I am pretty frugal in most of my life, but the one thing I am willing to splurge on is tickets for sporting events (namely Ohio State football tickets). I've been to probably more than 100 OSU home games and traveled the country following Ohio State--been to Michigan (six times), Penn State (twice), Texas (Austin), USC (LA), Northwestern (Chicago), New Orleans (three times), Phoenix, Wisconsin (Madison), and probably a couple others that I'm forgetting at this late hour. It's been a blast and I don't regret any of it. I was at last year's Sugar Bowl win against Alabama and it was honestly one of the most fun weekends of my life.
However, while I've always been pretty frugal, reading this website and others (like ERE) have made me stop and think much more about attending sporting events. I debated long and hard over this past spring and summer about whether going to OSU's big games was worth it and ultimately decided that yes, it was. I just bought two tickets for this year's season opener at Virginia Tech (Monday night game on Labor Day). My girlfriend and I are turning it into a trip--we are going to Richmond, VA to see some history stuff, go to the game, then go to Charleston, WV for some nature-related activities to wind down before getting back to work. Fortunately, because we both do a decent job of racking up reward points, all of our hotel costs are free, so we are only paying for tickets, food, and gas.
I admittedly feel weird now that I bought the tickets. I think I'm rationalizing it because (a) we are a DINK couple but not for too much longer, (b) we budget well and spend responsibly throughout the vast majority of the year, and (c) it's been an amazing hobby that has brought a lot of joy and memories to me in my short life and I love it.
For me, all that outweighs the cost.
So, anybody else feel the same about attending sporting events?