In defense...

A column was recently published in a local newspaper referring to a friend of mine as a "loon." (short for lunatic) My response, as well as a link to the original article, is as follows:

This letter is in response to the recent ‘Loon of the Week’ column written by Mr. Brian Gray.

In his column, he told the story of a man and his son, (who happened to be a landscaper as to which I’m not quite sure what that information had anything to do with the story) who tried to move down from the upper bowl "nosebleed" section to the lower bowl at the end of the recent Utah v. Phoenix game. Upon his attempt, he was confronted by a "surly" usher who asked him to leave the area because he didn’t have a ticket for the lower bowl.

Though the EnergySolutions Arena was constructed with steep angles in the upper bowl, I’ve never encountered the section labeled "nosebleed." Could Mr. Gray define where that is so that I’m sure I don’t purchase season tickets there such as the poor, unfortunate man who had to endure this ordeal? What does that tell you about the landscaper if he sits in the "nosebleed" section? It could possibly infer that he’s an inferior landscaper if all he can afford is a "nosebleed."

I’m also curious to know how much it costs to sit in the "nosebleed" section. I called the Jazz ticket office but they weren’t exactly sure which section I was referring to as they rattled off various numbers of sections that never came close to sounding like "nosebleed." The reason I ask is, if I were perhaps one of those hoity-toity landscapers who sat in the lower bowl and paid double, triple, or quadruple what those "nose bleeders" pay, I surely wouldn’t want to know that I could have paid 75% less and still received the same experience simply by cheating my way into a different seat. Not only that, I believe technically the law refers to that as "theft of services." You see Brian, in the sporting event world the ticket you pay for entitles you only to the seat for which it is was purchased. This would mean that the ‘surly’ usher who made the man and his son leave was actually doing their job.

Oh yes, you mentioned that it was poor customer service. This is far from the truth. The usher was not only doing their job but also providing excellent customer service for the lower bowl patrons by not allowing a person who paid half as much sit next to those who paid face value. It’s kind of like finding out the guy next to you on the plane paid half as much for his ticket as you did, but he’s getting the same exact ride. It’s a virtual kick in the face.

Of course most would probably agree that it is okay to move down when seats are left because it’s been known to be a common practice. Incidentally this common practice is also a form of dishonesty; getting something that you didn’t pay for.

Ah, but then you might say, as supposedly the man did in this case, "It’s not going to hurt anything to let my son see the last few plays." I would probably agree, however, what does this teach his son? What happens when the son, heaven forbid, begins to want to get closer to illegal drugs or underage drinking? Don’t worry it’s not going to hurt anyone to try (see) a little. I’ve got to hand it to the father and the columnist or exemplifying some questionable rationale! Now the man is teaching his son that it’s not only an acceptable practice to be dishonest but it’s also okay if it’s not going to hurt anything. You referred to this behavior as "common sense." I must have missed that day of "common sense" class.

To make the story a little more colorful, the least you could have done is explain that the ushers at the ESA are practicing bigotry against landscapers.

I should note that I have been to a number of NBA arenas and the ushers and staff that work at Jazz games are by far some of the best in the business. I think it is unfortunate you would insult not only this person, but the entire staff for simply coming to work and doing their job.

Your column begins with the claim that it is only natural to celebrate the silly, irrational, and the blindly stupid. For this reason I nominate the blindly stupid, Mr. Brian Gray as the ‘Loon of the Week’ for not doing his research, for his questionable ethics and for putting them in print for all the world, or at least Davis County, to see.

Original article:
http://www.clippertoday.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=126&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=20553&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1005&hn=clippertoday&he=.com