On the surface it seems like being a fan should be free; however, for a West Ottawa basketball fan, this postseason cost a pretty penny. For a family of five to buy tickets for all eight basketball games this postseason, it cost a total of $255. While this is rather costly, that is just the start of expenses. Holland to  Lansing is 181.4 miles for a round trip which is going to cost a fair amount in gas alone. Finally, let’s factor in the cost of food. At some point, somebody in this family is going to get hungry or thirsty and a game and those beverages or food items are not cheap.

  For the five postseason games we had here in the West Michigan area, each ticket cost a reasonable $5. As we moved further into the postseason, the ticket prices began to rise. At our first game in the Lansing area, the ticket price had increased by only $1. Then for the next two games at the Breslin Center, tickets rose to  $10 a pop. Kristopher Haglund, a father of four, said: “I have 4 kids, so my cost may be a little more than the average person; probably around $225 for eight games.” Haglund is a prime example of the WO families who faced the costs of the postseason

  Along with the ticket costs, families also had to take into account the cost of gas to get to and from each game. Now, for the games here in the West Michigan area, the cost shouldn’t have been too bad. The average car on the street is going to get around 25.5 Miles Per Gallon (MPG,; and if Holland to Grandville Michigan is a 44-mile round trip that will more than likely need you to  invest an added $10 into your gas tank. However, Holland to Lansing is a 181.4-mile round trip. The average car holds around 12 gallons of fuel in the tank, and if you are going 25.5 miles per gallon your car should be able to last roughly 306 miles. As that number seems pretty big, the driver of the car is going to have to stop and put fuel in at least once on the trip spending roughly $45 in gas for one trip; doing that three times is going to cost the average family $135 just on gas.

  Finally, we have to cover food. While eating at or on the way to a game is more of a luxury than a necessity, many families are willing to spend that little extra cash for some food. While everybody knows how outrageous stadium food can cost, there are still people willing to spend their money on it. The average cost for a hotdog and soda-pop will come to a total of $5. For a family of five, food at the game will cost about $30. If a family of six decides to stop by McDonald’s on their journey to the game, they are likely to spend upwards of $40.

  To sum everything up, this postseason might have been a historic one for West Ottawa and one nobody will soon forget; however, we have to admit it was expensive. With the average family of about five to six members spending a grand total of roughly $400 or more, stretching the wallet is short in describing this basketball postseason.