Scalped
Scalped
You guys like off beat sports stories. And cop stories, right. Let me retell you one that happened to Jack and I about 7 or 8 years ago.
Jack and I went down to the New Haven Women’s Tennis Tournament at Yale yesterday. We didn't have tickets but scalping them was never a problem. Corporations buy big blocks of tickets as write-offs for advertising and many find their way down to the street. General admission is $46 but a scalped, much better “Box” seat is only $20. It was a light attendance weekday and no scalpers in the parking lot like you’ll find on busy weekends. So we headed onto the Yale grounds. In the middle of the sidewalk about 50 yards away was a young (in his 20s) athletic black guy talking with an old (70s) white guy. That's a combination one doesn't see very often and we suspected a ticket/scalping deal was being made. We headed towards them to get a deal too. . At the same time, that odd couple attracted the attention of a pair of cops from out in the street and they arrived at the same time we did.
One cop says to the Black guy, "Are you selling tickets?" but the black guy is on his cell phone and motions the cop to wait a second. The cop, now a little perturbed says more emphatically, "Its illegal to sell tickets on the street".
Not wanting to miss out on low cost tickets, I decide to become the wild card. I extend my hand to the black guy and say, "Hey Tonique, its me, Ralph. Remember? I used to date your sister. Come on. Walk me up to the gate". The cop instantly recognizes a phony says to me, "Nice try, butthead. We’re doing you a favor. Half the scalped tickets are counterfeit ". They grab the black guy a little roughly and walk him off the grounds.
Jack and I are now walking up to the gate wondering what we’re going to do for tickets. Will we have to pay full price! The old white guy is walking quietly by our side. After about 100 feet, the old white guy looks back over his shoulder, doesn’t see any cops and then reaches into his pocket, pulls out about a dozen tickets and says, "So!! You guys need tickets?" Hahaha. It was the Old White guy who was the scalper, not the Black dude who got tossed. I guess that puts us into the same stereotypical prejudice canoe as the cops.
Another lesson I should have learned decades ago. {sigh}
