I’ve never liked mobile ticketing. Sure, it’s more technologically efficient and environmentally friendly, but I’ve never liked it. Taking paper tickets away robbed fans of physical memories of being at games, and that just doesn’t sit well with me. Teams already were moving away from it before COVID-19 hit, but that ensured that it was going away and never coming back.
I’ve always worried that something would happen that would cause the whole idea of mobile ticketing to backfire. For instance, someone’s battery might drain right before they reach the gate. If nothing else, someone having to restart their phone for whatever at the front of the gate would cause a long line of people waiting to get in.
Well, it happened ahead of Notre Dame’s home opener against Marshall:
ND vs. Marshall Ticket Alert
If you have not yet downloaded your tickets, we are currently experiencing an issue with our ticket provider and at this time fans are not able to access their tickets through the Fighting Irish app and online ticket account portal.
— ND Ticket Office (@NDTIX) September 10, 2022
While the Irish did come up with a solution before the system eventually was restored before kickoff, I only can imagine the lines this caused:
We have resolution booths at Gates B and D. You can come to one of those and we will print your tickets out for you. We apologize for the inconvenience. https://t.co/Xb1embW966
— ND Ticket Office (@NDTIX) September 10, 2022
If this doesn’t convince teams that mobile ticketing without a backup system ready to go immediately doesn’t work, nothing will. I hate that so many fans are being inconvenienced in a way that is entirely avoidable. And it’s not only the fans at Notre Dame Stadium. Look where else it happened: