Time for a Glass of Lemonade

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." - originally attributed to Elbert Hubbard

Let's be upfront about this: We want to watch National Hockey League-brand hockey in Columbus.  Sadly - and for reasons beyond our control - it's not happening.  As we write, it won't happen until December 1, 2012 at the earliest.  If there was hockey being played, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

But the NHL has given the fans lemons, so we're going to suggest that the fans make some lemonade.

As Columbus Blue Jackets ticket holders, we are entitled to request refunds from the team for games not played.  The official team policy is this:

IF YOUR ACCOUNT FOR THE 2012-13 SEASON IS PAID IN FULL YOU WILL HAVE TWO (2) OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM: Option 1: Keep Money on Account and Receive a Credit of 4% Toward Future Ticket Purchases Season ticket payments can be left on your account with the Blue Jackets and applied towards future ticket purchases such as remaining payments towards additional tickets for the 2012-13 season (i.e. single game tickets, group tickets, suite rentals, additional season tickets or playoff tickets) and/ or the renewal of your season tickets for the 2013-14 season. Season Ticket Holders electing this option will be provided a credit of 4% calculated using simple interest. Interest will be calculated from the point at which a particular game is cancelled to the last day of the month for which the credit is owed. Option 2: Request a Refund For Payments Related to Games Officially Cancelled Season Ticket Holders requesting this option will be provided a full refund for any games officially cancelled. Refunds will be processed within ten (10) business days of the last day of each month beginning in November and will be based upon the number of games officially cancelled in the applicable month. Refunds will be processed using the same method of original payment (i.e. if you purchased your Blue Jackets ticket package using a credit card we will issue a credit to that same credit card). If you paid for your tickets with cash or check, we will issue a check made payable to the Season Ticket Holder of Record and mailed to the address we have on file. Please log on to www.MyBlueJacketsAccount.com to verify that we have your current address on file.

If you want to keep your money with the club and get your four percent annualized interest, more power to you.  If, however, you wish to receive a refund, we'd like to offer a suggestion that will make our community that much better by your actions:

Donate the value of at least one of your refunded tickets to a local charity.

Our thinking is this: We as ticket package holders have already given our money away (granted, in the hopes of receiving entertainment).  Thus, the refund - which will be distributed by November 10th at the latest - is somewhat unexpected money.  So why not carve off a slice of that to help a local non-profit do good works?

In the next day or two, we'll offer a suggestion for a local charity to support.  And, as long as this lockout lasts, we'll offer a new charitable suggestion at the end of every month.

The lemons are here.  Let's get moving on making some lemonade.

Tom & Greg
Dark Blue Jacket and Full Mental Jackets