Win a $150 TicketCity Gift Card in the TicketCity Pet Pic Contest

Jackson is ready to win the contest!

We received so much great feedback on yesterday’s blog post that we’ve decided to host a Pet Pic Contest. It only takes a minute and you’ll have a chance to win a $100 TicketCity gift card!

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:

1: Post a picture of your pet to the TicketCity Facebook wall (extra love for sports or music themed pics).

2: Ask your friends to come to our wall to vote on your picture. A vote counts as a “like” or comment on your pet’s picture.

3: Whichever pictures receives the most votes by next Tuesday, January 24th at 2:00 p.m. wins the $100 gift card.

CHANCE TO WIN AN EXTRA $50:

If the picture with the most votes belongs to someone that has also:

1: Added us to their circles on Google+

and

2: +1 or commented on a post on our Google+ page

then the winner will receive a $150 gift card instead of $100!

Ready to win? Then go ahead and get posting. We can’t wait to see your pet pics!

The Annual TicketCity Holiday Dessert Contest

As I’ve mentioned before, the TicketCity family loves to eat. We’ve had potlucks, chili cook-offs, monthly deliveries of hot cookies (yes–this really exists in Austin-check out Tiff’s Treats), and now: The Annual TicketCity Holiday Dessert Contest.

Competition was fierce. The TicketCity team was so thrilled to serve as the judges of the contest that I wasn’t even able to get a picture of the desserts fully intact.  Each member of the TicketCity family dutifully sampled all seven of the entries and submitted their vote for best dessert. It’s a hard job, but somebody had to do it.

This year’s entries are pictured below. They included (clockwise from the top left corner): Gene’s Holiday Treat (which was actually a powdered donut from his lunch with a pecan stuck on top); Candy Cane Brownies; Cinnamon Bun Bread Pudding; Rum Cake; Hook ‘Em Heath Bar Cake; Molasses Cookies; and Cranberry Salad.

The votes were very close, but in the end only one dessert could be victorious. And the winner was……

HOOK ‘EM HEATH BAR CAKE. And, of course, everyone at TicketCity for getting to “judge” seven wonderful, delicious desserts.

The delicious competition.

TicketCity’s Top 10 Favorite Sports Movies

I’ll never forget the ride to the 2002 volleyball state semifinals, sounded by nearly 40 of my teammates, all high school girls that I had played with for years. Together we had sweat our way through two-a-day workouts, sprints, victories, and just a few losses.

As a ninth-grader lacking hand-eye coordination, I only stepped onto the court during JV games. But on that bus, all of us full with nervous energy, it felt as if there was no junior varsity team, no varisty team, but instead only one united team, all readying to fight the same battle.

Adding to the emotion, Coach Horwatt had chosen to show Remember the Titans as our bus ride entertainment, a movie then only two years old. There’s something about Remember the Titans, and sports movies in general, that appeal even to those that don’t consider themselves athletes or sports fans. Is it the banding together of typically conflicting personalities for the greater good of the team that gets to the viewer? The warm fuzzies you feel when the underdog pulls off victory?

I’m not sure what it is that makes these movies so universally appealing. Even now, as adults far from our time on the field or the court, the TicketCity team still has its favorite sports movies. Below are the top ten recommendations directly to you from the TicketCity staff.

1) Hoosiers

“Hoosiers is the ultimate David vs. Goliath movie. If you work hard, you can achieve anything.” -Chris A., Client Relations

2) Field of Dreams

“This one is a classic. Besides the great storyline and amazing cast, this one is my favorite because it shows the bond that baseball can create.” -Gene G., Client Relations; Also recommended by Randy Cohen, CEO.

3) Caddyshack

“One of the funniest movies ever made, certainly the funniest sports movie. Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield & Ted Knight are at their best in Caddyshack.  You can see it a hundred times and the dialogue is still just as funny as the first time you watched it.” -Zach A., COO; Also recommended by Brian W., Sales.

4) Rocky IV

“Great movie for the time period.  You  have USA vs. Russia, sports science vs. old fashioned true grit training, man vs. a machine, and revenge.  A lot of themes going on.” -Rafael R., CSO

5) Dodgeball

“Because if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” -Eric L., Marketing

6) Bad News Bears

This is an all-time favorite of Lou C., VP of Purchasing.

7) Happy Gilmore

“Bob Barker kicks Adam Sandler’s butt. Do I even need a second reason to love this movie?!” -Kendall L., Sales

8) White Men Can’t Jump

“I love “White Men Can’t Jump” because it avoids the platitudes that most sports flicks run into, namely that conflict between men, races, genders and friends needs just “one big game” or “one big moment” to be overcome. It also brought the “We goin’ to Sizzler”/Cabbage Patch-mix onto the pop culture scene.” -Alex F., Marketing

9) The Natural

“In the movie Roy shows us his heart and passion for baseball and helps us realize we need to love and cherish our passions in life and if we do that, we will have the ultimate success.” -Randy Cohen, CEO

10) Rudy

“Rudy never, ever gives up. This is a true classic.” -Kelley R., Marketing

Welcome to The New TicketCity Blog

Greetings. As I’m sure loyal readers have noticed, the look and feel of The TicketCity Blog has undergone a bit of a refresh. We’re not just taking on the design, though. The blog has been and will be a lot more active. Hopefully you’ve already noticed that as well.

TicketCity folks will be presenting information here that may not fit so well in 140 characters, or even on a Facebook status update. On the TicketCity Blog we’re not so concerned about character count, but about giving you the information you need in as much space as needed. Whether it’s some insights on current events, or maybe a few juicy secrets about us, this space will be a lot more alive.

There will be some additional regular features as well, along the lines of my own “Week in Search” updates.

Let us know what you think of the changes, both visually and with our new features. As the one somewhat responsible for that look and feel, I promise I won’t get my feelings hurt if you don’t care for it. Our comments are open and we welcome participation. You can still reach us on Twitter and Facebook, too.

And the Winner is…

Congratulations to Rob C. of Salem, Indiana for winning the $200 TicketCity gift card! Not only will Rob have $200 to spend on any of the great events listed on TicketCity, but he is also our first Facebook Fan of the Week.

Thanks to everyone that entered the contest, and that “liked” TicketCity’s Facebook page to get us to 15,000 fans. Keep posting your photos for your chance to be our next Fan of the Week, and stay tuned for more exclusive contests and discounts in the future.

Congrats again, Rob!