I mean REALLY! Who are the people who fill the stadiums and coliseums? Where do hundreds of thousands .... No hundreds of millions of people get the money to go to these places?
I suspect that they're the people who will have saved about $50k for retirement 30 years from now.
Have come to the conclusion that we live in a cave and have lost touch with reality. We were shocked... outraged... unbelieving when we had to pay $2 to get into a Florida park. So, no kidding!... Do average families actually spend these kind of $$$ or are things like concerts or races or games a once a year thing?
We have one extravagance that we regularly engage in, and that's our annual vacation. We'll spend up to $150 a day on admissions, that's it. I see a big difference between a once a year thing and the regular weekly expenses that others incur.
Sheesh...and I was thinking that I would treat DW to a movie $14.50 for 2, plus $3.95 for the popcorn bucket, and $3.50 for 3 coffees. Instead, we'll just wait a few years and see Argo on Netflix.
I think we have to draw a distinction with regard to certain things. From what they tell me, going to a football game is about the being there. The game is secondary. It is about the tailgating, the drinking of beer and eating of hot dogs, etc. Painting of face, wearing of silly-looking team (from my perspective) uniforms, etc. That's a unique experience (I suppose) that is worth what those people pay for it.
Watching the game for the sake of seeing the game - well - there are
better ways imho.
And this extends to a lot of things, and my saying so will reveal my bias: I'm a very big proponent of
television. Broadway musicals? I enjoy Broadway musicals best when I'm watching them from my easy chair, not cramped into a too-small seat in the second balcony with smelly-man next to me, mumbling to himself throughout the show. Motion pictures? Again, television wins, on the strength of (among many other things) the pause button, for use when I need to go to the rest room during the movie. Concerts? Palladia is an incredible television network. And so on.
But the point here is about
money. Putting
aside all the ways that all these (otherwise very expensive) entertainments are qualitatively
better on television than "in person", they are also far
better values on television than "in person". And that's factoring in the price of a big screen television, and DD5.1 surround sound system, and cable service to keep the entertainment flowing through the television (well, the price over and above what we would have paid anyway, if we were enjoying these entertainments "in person" instead). My contention is that television is a wonderful tool for economizing, and simplifying. In one device, if you open your mind to appreciating entertainment delivered that way as we have, you can greatly reduce, and reduce the complexity, of entertaining yourself and your family.
Oh, and incidentally: They have dramatic and comedic series on television, too.
