SAN BENITO —Football tickets, anyone?
Don’t ask fan Tommy Ramirez. He doesn’t need any more. He has plenty.
The San Benito School District doesn’t set a limit on its sale of tickets, so Ramirez and several of his friends bought a total of 200 tickets for tomorrow night’s Battle of the Arroyo — after camping out in line for 23 hours.
“It’s like a Black Friday deal,” Ramirez said yesterday afternoon. “If you’re not first, you’re last.”
But, his purchase and subsequent responses on Facebook made the San Benito 38-year-old public enemy No. 1 yesterday.
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who purchased dozens of tickets as they sold fast for the biggest game of the year.
Within an hour yesterday morning, the San Benito school district sold out of tickets, selling about 750 remaining tickets for the annual rivalry pitting the San Benito Greyhounds against the Harlingen Cardinals, this year at Harlingen’s Boggus Stadium.
Ramirez said it’s a huge game and that his Greyhounds will win a third straight district title.
He hasn’t missed a Battle of the Arroyo game in eight years. He had no plans of missing this one.
In Harlingen, the district sold out within four hours, selling more than 2,000 tickets, district spokeswoman Briana Vela said.
Vela said the district limits ticket sales to eight per fan.
Ramirez said his fellow San Benito fans can’t blame him for obtaining his tickets. He was second in line and held the spot for nearly a day.
“Sorry, you didn’t get yours but you’re barking up the wrong tree,” Ramirez said. “I didn’t make the rules.”
Ramirez, who was second in line, said the man in front of him purchased 100 San Benito tickets.
Ramirez didn’t keep all of the $7 tickets. He said six of his tickets stayed with his family and four went to a friend. The rest went to other friends who helped him stand in line since Tuesday morning.
But, now with the fallout, this scenario has San Benito district officials thinking about making some changes.
“At this time, school and district officials will evaluate the district’s ticket purchasing guidelines,” spokeswoman Celia Longoria said in a statement.
But, that didn’t stop Greyhound fans from raging after Ramirez and other fans who bought up all the tickets.
“District officials extend their most sincere appreciation to the Greyhound fans for remaining loyal all season long and for remaining supportive of the team,” Longoria added. “They also extend their appreciation to those individuals that waited patiently in line for a chance to purchase tickets.”
Facebook continued to buzz following the sell-out.
Fans like Reynaldo Gomez wanted to know why the San Benito school district doesn’t set a limit on the sale of tickets.
“You have to have a limit,” Gomez wrote on his Facebook page. “There is a fish limit. There is a speed limit. There is hunting limit for deer and white wings. So you need a limit. Pero no — not in San Bene.”
Ramirez wasn’t worried about the questions. He was confident that he didn’t do anything wrong.
“If you snooze you lose!” Ramirez wrote on his Facebook page.
Ramirez also was adamant that he wasn’t selling the tickets online, but he said there are some people who are.
“My friends and I got together and camped out all day and all night,” he stated on Facebook. “We took shifts waiting and got exactly what we needed. We didn’t get them to resale or to make profit. I’ve even turned down some family that normally just calls me for the Battle of the Arroyo!”
