<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Let's go, Orlando. What are you waiting for? It's three days before the Magic begin the playoffs and there are thousands of unsold tickets. "I'm very impatient," said Chris D'Orso, the Magic's VP of marketing and ticket sales. "The tickets are moving better today [Thursday], but I would have liked to have seen the excitement earlier in the week." As of Thursday afternoon, there were still close to 3,000 tickets available for Sunday's first playoff game with Toronto and about 4,500 for Tuesday's Game 2. I spent 45 minutes at the arena box office during the lunch "rush" Thursday and I've got to be honest: It was deader than Ben Affleck's career. In all, I saw four groups of people purchasing tickets -- two women buying theater seats for Mamma Mia! at Bob Carr Auditorium, one gentleman buying tickets to next week's Predators game and, yes, two people were buying Magic tickets. "I can't believe there are so many good seats available," Jerry Purcell said after purchasing his playoff ducats. "I thought everything would be mostly gone." Said Bruce Shapin, another Magic fan: "I'm surprised I was able to get four tickets for $31 each. I remember when I lived in Chicago and the Bulls were in the playoffs, there would be thousands of people lined up for tickets. You look around here and there's nobody." Granted, in today's world most tickets are bought on-line, but it's still embarrassing that the Magic are sweating a sellout. What are we, Orlando -- an NBA city or a pro rasslin' cow town? You'd think if we can draw 75,000 -- the biggest crowd in history -- for Wrestlemania (cheapest ticket $50) a few weeks ago, we could at least get 17,000 fans for the hometown team in the NBA playoffs (cheapest ticket $12). Please tell me that a hulked-up, bulked-up freak show isn't five times more popular here than a legitimate sports team. Marketing idea for the Magic: Sign the Undertaker to a 10-day contract and have him emerge from a coffin during pre-game introductions Sunday against the Raptors. Seriously, this isn't a laughing matter. Even though D'Orso and the Magic are predicting a sellout Sunday, it shouldn't even be a question. For crying out loud, Raptors officials were already saying Thursday that Games 3 and 4 next week in Toronto are almost certain to be sold out. The Raptors have had 11 home playoff games in their history -- all of them sellouts. Let's go, Orlando. All those excuses of the past just don't wash now. * You can't say this team is just some one-and-done playoff pattycake. The Magic won a division championship for the first time in a dozen years. They have more than 50 wins for the first time since the days of Shaq and Penny. They have not lost a single series this season to an Eastern Division foe and have the second-best road record in the league. * You can't say management hasn't spent money in an attempt to get better. The Magic paid $118 million for Rashard Lewis in the offseason and another $120 million extending Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson. That's $230 million for three players. Who do these guys think they are -- the Yankees infield? * You can't say the Magic don't have star power. I mean, come on, they have "Superman" on their roster. Does it get any better than that? * You can't say their coach lacks personality and charisma. Stan Van Gundy himself is worth the price of admission. This guy yells more than Paul Revere -- and dresses like Ben Franklin. * You can't say the NBA playoffs are boring. The Masters, the NFL draft, the beginning of baseball season? They all pale in comparison to the most exciting NBA playoffs in years. March Madness was just a warm-up for the mania and mayhem of May Madness. Here's all you need to know about these playoffs: The Lakers and Celtics are the two top seeds, and San Antonio and Phoenix are playing in the first round. And think, too, of the delicious local storylines that may unfold in the next few weeks: Magic fans may actually see their team win a playoff series while simultaneously getting a chance to see T-Mac lose again in the first round. What more could you ask for? This is the time and the team you've been waiting for. The Magic, at long last, have earned your support. Let's go, Orlando.</div> http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-...0,6808815.story
Fans know we're going to advance and would rather buy tickets to later rounds. Me and my friend considered it.
Isn't that arena really easy to get in and out of? I remember driving down a normal, nondescript road and looking out the window and - BOOM - there's the arena.
