Did you hear? The University of Georgia football team was rated the preseason No.1. But it’s not all touchdowns and tailgates for many fans that won’t get to see the team play… not in person, at least.
 

Take Elizabeth Vaeth, for example. She donated $2,500 to the UGA athletics program in hopes of getting to buy season tickets. Yes, at Georgia you have to pay the school to get the right to pay for tickets. Quite the system they’ve got going there.
 

But even worse – the $2,500 wasn’t enough. Not by a long shot.
 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

Last year, a $2,500 donation would have been enough to get them. This year, $2,500 wasn’t in the ballpark.

Just 805 season tickets opened up this year, Georgia associate athletics director for external operations Alan Thomas said. Per Georgia’s system, orders for those seats were filled on the basis of cumulative lifetime contributions. The cutoff turned out to be … $10,651.

Thomas admits the first reaction to that number — more than four times last year’s cutoff — generally was “shock.”

Though Vaeth claims she’s just happy that the team is predicted to do so well, it’s still an interesting situation. How is it that only the richest can afford to slap on the body paint, grab a hotdog and watch big men throw each other around.?