Mad scramble for footy finals tickets beginsANDREW KOUBARIDIS
Herald Sun
16 September 2019Tens of thousands of footy fans will scramble for preliminary final tickets today and tomorrow as Richmond prepares to play its first home final this year.
The AFL is expecting more than 90,000 fans to pack the MCG for Friday night’s blockbuster between the Tigers and Geelong.
Almost the same number could file through the gates on Saturday to watch Collingwood tackle Greater Western Sydney for a Grand Final berth.
Richmond and Geelong will be allocated 25,000 tickets each for members, ahead of allocations for MCC and AFL members and the public.
Richmond fans began camping outside Ticketek’s Exhibition St outlet on Saturday in a bid to secure a ticket this morning.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Frank Borg said.
He joined the queue at 6.30pm Saturday and has managed little sleep since then.
But like others in the growing line, he was counting down until tickets went on sale. “I think about 4am we will be getting pretty excited,” said Mr Borg, pictured (above, on left) with fellow fans Kirsty Upjohn and Greg Moschoyiannis.
The fans in the snaking line endured two cold evenings and some “misbehaviour” from Melburnians heading home after nights out.
“There were a few bottles thrown and we had a couple crying on the corner — we think they were breaking up,” Mr Borg said.
In previous years, people had tried to give money thinking they were homeless.
“We just laughed and showed them our Tigers colours,” Mr Borg said.
Ms Upjohn is used to camping out for tickets, too.
“Every year we come back and you see the same faces. It’s not boring because we have each other, and a few board games as well. It’s like one big family,” she said.
Battery chargers for their phones, plus a projector so they could relive past glories — including the 2017 Grand Final — help pass the time.
“Once I actually get the tickets I don’t think I will be able to sleep, it will be too exciting. If it’s anything like that last week in 2017, I will hardly get any sleep at all,” Ms Upjohn said.
Marcus Briggs will be among 200 members of the Geelong cheer squad hoping the Tigers are tamed at the MCG on Friday night.
He said he would keep the week as normal as possible — “until Thursday, then we’ll make a banner. We’ll try and keep it under control (but) then Friday it’s all on.”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/footy-fans-endure-cold-night-to-get-their-hands-on-finals-tickets/news-story/637d2739f13472d546bbe19b2c7dc667
