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Editor's note: Keep up with the USA-Bosnia and Herzegovina game with our live blog, here.
SANTA CLARA, CA ― Tickets to attend the FIFA World Cupround of 32 match between the United States men's national soccer team and Bosnia and Herzegovina cost fans thousands of dollars, per seat.
That didn't stop soccer fans from packing Levi's Stadium (San Francisco Bay Area Stadium) from the nosebleeds down to the field zone. When the matchup was first set, tickets were as expensive as $15,000.
The cheapest ticket on the market was still $1,300 nearly 24 hours before kickoff. But a pair of brothers were able to get into the game for free.
DoorDash, an online food ordering and delivery company, put together a marketing plan for the World Cup where it organized a scavenger hunt, which included a bag of free tickets hidden across various locations in multiple World Cup host cities and regions.
Michael Guzman found a bag in a downtown San Francisco location.
"DoorDash had a giveaway where they put, like, 14 tickets in a bag somewhere in downtown SF and they posted the picture of the bag and gave a hint of the location, and then my brother saw it," Alec Guzman told USA TODAY Sports. "He was at the gym near it, and he kind of ran down the street, took a guess, and he heard people screaming, and someone found it, and then he got there. He thought he was cooked, but then he ended up finding out there were seven sets of two tickets, so he was one of them. ... The craziest thing is, he was gonna buy tickets that morning, but then he ended up getting two free tickets."
For those wondering: Section 121. Not bad for a five-finger discount.
The experience is what propelled most fans to make the purchase.
Michael Guzman told USA TODAY Sports he was willing to spend $3,000 to attend.
"I was willing to pay $1,500 to come to the game, each," Guzman said.
Guzman's younger brother Alec, 21, wasn't born yet the last time the World Cup was in the U.S. in 1994.
He wanted to make sure that they had the chance to experience it, in case another 32 years went by before the World Cup returned to American soil.
It's the reason why Fred Jackson paid about $2,000 per seat, shelling out nearly $6,000 total, for he and his two boys, Ben and Jack, to spend quality time and get a taste of the USMNT on the biggest stage ... despite not really being much of a soccer fan.
"Just good, fun times," Jackson told USA TODAY Sports. "Good experience, that's all."
Mike Medina just moved from Southern California to Northern California for a new job a year and a half ago. He took his family to the match, paying $1,750 a piece.
"It was just a great opportunity in the area," Medina said.
Aidan Cantwell flew from Atlanta to catch the United States men's team. He described his decision as "financially irresponsible" but he could not be happier.
"There's only a couple times in your life, probably one time in your life, where you're going to be in (the) United States watching the United States play in the World Cup," Cantwell told USA TODAY Sports. "I couldn't go to any other game, so I flew all the way from Atlanta here last night, day tripping it. It's once in a lifetime, and who knows? The rest of my life, USA might never host a World Cup again, but one day I would tell my kids or my grandkids, I was at this game."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: USA-Bosnia World Cup tickets cost thousands. These siblings got in free.
Continue reading...
SANTA CLARA, CA ― Tickets to attend the FIFA World Cupround of 32 match between the United States men's national soccer team and Bosnia and Herzegovina cost fans thousands of dollars, per seat.
That didn't stop soccer fans from packing Levi's Stadium (San Francisco Bay Area Stadium) from the nosebleeds down to the field zone. When the matchup was first set, tickets were as expensive as $15,000.
The cheapest ticket on the market was still $1,300 nearly 24 hours before kickoff. But a pair of brothers were able to get into the game for free.
DoorDash, an online food ordering and delivery company, put together a marketing plan for the World Cup where it organized a scavenger hunt, which included a bag of free tickets hidden across various locations in multiple World Cup host cities and regions.
Michael Guzman found a bag in a downtown San Francisco location.
"DoorDash had a giveaway where they put, like, 14 tickets in a bag somewhere in downtown SF and they posted the picture of the bag and gave a hint of the location, and then my brother saw it," Alec Guzman told USA TODAY Sports. "He was at the gym near it, and he kind of ran down the street, took a guess, and he heard people screaming, and someone found it, and then he got there. He thought he was cooked, but then he ended up finding out there were seven sets of two tickets, so he was one of them. ... The craziest thing is, he was gonna buy tickets that morning, but then he ended up getting two free tickets."
For those wondering: Section 121. Not bad for a five-finger discount.
Paying for 'once in a lifetime' experience
The experience is what propelled most fans to make the purchase.
Michael Guzman told USA TODAY Sports he was willing to spend $3,000 to attend.
"I was willing to pay $1,500 to come to the game, each," Guzman said.
Guzman's younger brother Alec, 21, wasn't born yet the last time the World Cup was in the U.S. in 1994.
He wanted to make sure that they had the chance to experience it, in case another 32 years went by before the World Cup returned to American soil.
It's the reason why Fred Jackson paid about $2,000 per seat, shelling out nearly $6,000 total, for he and his two boys, Ben and Jack, to spend quality time and get a taste of the USMNT on the biggest stage ... despite not really being much of a soccer fan.
"Just good, fun times," Jackson told USA TODAY Sports. "Good experience, that's all."
Mike Medina just moved from Southern California to Northern California for a new job a year and a half ago. He took his family to the match, paying $1,750 a piece.
"It was just a great opportunity in the area," Medina said.
Aidan Cantwell flew from Atlanta to catch the United States men's team. He described his decision as "financially irresponsible" but he could not be happier.
"There's only a couple times in your life, probably one time in your life, where you're going to be in (the) United States watching the United States play in the World Cup," Cantwell told USA TODAY Sports. "I couldn't go to any other game, so I flew all the way from Atlanta here last night, day tripping it. It's once in a lifetime, and who knows? The rest of my life, USA might never host a World Cup again, but one day I would tell my kids or my grandkids, I was at this game."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: USA-Bosnia World Cup tickets cost thousands. These siblings got in free.
Continue reading...
