This smells like a serious cash grab. Somehow, magically, mystically, a group of seats from Memorial Auditorium has been made available for sale. I watched with interest as these prefabricated, hellaciously overpriced souvenirs were unveiled. I spent a lot of time in the oranges for a bunch of events and the seats never looked like those being trumpted on the local news the other night. The sellers say the armrests were too laden with asbestos damage to be sold to the public. Weren’t those asbestos laden arms connected to these seat backs?? Am I the only one that sees a bit of a flaw here??
Sorry, an official commemorative logo on the back side doesn’t do it for me, especially for $299. One of the forums on the news site had a good line about $2.99 not being a bad price, “but not over $5.00, that’s my final offer.” The armrests are now made from material recycled from the rest of the Aud, you know the place connected to the original asbestos laden arm rest. Not that stuff can’t be refurbished, mind you. The original Boston Garden scoreboard got a facelift and one side is now part of the lobby at the current Garden. To see a side of the Aud board in the Arena back when it opened up in 96 would made a nice tie-in, linking histories and whatnot. I’m thinking it would have been pretty cool decor for the Plaza, but I digress.
After shipping, a meer $324 can bring part of the aud into your den, or let’s face it, your attic as who is going to let that dominate a living room. You may like it, but if you are married to a Leafs fan, not so much. For me that rings sort of hollow. When the powers that be were knocking down the rockpile in the late 80s, it happened to be on my ride back to my apartment. I stopped one night and had a look. Given its location, not a whole of effort was put into security. So, I was able to walk right in. I took a seat back for myself and a friend. I can’t speak for my friend, but my seat back met with heavy trash pickup a long time ago. It’s not the same.
Considering that the most expensive ticket in the oranges I ever had was the $8.00 I parted with for Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in 1980, the current amount seems a little ludicrous. It’s a piece of plastic of questionable health. It’s not this.
The vertigo inducing placement added to the mirth, the friendliness of the place & the fact that we all needed each other to avoid falling onto Don Edwards. I sat up there in the sweatbox of a Bruce Springsteen concern in 1984, thankful for the seatback for something to sort of hang on to. I know it’s good to raise funds for good causes and all. I just think they got it wrong but leaping into the overpriced realm of memorabilia economics. The seat in the first picture isn’t the one in this one.
And it shouldn’t be. Hell, I’m not so sure if sitting in that one was such a good idea. It’s the stuff that went on in front of it is what made it a good seat.
Mike's Pub 