Any Given Weekday: Hidden Gem Tickets
If you're anything like us, you loved to keep your tickets aside when you were growing up. Every concert, baseball game, hockey game and everything in between - we kept our tickets for everything. Well, start digging through your old ticket box, because you may have been at a historical event and not even known! Here are a few surprisingly valuable tickets that may have slipped under your radar while you watched from the stands!
September 24, 1985 - Montreal Expos vs. Chicago Cubs @ Wrigley Field
The game between the Expos and the Cubs on September 24, 1985 was more than just a simple baseball game. It was the backdrop for one of the most beloved coming-of-age movies of all time: Ferris Bueller's Day Off. While it might not have been obvious to many fans, several scenes throughout the movie were filmed during that game at Wrigley Field. For those lucky enough to have attended the game... it was a mostly forgettable experience! The 79-72 Expos beat the 70-80 Cubs with a score of 17-15, powered by the visiting Expos' star player Andre Dawson hitting 3 HR. It was a day game on a Tuesday, so only 6,947 fans attended, and most (if not all of them) had no idea that something historical was even happening! Not many tickets were issued, and many that were were thrown out as it seemed like a forgettable game! Today, this ticket is very rare and very valuable, fetching more than $1000 a ticket to relive that "whatever" game between two non-contenders!
April 13-15, 2012 - Coachella @ Empire Polo Club, Indio CA
It seems like it was only yesterday when the iconic Tupac Shakur appeared as a hologram in front of the crowd at Coachella music festival in 2012. The moment was historical -- no artist had ever been resurrected via hologram technology before! Fans were elated to see Tupac performing his classic hits "Hail Mary" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" live once again. The entire concert was a reminder of the lasting legacy Tupac has left behind in the music industry, and it served as a way to pay tribute to this legendary rapper who departed too soon. For those who kept their wristbands, this otherwise run-of-the-mill music festival became a historical moment.
June 28, 1997 - Tyson vs. Holyfield II @ MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
Who could forget the infamous "Bite Fight" between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on June 28th, 1997? This historic event remains a major part of sports history as being one of the craziest boxing matches ever! Referee Mills Lane had to disqualify Tyson after he bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear, and that moment is forever cemented in both boxers' legacies. It was such an unusual turn of events that today, tickets for the fight are heavily sought after, and demand thousands of dollars.
May 28, 1990 - Madonna Concert @ Skydome, Toronto ON
Did you know that in 1990, Madonna was arrested for her concert performance in Toronto? That's right -- it happened on May 28, 1990 when the Queen of Pop presented a racy show in which she simulated masturbation and exposed portions of her body. When police officers entered the stage they arrested Madonna and charged her with "Committing an obscene act." The iconic moment was marked in pop culture history as being one of the most controversial events -- Madonna forever changed the way live concerts are perceived and handled.
May 12, 2003 - Atlanta Braves vs. LA Dodgers @ Dodger Stadium
Nobody in attendance on a mid-May Monday night game at Dodger Stadium knew the gravity of the game that they were attending. The Dodgers took on the Braves, losing 11-4, and somewhere in the stands, a man was lucky enough to be in the background of a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode. Juan Catalan was arrested weeks later for a murder that happened while he was at the Dodgers game, but with no concrete evidence to support his alibi, he was convicted. In reviewing tape shot for the Curb episode, Catalan was visible in the background, ultimately clearing him of all charges. Netflix released a documentary on the story in 2017 called Long Shot. That ticket today is very hard to find! It's a forgettable Monday night loss in May - but for those who keep all their tickets, it could be worth quite a bit!
So dig through your old ticket boxes! You may not even know that you were at a historical event until years later. Sometimes you may have an idea (not everybody gets to see a man bite another's ear off in a boxing match) but others may just be an innocuous weekday outing until you hear the significance of the day years down the line. Who knows what you might find!