Arriving on Time

You see it a lot at the beginning of games. The seats are a bit more empty than you'd imagine. Announcers will mention the "late arriving crowd" and assure you that the seats will fill up soon. And, they usually do.

I always envisioned that those sentiments really only applied to week nights. That "late arriving" was a requirement when the game starts at 7:00, and work gets out at 5:30. Sometimes the best you can do is get there after the first inning. Or traffic snarls might delay you more than you'd like or expected.

Sometimes I've heard of people being in the concourse at the start of the game (especially if the weather is iffy). The line for soda or ice creams was just a little slower than usual.

But, I've started to be aware of people who had absolutely no intention of making it to the game on time. The other night, I happened to be in the area as the game started, and saw many people on the sidewalk restaurants around the second inning who were still working on appetizers. The thought all along, apparently, was to stroll in around the third inning.

Why would this be a plan.

I completely understand if you can't make it to a game on time. Especially if you go to a lot of them. I can even understand leaving a game early if conditions warrant. But, just not even planning to try? It strikes me as such a uniquely sports related mindset. They don't know what's going to happen in the game while they're not there, but they're willing to assume it'll be OK.

I went to see Avengers: Infinity War last weekend. (you need to, if you haven't, BTW) It's a long movie...2.5 hours or so. I didn't notice anyone planning to come in a half hour late. Nobody was sitting in the lobby having a sandwich as the opening credits rolled through. They didn't know what was going to happen during the first parts of the movie, but they still didn't want to miss it. 

Or a broadway show. People who spend money on their tickets to see Frozen show up on time to see the opening act. Even though they most likely pretty much know what's going to happen. They don't hang out in Times Square until halfway through.

So, why do baseball fans do that? Is it the sheer number of games the Red Sox play? Do fans who go a lot just assume that 75% of 81 games is enough for them? Are they not baseball fans? Just going to games for the social aspect, so the bar is just as good for a little while? (In which case they should have just saved the ticket money?) Because I can't think of many other times people pay for something with the full intention of only using 75% of it.

What the reasoning?