Sometimes Money is Just Money.....

Most of the time money just dominates people's lives. We work all day for it. We want more. We try to spend as little as we can. But recently, getting more money just gave me a very empty feeling.

I sold my Cavaliers tickets to the NBA Finals. It was hard for me even to type that sentence. This year I had tickets to only one Finals game; game 4. Attending the Finals in Cleveland is a cross between a workout and a wedding. It's a giant party with over 20,000 of your friends.

The energy in the city is electric. East 4th Street is jammed. National television shows are produced locally. The media is everywhere. The celebrities flock into town. Before the games there is a party in the plaza outside Quicken Loans Arena. It's a major event.

This is the third straight year the Cavaliers have made it to The Finals against the Golden State Warriors. I attended the previous two. They were the greatest sporting events I have ever been at. This year the first two games were in California. The Cavs lost, and quite frankly looked overmatched. They lost in resounding fashion.

This flies in front of my house
during the playoffs.

Game 3 was back in The Land. The Cavs were determined to compete and make it a series. We had a 6 point lead very late in the game. But then we couldn't score. We made stupid basketball plays. The Warriors came back and won game 3 To take a 3-0 lead in the series.

After the game, the Cavs seemed devastated. Hell, I was devastated. The whole town seemed down. Next would be game 4. The game I had tickets for. The Warriors could sweep the Cavs and win the NBA Championship.

But ladies and gentleman, let me tell you there was no way in hell I was going to sit and watch the Golden State Warriors win a championship in Cleveland and dance on our home court. That happened two years ago. I didn't attend that game. The thought of me watching that spectacle in person just makes me nauseated.

So I decided to sell my tickets. I listed them on the Cavaliers online ticket site Flash Seats. At first I listed them for a ridiculous amount of money. I figured if some millionaire from NoCal wanted to come in for a game, they could afford a high price. But at 6:00 pm the evening of the game, still no takers. So I decided to reduce the asking price. Still, a helluva lot of money. But not life changing money.

I figured I was still going to the game, so I decided to go to Burger King to grab a bite before I go. While I was in line there, I looked at my Flash Seats account on my phone. My tickets were gone. Just like that. I can't tell you what an empty feeling it is to walk out with Whoppers in a bag, but knowing your Finals tickets were gone.

This is my Cavs Championship wall in my basement. You can buy
memorabilia, but you can't buy memories.

I regretted it immediately. Yes, I had more money. But sometimes money is just money. You can use it to pay the sewer bill. Fill my tank with gas. Easy come. easy go. But memories like attending a Finals game can last a lifetime. You can't buy memories.

In the game, the Cavaliers set offensive records and blew out the Warriors. They got contributions from the entire team, not just the big three. I watched on tv, envious of everybody that was there.

So now the Cavaliers are down in the series 3-1, with game 5 coming up in California. Only one team has ever came back from being down 3-1. But that was us last season. So I guess there's a chance.

Maybe I can buy tickets to game 6!