Turning Nosebleed Tickets Into On-the-Field Passes
Dallas, TX – Two charismatic brothers obsessed with sports began road tripping together throughout the United States in 2013 with the aspiration to watch as many live sporting events in-person as possible. Nine years into our never-ending journey, we have proudly been to games at nearly every Major League Baseball, National Football League, and every Major Power 5 Conference football stadium in the country. We’ve attended countless NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball tournaments, U.S. Opens (both tennis and golf), NBA regular season, post-season, and Finals games.
The same goes for the National Hockey League as well as its New Year’s Day outdoor Winter Classic tradition. PGA TOUR events from coast to coast and everywhere in between have been weekly occasions for the two of us at times. Even once filling in as caddies. Major League Soccer games. You name it. We are mainstays at regular season college basketball games and, of course, during March Madness games. We love amateur sports just as much as we do professional sports. College baseball, Minor League Baseball, and the Little League World Series are routine events for us brothers. Did I mention the Super Bowl and The Masters?
What makes our brotherly sports travel so miraculous to the people we meet has been our ability to leverage our love for sports into a way of life that has inspired others around the world to do the same with the people they love. Our sports journeys began on a shoestring budget many years ago, and to this day, we still enjoy staying with friends, sleeping on couches, buying inexpensive home-team apparel on eBay, and pinching pennies like most recent college grads have to do to create memorable experiences with their friends or siblings.
Who We Are
Our names are Rick and Rob Brandt, but our friends, family, and followers call us “The Brothers Brandt,” and in 2018, we began getting some of our sports trips sponsored by ticket broker companies in the sports and entertainment industry. We have seen a lot, met our sports icons and created many memories along the way that will last us a lifetime. We admire our friend and role model, Laurence Leavy, known to the sports world as Marlins Man, who reportedly spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year buying first-row tickets to 200+ sporting events on an annual basis flying from city to city wearing a bright orange Miami Marlins baseball jersey. However, we have gone to sporting events a little differently than our buddy Laurence. Okay, A LOT differently.
What We’ve Done
Along the way, we have perfected the art of turning nosebleed tickets into on-the-field passes, and we want to share what we have learned with you. At the beginning of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020, we created The Brothers Brandt Podcast, which documents on a weekly basis our experiences in full detail for sports fans around the globe that want to hear epic and hilarious stories about two brothers turning nosebleed tickets into on the field passes and ultimate upgrades! Many of the celebrities we have met over the years have appeared as our guests on episodes of the podcast. We like to think it’s a must-listen for any sports fan.
Here are “The 8 Life Lessons We Have Learned From Turning Nosebleed Tickets Into On The Field Passes” that are also incredibly applicable to the real world and your everyday routine, whatever that may be, even if you are not attending a sporting event.
Lesson One: PLAN AHEAD
Whether it is a two-week long drive going to a dozen different games from city to city or if it is a one-off Saturday afternoon regular-season day game at Wrigley Field to watch the Chicago Cubs play the St. Louis Cardinals, do your homework and be prepared to maximize your gameday experience. Research online if the stadium offers a behind-the-scenes tour that morning or batting practice access before the first pitch. Buy your home team swag in advance of the game. Reach out to team Executives.
People who work in sports are kind and will help make your experience memorable if they can. Have your ticket stub in your lanyard when you arrive and have your travel plans to the stadium triple-checked, so you don’t miss any of the action. Set yourselves up for success, and if you haven’t realized already, “the action” doesn’t begin when the game starts. The action happens many hours before that. Who knows, you may end up being in a Gatorade commercial with Derek Jeter outside Yankees Stadium or talking one-on-one with Tom Brady at a Super Bowl press conference interview, asking him questions you’ve always wished you could ask him. You may even find yourself in the Alabama football locker room with Coach Nick Saban or on the field with Tim Tebow.
Lesson Two: ARRIVE EARLY
That doesn’t mean arriving fifteen minutes before game time. We are talking hours, many hours before game time. Some of our most unforgettable cherished moments have happened at stadiums as much as five, six hours, or even more before game time. If you can, coordinate your sporting event to be a day-long plan. In Episode 1 of The Brothers Brandt Podcast, we share in great detail our first few days from one of our epic 10 Games in 10 Days sports road trips going to NFL, MLB, and college football games.
