Hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail

I’m fucking pissed.  Earlier this year I purchased a Flex Pack multi-game ticket pack for the Mets so that I could get Subway Series tickets.  I had been looking forward to this game the past 6 months.  I feel that I purchased the tickets early enough that I should have gotten a decent seat for the game.  Well, that’s not the case.  I got one of the worst seats at Citi Field, with a horribly obstructed view.  These seats are so bad, that there are other websites which bitch about the same seats.  These are quite possibly the worst seats at Citi Field.  These seats were in Section 529, Row 3, seats 7 & 8.  This section is located in the Promenade Reserved section of Citi Field.

Section 529 Row 3 Seat 8

What pisses me off most is that the Mets organization complains and bitches about losing money left and right.  They complain that nobody comes to the games.  Well, maybe that’s because they treat their fans like shit.  Giving someone who purchased a pack of tickets, well in advance, shit seats is not going to make them want to do it again.  Those seats were worthless.  I couldn’t see ANY of left field.  And to make matters worse, I could BARELY see home plate or third base.  Seriously, have you ever tried to enjoy a baseball game where you couldn’t see home plate because part of the building was in the way?  These seats ruined my experience, and I probably won’t be purchasing any additional tickets for the rest of the season, nor will I consider a multi-game pack of tickets for next season.

Section 529 Row 3 Seat 8 Citi Field

While I’m on a roll ranting about Citi Field, let me also complain about the service of the staff there.  It is also shit.  I’ve been to almost a dozen games this year, so it’s not just a fluke, it is consistent.  If you want to get a beer and/or some food between innings, you’ll consistently miss 1 or more innings of game play.  This is because the staff working the concessions are not the brightest folks.  I’m all for giving mentally challenged people an opportunity in life, but when you are charging $50 to get into the game, $8 per beer, and $8+ per food item, the service should at least be better than McDonalds.  Unfortunately the service is worse than McDonalds.  It apparently takes 3 people to serve 1 beer at Citi Field.  While the next register sits empty.  The lines move at a snail’s pace.  I’ve been in line for over 1 inning, only to be the next person in line, only to be cut off because the bottom of the 7th inning began, which is the beer sales cut-off point.

All in all, I’m not having much fun going to the games anymore.  It’s not even the Mets playing like shit that frustrates me, I can live with that.  I can’t live with spending way too much money only to be fucked in the ass by an organization which doesn’t care for those folks spending their hard earned money at the establishment.  After this season I think I’ll be staying at home to watch most of the games.

At the risk of totally ruining it for everyone, I’ve decided to type up some hints as to how to bypass the annoying MLB.TV blackout restrictions. I know it angers many people that pay upwards of $200 per year for a premium subscription and are then unable to watch games in their local market. This article is not going to be a step-by-step howto as I feel that if you want it bad enough, you can figure it out on your own. I aim to provide some guidance and assure that it is possible to watch your home team’s games.

I feel that this workaround is much better than using some paid proxy or shady proxy service. For the PC and Mac this workaround requires the following software:

• Firefox
• Foxyproxy plugin for Firefox
• Tor – Vadalia

Install Firefox.  Then install Vadalia.  Run and connect to the TOR network with Vadalia. Install Foxyproxy in Firefox (not the Firefox that comes with Vadalia) and configure for use with TOR.  I would recommend that in the Foxyproxy settings you define to only use Tor for *mlb* addresses.

It’s as simple as that. There will be a little more work, but it really is that easy.  Good luck with all that.

For the iPhone you will need a jailbroken iPhone.  In Cydia install the location spoofing app called LocSpoof or Location Spoofer.  Set to use with the MLB Live app on the iPhone.  Place your location somewhere in Africa, Asia or Antarctica.  Enjoy the game.

One final comment or statement.  I realize that using TOR in this manner is not the most judicious use of the network.  Please consider contributing to the TOR network by operating a relay or exit node.

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