Blogger vs the World--Chapter 4: a Friendly Debate: Florida Doesn't Want Us at Their Sports Events

Blogger vs the World--Chapter 4: a Friendly Debate: Florida Doesn't Want Us at Their Sports Events

     The greatest time of year is now upon us.  Yes, I am of course referring to the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  It is a magical time in which the sixteen best hockey clubs in the world fight for Lord Stanley's sacred Cup.  It is where hockey players's dreams come true and the joy of being a champion is realized.  In the same way, it is the dream of many NHL fans to witness playoff action or even the raising of the Stanley Cup.  One would think that it would be relitively easy to attend one of these NHL playoff games; simply buy a ticket and cheer on your favorite team at the game, Right?  Well, it's no longer that simple.  Some teams, most notably the Tampa Bay Lightning have imposed restrictions on who can purchase tickets.  The Lightning have made it so that only residents of Florida can buy tickets to their home games.  If you are from Georgia or one of the other neighboring states, the sale of the ticket can be withheld without an explanation from the Lightning organization.  Along with that, if it is clear that a potential ticket buyer is a fan of the opposing team, the Lightning will refuse to sell the ticket to that person.  Perhaps the strangest new restriction is that if a fan of the opposing team does manage to get into the stadium, they will be forced to remove their jersey or even relocate to worse seats.

This map roughly shows who will be allowed
to attend Tampa Bay Lightning games.
Only people in the red area are permitted
to buy tickets.

     Many people are scratching their heads at all of theses new restrictions.  It seems as if the Tampa Bay Lightning do not want to sell out their stadium.  Worse yet, it seems as if the Lightning are discriminating against an extremely large demographic of people.  Simply put, the Lightning are discriminating against anyone who could potentially be a fan of the opposing team.  This is wrong and a clear violation of everyone's right of freedom of speech.  as one writer put it, "no matter the content of the speech, or the circumstances, people in all levels of sport must be treated equally, for all are dependent on each other." This demand of equality would certainly extend to fans of the away team.

Pictured is the Case Club, at the Lightning's arena.
Fans of the opposing team are not allowed inside.

     This decision by the Lightning to exclude virtually the entire world from attending their games is clearly a bad one and will definitely have legal consequences.  One only has to look back a few years to see what happened to other teams who tried to shut out the opposing team's fans.  In 2013, the Seattle Seahawks tried to ban people from California from buying tickets, and they were sued by the San Francisco 49er fans for 50 million dollars.
 
I just don't understand why the Lightning are doing this.  Tickets are tickets and people are people.
They should all just embrace people's differences and and sell tickets to anyone who wants to buy them.  In the end, it's just a game after all; shouldn't everyone be able to enjoy it?

Until time, this is Kevin Freestone, signing off.