Okay, this is a big change from my usual pearl posts but I feel like I need to talk about something important for the University of Georgia football fans and all of our rivals coming to Athens, GA for a football game: How To Spot A Fake UGA Football Ticket.
This weekend I decided to take my two sweet boys to the UGA / Tennessee game in Athens. I only had two tickets. So, I decided to trade them in with cash for 3 tickets with seats together. Big mistake! Next time, my four year old can stay on my lap!
Anyway, the first road-side seller was standing outside the Varsity. She wanted to buy tickets but did not have any to sell. She warned me: Beware of Counterfeit Tickets! She told me to make sure I compared the tickets I was purchasing with my tickets to make sure they were the same. “No problem,” I told her, convinced I would not fall for a fake ticket. One block later I happened to find a guy with exactly three tickets that I could trade for my two and some cash. Done and done! (in hindsight… this guy was PSYCHED!!) So, I had already forgotten my one-block-earlier warning. I got exactly what I wanted! The boys and I were thrilled. Well, the boys were thrilled because I said they could watch a t.v. show before we left for the game. But, you get the gist, for one reason or another we were all happy!
So, back at home, three hours before kick off, I started getting worried. What if I DID actually buy counterfeit tickets. So, what did I do? What I always do when I get stressed… I called my Mom. She is the wisest woman I know and she said, “You walk in that stadium with your head up and plan on seeing that game.” It sounded good to me.
So, off we went to the stadium and in we went to the game, things were looking up! We got to our marvelous seats, got settled and got ready for kickoff when I heard a man say, “What are you doing in John’s seats?” Uh oh? John? “Yeah, you are in John’s seats.” “Well,” I said, “Is there any chance John sold his tickets to that man on Milledge Ave?” “Hmmm… well, he wasn’t planning on coming so maybe!” Hey, that was a good sign and what friendly people I would be watching the game with! So, we see kick off, I am celebrating, the boys are eating nachos and popcorn and all is great with the world. That is, until, I get a tap on my left shoulder, “Hey, which seats are yours?” “17, 18 and 19,” I reply, head held high (Mamma would be so proud). “Section 106?” “That’s right!” I say, smiling. “Weird! Those are our seat numbers too.” My head falls a bit. “I think my tickets are counterfeit,” I replied. Everyone feels so bad and the boys and I march off to another seat. About 20 rows north, we find some great seats and park ourselves there. Their occupants (who showed up way too early to the game, if you ask me) were a little less sympathetic to our plight. And on and on it went and we ping-ponged from seat to seat throughout the game.
If you can imagine, even the 600 section … waaaaay up high…. was even packed! We spent a lot of the game watching the screens outside of the concession stands… which means the boys ate a lot of food!!! I still had a ball and my six year old proclaimed it was the “best day ever” due to both the game and the nachos! But, since it was a major bummer not to have seats, I feel it is my duty to help others identify fake football tickets! So, here it is: How To Spot A Fake UGA Football Ticket. Don’t get caught without a seat or, worse, do not get shut out of the game!!
Here is what a real UGA football ticket looks like:
And here is the fake UGA football ticket:
The look amazingly similar. Both have serrated edges where they were ripped off the bigger sheet of season tickets. Both have the player images (note:these images are different since they are tickets to two different games), bar codes, seat numbers, etc. So, those details will not give it away. I will say, the image of the player was not as sharp on my ticket as it was on the original ticket but I have noticed on some of the games the images do look grainier and grittier so the image alone will not give it away.
The back of the ticket has a Farm Bureau ad. I will say on the fake ticket the farm bureau logo was lighter in color. Again, not a huge give-away…
The fake one: 
The real one: 
The giveaway is the the GEORGIA hologram. Look at this REAL ticket:
I am going to tell you, the fake one looks good however the REAL one has the words University of Georgia written in the GEORGIA letters where the fake one merely has geometric shapes. This is very noticeable if you look for it. Standing in line to get into the stadium, those holograms were bright and shiny and those small University of Georgia letters were very noticeable. In hindsight, my GEORGIA hologram was not as shiny. But, holding up traffic Milledge Ave on Gameday did not make me inclined to inspect the tickets thoroughly. But, I hope you don’t make the same mistake!
Look at this REAL UGA hologram for the 2016 football season tickets:
I know it might be hard to see but notice the tiny writing in the silver GEORGIA? Compare that to this FAKE GEORGIA hologram:
So, I believe, the number one way to spot a fake UGA football ticket is to look at the Georgia hologram and make sure it has the small University of Georgia letters within in.
Good luck! If you come to Athens, GA, make sure you stop by The Pearl Girls shop at 548 Hawthorne Ave to say hello and to see our beautiful pearls. Remember all of our pearls are hand-selected from our worldwide travels and all of the jewelry is made in the USA, right here in Athens, GA! And we do repairs and reknots too! Go Dawgs!!
Best,
India
I am a modern day treasure hunter who travels the world for gorgeous pearls and amazing adventures. I own a pearl jewelry and jewelry repair business, ThePearlGirls.com, with a cute retail store in Athens, GA. I also have a Pearl Travel business and travel blog at TheWorldofPearl.com.
