Is this level of technology really necessary?

The GoFan app, which is the only way
for fans to get tournament tickets.

The following memo was circulated to schools all over the state last week by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association:

“Beginning with the Round of 16 Tournament Playoff Games, all tickets must be purchased online via GoFan. Online tickets will be the only mode of entry for these events. Please download the GoFan app in your app store to be ready.”

GoFan is owned and operated by a company called Huddle Tickets LLC, and claims to have sold more than 20 million tickets to high school events since its founding in 2001. Right now, it claims to have operating agreements with 37 state high school athletic associations, of which the MIAA is apparently the most recent. 

To attend high school events in this year's tournament, you must either have an Apple smartphone on which you can load the GoFan app, or access the GoFan website on the Internet. If you have an Android smartphone, you're out of luck when it comes to apps. One way or the other, you have to follow the ticketing procedure and show the ticket-takers at the event that you have a big green checkmark next to the event's listing in order to be allowed access.

And you thought the lines were long before this.

I'll admit, it's not much of a concern for me. I haven't paid to attend a high school sporting event in probably a half-century. Even now in my quasi-retirement, I am still waved through the gates (even with wallet in hand) if I'm not actually working because of my long service to the Fourth Estate over that time. And by the way, I really appreciate the generosity of the schools, including those I didn't cover on a regular basis during my 40-plus years as a print reporter.

But I'm fortunate. Others aren't. They just want to go to a high school game for fun and relaxation or to support a family member or relative, and they don't think twice about reaching into their wallets for a Five (or maybe more in the tournaments, as the MIAA needs to wet its beak) to go to the game.

But now it all has be be done through technology, just like at the Patriots' games -- although, for the life of me, I can't understand why.

The Patriots went to a fully cash-less ticketing procedure as a means of exerting tighter control over ticketing. Computerized control over access cuts down significantly on ticket fraud, which becomes an even greater threat as the playoffs begin. Indeed, you can't even get a beer at Gillette Stadium with cold, hard cash these days. You have to take your greenbacks and stick them into a reverse ATM machine, which spits out a hunk of plastic that you can use at the concession stands. 

See how much technology has changed our lives? By forcing you to take two steps to accomplish one, high tech has managed to convince everybody that it's made our lives easier.

But why must a computerized process be necessary at high school games?

At most events, there isn't assigned seating. Many people don't sit at all. They go to the game and stand on the sidelines or mill about as they see fit, and all for the same $10 the ticket-takers would have gotten in cash. Indeed, I'm told that the GoFan app adds a "convenience fee" to the cost of a ticket, which just adds to the argument that the school games already cost too much to attend.

I'm also seriously concerned about those that don't fall into the tech-savvy category.

You see them at practically every sporting event ... the elders who want to support a grandchild, or just want to see an entertaining game because they enjoy the environment outside the home. Many of them are in their 70s or beyond, and they might not be down with the latest iPhone. Indeed, if they even have cellular phones, they are probably the simple and easy-to-see Jitterbugs that don't have full access to web pages.

GoFan washed its hands of that possible dilemma by noting on its web site that individual schools would have control over how to resolve situations not covered by the use of the app. Clearly, I'm certain there isn't an athletic director in the area that would want to refuse access to a senior citizen because he or she might not have access to a cell phone. Many schools admit seniors for free or for a lesser price than full admission, so I'm sure accommodations will be made.

Still, there will be those that will be infuriated by this decision. The schools are putting the MIAA memo on their Twitter feeds, but my guess is that might cover about 30-40 percent of the audience that might want to attend high school tournament games without being a week-to-week fan of them. People will be surprised at the gates to learn of the restriction, so they will fumble around with their phones and try to add and learn the app in a short amount of time. The lines will grow and people will be generally pissed off as a result.

And me? I'll flash whatever media ID might be necessary for the event and I'll stroll right by. But I will have sympathy for those that are inconvenienced -- especially for those who, a few years older than I, might be less inclined to learn new technology.

It all seems like overkill to me. I can think of a lot of things the MIAA could do to make it more attractive for people to attend high school games, not more difficult. But they don't listen to me any more.