I got a ticket for the 3:30 matchup on a scalper site for $18 or so. I was curious, so Thursday I checked prices for the 7:30 Game. I bought one just before the tournament started for ... um, just under $70, I think. I assumed that that Game would feature Canada, and that Canadians would swoop in from up north to see this Quarterfinal matchup. I bought it before the tournament because the prices were starting to rise after falling a bit, and I was afraid that Canada fans would finally snatch them up thinking that they would be seeing their team. What I forgot to factor in was Trump wanting to annex the entire nation. That idiotic talk convinced many Canadians to not vacation in the U.S. I remember hearing so many resorts and convention bureaus say that the number of Canadians vacationing in their cities and towns have plummeted. I remember this now, but I didn't remember it when I bought that ticket. (That's probably due to all the bullshit coming from that asshole's mouth; you forgot the crap he said because he constantly says new crap. Apparently, it's a strength of his.) So I checked Thursday and I could get in for about $39. Dammit. Well, I chalked this mistake up to our dumbass President and the fact that this is the World Juniors we're talking about; I don't mind paying a premium for an event I probably will never attend again even though it turns out I overspent by about $31.
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So I blog posted on here before about buying World Juniors merchandise, and about whether I wanted to buy at Mariucci Arena, the pop-up store at the Mall Of America, or both. There were a lot of things I tried to consider about whether and what to buy, all of it leading me to a web of confusion. Foremost among them was price, of course, but another thing was scarcity, in particular whether an item is only in one place. And I think my OCD kicked in, because I got really, really obsessed over that when I went to Mariucci yesterday/Friday to watch the Games.
When I went down to the Megamall last Saturday, I hemmed and hawed about several items I saw down there. Eventually I decided not to buy the big tickets items, such as jerseys and hooded sweatshirts. They were oversized and they had designs that I wasn't too keen about. Oh, and the price, of course.
I bought two medium size t-shirts of the same design. It was important to me to at least buy anything World Juniors-related that had the official 2026 IIHF World Juniors logo and the flags of the ten countries competing. I also bought two because of my OCD: The plan is to wear one and to keep one for storage for ... I don't know what. Anyway, I bought a pair. I also bought a scarf which, sad to say, I forgot to wear Friday to Mariucci when I planned on doing so.
But back to the t-shirts. I don't necessarily regret buying them, but I recognized the style of that t-shirt when I was going through the merch store at Mariucci. I was afraid that they would have sold out at the arena, and that's why I bought it down in Bloomington, but it isn't "special" because I saw it at MOA and Mariucci. On the other hand, there were many, and I mean many, items at the pop-up that I didn't remember seeing at the arena.
I went into the merch store before the Czechia-Switzerland Game to buy my stuff before the Canadians did. I wouldn't say it was cleaned out, but compared to what I saw on Boxing Day, they went through a lot of stuff. However, and damn my fuzzy memory, even though there were several items there that I didn't see down in Bloomington, I think I'm right in thinking there is more "unique" stuff down at the Mall Of America than at the store in Mariucci.
And yet ... the things I saw in Mariucci that I don't recall seeing at MOA I pretty much bought. At first I got a winter hat with the logo stitched on it (I know I didn't see that at the Megamall) and a logo pin (don't recall seeing it at MOA, but it's a small pin, so I could've missed it). But during the first two periods of the Czechia-Switzerland Game I was debating about whether to buy more stuff. Well, I save a lot of money because my parents buy all the food we eat, so I indulged myself. At the Second Intermission, I went back into the merch store and bought a light blue hoodie with just the big logo in front (I don't think they have that one at the Megamall ... do they?) and two more t-shirts. This one design has the logo in the front and the flags of the ten countries in the back along with Paul Bunyan as a hockey player and Babe The Blue Ox as a Goaltender. I liked the Minnesota tie-in. And I know I did not see this particular t-shirt at MOA.
I have dropped about $200 in World Juniors-branded clothing. I don't think I have spent so much money in memorabilia for a single sporting event. There have been other big sporting events I've attended ... well, actually I worked a Super Bowl and a Final Four. I don't know how ethical it would've been to buy stuff, especially I was, you know, supposed to be working. But for the World Juniors I'm a fan, and like I said, I have money, so I am getting all this.
And dammit ... my OCD wants me to go back to the Mall Of America a third time to go into that pop-up store to look one more time at the "exclusive" stuff it turns out I could only buy there. In particular there was this orange quarter-zip that had the logo blown up and in contrast in the back. Now I feel bad that I didn't buy it then. But that pop-up store closes either tomorrow/Sunday or Monday, and now I feel compelled to buy that -- or, if that's gone, maybe something else I can only get there. I had plans to just go home immediately after the Vikings Game, but this is the World Juniors, so I've decided I can alter my plans, cut out early from U. S. Bank Stadium, drive down there before the mall closes, and take out my credit card to buy stuff marking this once-in-a-lifetime event ...
... unless there's nothing there for me to buy and/or it's too expensive and/or all the stuff there I saw at Mariucci, in which case it would be a waste of time but whatever, I need to see for myself. And this is where I catch myself not being frugal. I'll spend (or fritter away) money if it's for a big sporting event and if I think the stuff I can buy is "special." And I will beat myself up after the fact when I begin to doubt whether it is "special." My goodness, I can't buy anything without a tinge of regret.
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