about. Some of it will be about the game, some of it will be about the commercials, and some of it will probably be about My Super Sweet 16. Come join the fun.
