You know what really frosts my flakes?
Trying to watch a professional sports game without taking out a second mortgage.
Have you seen what it costs to attend a major league game these days?
First, you need a small bank loan just to buy a ticket and pay for “convenience fees” to have it emailed to you.
Then you pay a fortune to park your car in a lot so far away from the stadium that you need a shuttle bus and a Sherpa to find your seat.
Once you get there, you’re wedged between two strangers in a seat apparently designed for a praying mantis.
Your knees are pressed against your chin, your elbows are in somebody else’s nachos and if you need to use the bathroom, 14 people have to stand up to let you out.
And don’t get me started on concessions!
Twelve dollars for a soda? Ten dollars for a hot dog?
For that price, the hot dog better come from a prizewinning pig that was raised on filet Mignon and personally blessed by the commissioner.
So, I would rather stay home.
I can watch the action up close, enjoy instant replays, eat an entire package of hot dogs for less than the price of one at the stadium and use a bathroom that doesn’t resemble a livestock watering station.
But apparently, professional sports leagues don’t want people watching games at home either.
One game is on cable. The next is on Amazon Prime. Another is on Peacock. Then Netflix, ESPN or some other streaming service I’ve never heard of.
Very few games are available on over-the-air TV stations anymore. The World Series playoffs are prime examples
By the time you subscribe to everything needed to follow your favorite team, you could have bought a 120-inch, ultra-high-definition television with theater-quality surround sound, a built-in popcorn machine and a leather recliner with a massage function.
And here’s what really burns my biscuits.
Many of these billionaire-owned sports franchises play in enormous stadiums built or renovated with hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer support.
Cities compete to throw money at team owners to lure them away from another city. Then the owners threaten to leave unless taxpayers cough up even more money to keep them.
So, taxpayers help pay for the stadium, but still have to pay outrageous prices to get inside.
That’s like helping your neighbor build a swimming pool, then being charged $50 every time you want to dip your toes in the water.
I’m Grandpa Grumpy, and I remember when families could enjoy an afternoon at the ballpark without refinancing their homes.
Kids could get into baseball games for $5, sit in the bleachers and enjoy a hot dog and soda without their parents having to declare bankruptcy.
Today, taxpayers help pay for the stadium, fans pay a fortune to attend games and viewers pay subscriptions just to watch millionaires play the sport.
And the owners still want us to cheer — and buy overpriced clothing to “support the team!”