A day after White Sox fans furiously dialed and clicked in an effort to land World Series tickets, the lucky few who got through to Ticketmaster began arriving Wednesday at U.S. Cellular Field to pick up their prizes.
But it wasn’t only the charmed who showed up. Jeff Goshert, 43, and Tony Villarreal, 32, upgraded their partial season tickets into a full-season plan for 2006, which earned them the right to buy World Series tickets.
Their cost, including four tickets to each Chicago Series game: $13,000.
“It’s like you go out drinking and you’re having fun and then you wake up in the morning, you might have that hangover,” Villarreal said. “But right now we’re still enjoying the fact that we’re going. Maybe when it’s all said and done we’ll have that headache feeling, but right now we won’t.”
While Sox players went through a light workout on the field, a steady stream of fans stunned by their luck were happy to reveal the strategies that landed them their tickets.
The most popular method was to get through to Ticketmaster by phoning outlets based outside Illinois.
Joel Speckhard, 34, bought his tickets by calling Ticketmaster’s Miami outlet. He got through at 11:59 a.m., he said, and then calmly asked the customer service rep for World Series tickets.
“He said, ‘Well, those go on sale in 15 seconds,’ ” Speckhard said. “So we sat quietly for 15 seconds, and he said, ‘OK, got you the best seats.’ “
Lorraine Daniels’ seats are far from the field in Section 509 of the Cell’s upper deck, but the location did nothing to take away from the thrill of getting tickets for herself, her two brothers and another friend.
“I got in on the third call,” said Daniels, who bought four tickets to Game 6. “I couldn’t believe it. I got nervous and haven’t slept since then.”
Daniels said she wouldn’t dream of selling her tickets, but John O’Connor, 24, of Hobart, Ind., isn’t so sure.
He bought one ticket online for Game 2 and is aware that his lower-level tickets have gone for more than $1,000 each.
“Maybe I’ll sell it, I don’t know,” O’Connor said. “Money talks.”
Those still seeking tickets outside the Cell didn’t take long to make their pitches to fans leaving the box office. Speckhard, whose four Game 1 seats are in the lower level, listened. But that’s as far as he’d go.
“It’s tempting,” he said. “You keep hearing offers as you walk around here. …The thing is I’m not even a huge Sox fan, but my friends are big Sox fans. I have bought and sold before, but I told them I’d get it for them.”
Timothy Bender, 52, who bought tickets for him and his son for Game 2, has been asking others whether he should go or sell.
“The older people say, ‘go’ because it’s history,” Bender said. “The younger people are more money-driven and say, ‘sell them!’
“I think we’re going to go.”
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jgreenfield@tribune.com
Edited by Chris Malcolm (ccmalcolm@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
