World Series tickets sold out, but fans remain disgruntled

James Paton, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 24, 2007 at midnight

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The Colorado Rockies sold their World Series tickets in less than three hours Tuesday after botching the online-only event the day before, but bitterness and questions about the flawed system still linger.

"We know many people will be disappointed, and we do feel for them," team spokesman Jay Alves said.

Many fans expressed frustration with the Rockies' decision to sell tickets on their Web site rather than through a lottery, criticized the team for the technical blunder and found the process confusing and slow. Critics wondered why Rockies President Keli McGregor or another top official failed to step in front of the cameras to apologize and explain.

The Rockies, who have won the hearts of Coloradans with a 21-1 streak heading into the Series, drew boos Monday and Tuesday.

Still, by 2:45 p.m. the Rockies had sold out all 54,000 tickets to three games at Coors Field, and the lucky ones rejoiced. A number of fans already have moved on, giddy at the thought of the Red Sox coming to Blake Street.

"I got 'em," said Mark Abney, an IT specialist whose office in Denver overlooks Coors Field. "I tried yesterday and I wasn't going to worry about it today. Now I'm feeling that I need to go buy a Powerball ticket."

The sale of tickets to the Rockies first World Series appearance failed the first time, with the spokesman Alves later blaming the fiasco on an "external" and "malicious" attack on the system.

The club said its Web site was bombarded with more than 8.5 million hits in 90 minutes, and it sold only 500 tickets before suspending the operation.

The Rockies relied on Irvine, Calif.-based Paciolan to handle the sale, but the system collapsed under the pressure. The head of the firm on Monday took responsibility for the meltdown.

"This is not the Rockies' fault in any way whatsoever," CEO Dave Butler said.

Denver police and the FBI said they had not received any complaints or requests for an investigation into an alleged hacking. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers' office contacted the Rockies to look into whether any crimes had been committed.

Bob Bowman, CEO of Major League Baseball's Internet wing, said the system was overloaded by powerful computers programmed to constantly generate five-digit codes that are meant to prove an actual human is trying to buy tickets. Ticket brokers could have been responsible, he said, but it's unclear if trying to trick the system is a crime.

Computer experts played down the possibility of a cyber assault, saying that hackers would rather make money than wreak havoc. Some believe it simply boils down to underestimating demand.

The Rockies said they lacked additional details. Regardless of who's at fault, fans piled on the club, finding them liable and deluging the Rocky with e-mails detailing their displeasure.

"Could you please let the Rockies know 'it's deja vu all over again!'" Linda Wilson wrote in an e-mail to the Rocky after the sale started painfully Tuesday.

Simone Balog, a Boston College student who said she sticks out like a "sore thumb" on campus, complained everyone in the Red Sox hometown is "laughing."

A number of Rockies enthusiasts reported they arrived at the online check-out counter only to see their tickets slip away because the next screen failed to load or their computers froze.

Public relations mavens said the Rockies could have delivered the message differently.

"I would have tried to be very aggressive in getting something out as quickly as possible," said Denver sports marketing expert Steve Sander. "I was sort of surprised it was Jay Alves, as opposed to someone higher.

"The bottom line is people want answers," Sander said, but he acknowledged it's tough when you don't have a good explanation.

A minority of fans, however, left their keyboards thrilled. The Rockies said about 80 percent of the transactions that closed came from Colorado zip codes.

Joe Poxson wore a Matt Holliday jersey Monday and had two laptops going at his office in the Denver Tech Center. He had no luck getting tickets.

Today was a new ball game.

The project manager for IQNavigator was in California working out of his client's office. His lucky shirt today: a purple oxford. About an hour after tickets went on sale, Poxson had a confirmation for two tickets.

Janice Armstrong rode a roller coaster of emotions during her bid. The 28-year-old logged on to the Web site at four computers at Select Physical Therapy in Lakewood, where she works as a patient service specialist.

She encountered blank screens and error messages before she eventually sealed the deal.

"I'm just completely surprised," said Armstrong, a bit breathless. "It's kind of like I won the lottery."

University of Colorado juniors Derek Sarchet and Katie O'Block were in the excited camp.

"Yes! Yes! I'm in! I'm in!" Sarchet yelled, and a dozen fans ran to his laptop from corners of the food court, wanting to see what a real World Series ticket transaction looked like.

But he then lost the tickets as he tried to pay for them.

One observer said the Rockies shouldn't the take criticism to heart, as long as it believes its method was the fairest one.

"There will always be people who complain," said Stephen Happel, an economics professor at Arizona State University. "That's what happens when demand is so high and there's only a certain number of seats."

Chris Walsh, Joanne Kelley, Alan Gathright, Myung Oak Kim, John Ensslin, Bill Scanlon and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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