This one happened to be throughout the Midwest, and an extensive roadmap, itinerary, and wardrobe attire were assembled in advance to make the journey a success. When we parked our car at the Detroit Tigers baseball stadium at 3:00 pm on Friday afternoon for the 7:00 pm game, who would have thought the gate to the stadium would be wide open for us to join in on Tigers batting practice, meet the ball boy, and watch the game from first row seats directly behind home plate. Good things happen when you arrive early.
Lesson Three: DRESS THE PART
The term ‘fan’ is an abbreviation for ‘fanatic,’ so don’t be embarrassed to show your fandom for the team you are supporting. You likely have purchased tickets to the game, paid for parking, bought food, drinks, and maybe a souvenir in the gift shop, all before any of the action has even begun. Why not also dress the part and look like you are there to support the team playing? It will make a HUGE difference in your experience.
Even a basic $10 cotton t-shirt and $5 throwback used snap-back hat off of eBay goes a long way when the ticket scanner and security usher greet you at the front gates of the stadium. Throughout Episode 9 of The Brothers Brandt Podcast, we share the brilliance of wearing suits to sporting events which led to a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa for a Saturday afternoon college football game in front of 100,000 of the most passionate football fans in the world.
Lesson Four: ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH
Being honest is always the best choice. No if, ands, or buts about it. When we spent a Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a Michigan Wolverines college football game in front of a sold-out crowd at “The Big House” watching them take on their rival from Ohio, we had the most positive possible outcome when we fully articulated to a random stranger at kickoff why we were sitting in his close friend’s unoccupied front row seats on the 50-yard line behind the team’s bench. Our honesty led to another memorable experience that only materialized because we told the truth.
Lesson Five: BE THE FIRST TO SAY HI
Don’t be shy. Don’t be timid. We are all human begins. Smiling and initiating conversation can make the most positive impact you can imagine. Whether it is a custodian of a facility, a parking attendant, a fellow fan entering the stadium with you, a concession worker, or, as we experienced during Super Bowl 48 in Arizona, the six-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady. Throughout Episode 18 of The Brothers Brandt Podcast, you will hear firsthand why being the first to say hi to football legends, celebrity reporters, and hall of fame athletes was so special to them and us. 
Lesson Six: TAKE RISKS
Having nosebleed tickets to any event is never going to get you on the field with the superstar athletes, and those same cheap seats will never once come with all-you-can-access luxury suite passes that include unlimited lobster, steak, sushi, and free refills on any beverage of your choice so don’t be afraid to utilize all of the aforementioned lessons to take risks. Some of our best risk-taking was on display when we went to an NFL Doubleheader first in Philadelphia for an Eagles early afternoon 1:05 pm game and then a New York Giants Sunday night football game in northern New Jersey at 8:20 pm. Episode 27 of The Brothers Brandt Podcast provides insight on how to take risks and turn your nosebleed seats into the ultimate upgrades.
Lesson Seven: BE GENUINE
People will appreciate you for you. If they don’t, that is their loss. There are people in this world that suck. Don’t let them bring you down and prevent you from having a great experience. We encourage you always to be true to your personality when interacting with others. Show your excitement about being at the game. Be in the moment. Be thrilled you are a part of something great.
While in Pittsburgh at a Pirates baseball game in 2013, we spent time interacting with the eventual 2015 MLB Homerun Derby Champion, Todd Frazier, who likewise couldn’t have been more genuine. Years later, in 2017, we met up in Texas for a Rangers baseball game, and he was again the same genuine guy we had met years prior. Fast forward to us kickstarting The Brothers Brandt Podcast in 2020; Todd Frazier was kind enough to come on Episode 11 of our new venture for a legendary interview. He has since come back on twice as a true friend of the pod.
Lesson Eight: FOLLOW UP
There have been countless examples of how our ability to routinely follow up with a team executive, staff member, or professional athlete has been rewarded with the ultimate upgrade. At the University of Oregon, we took the field for a Ducks football game because of our initiative to follow up. We did the same in Tampa Bay for a Rays baseball game. Many of the families we have met and certainly the ones we have stayed with throughout our travels receive follow-ups – some get a Christmas card every holiday!
Our follow-up once led to an NBC feature story on Good Morning America in Seattle while we were in town for a couple of Mariners and Seahawks games. It got us inside the ropes with Tigers Woods for The Masters, and our excellent follow-up efforts have also been a big reason for why you are listening to The Brothers Brandt Podcast and reading this unique one-of-a-kind article and many more future ones to come that will change your life for the better.
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