In his Indianapolis apartment seven weeks later, Jeffrey picks up a half-smoked cigarette from his ashtray. For him it’s always Marlboro Reds.
He lights it and takes a drag. He’s turning 50 in three days. He’s going to try and quit smoking then, he says.
“Got to start taking care of myself,” he says in between drags.
He makes around $40,000 a year from scalping, he says. For about a decade, scalping was Jeffrey’s full-time job. But with StubHub and other online sites making street scalping harder, he works on air movers and heating and cooling units during the day.
He’s adapting, though. He’s a licensed ticket broker. His ultimate goal is to be more like the online sites and not have to deal with the street anymore. Scalping is going through a transition, and so is Jeffrey.
His brand new apartment is equipped with new appliances and a Mac desktop. The air stings eyes from cigarette smoke.
He turns on his big-screen television and flips to College GameDay on ESPN. The GameDay crew is in Tallahassee, Fla., previewing the Florida State-Notre Dame game. It’s a big game, No. 2 vs. No. 5.
“That’ll be a tough ticket,” he says.
He takes a sip of his
coffee.
Hope is fading for IU football. The previous week against Iowa, IU’s star quarterback Nate Sudfeld injured his shoulder. He’s out for the season. IU is 3-3, and today — Homecoming — they’ll rely on a true freshman quarterback against No. 8 Michigan State.
He hops into his Mazda. The road changes from the concrete of Indianapolis to the forests surrounding State Road 37 on the way to Bloomington. It’s the middle of October, so the leaves look like a painting. He cracks the window and lights a Marlboro Red. He talks about scalping. When young scalpers ask for his advice, he has a simple message for them. Something he was told when he got into the
business.
“The game is sold, not told,” he says.
In Bloomington, with three and a half hours until kickoff, Jeffrey pulls out $200 at a Chase ATM.
He stops in a convenience store at the corner of 17th and Dunn streets to buy a pack of cigarettes. As he comes out, he sees his favorite corner empty.
“Good,” he says. “Ain’t nobody in my spot.”
At 12:16 p.m. Jeffrey drapes his sign around his neck: “TICKETS BUY/SELL.” He’s in business.
Right now he has no
tickets.
A college student is
giving out free strawberries. “Strawberries?” he keeps asking people.
“Strawberries?”
“You got any tickets?” Jeffrey asks him.
The strawberry man looks confused. He looks at his carton of strawberries. He looks back at Jeffrey and walks away.
It’s that kind of day for Jeffrey. It doesn’t make sense. The weather isn’t rainy or cold. Michigan State always brings fans.
“Tickets?” he asks a group of Spartan fans.
Nothing. People aren’t biting today.
Jeffrey was aiming to make around $300 from today’s game. By the end of the day, he’s made $100.
His voice is tougher than usual. His walk is more
anxious.
“Man, that was a tough $100,” he says.
