Cancer survivor Gregory Blackburn, a life-long follower of soccer and dedicated supporter of Inter Miami, says he’s not giving up on seeing Lionel Messi play. NBC6’s Ryan Nelson reports
Gregory Blackburn is a life-long follower of soccer and dedicated supporter of Inter Miami.
Blackburn, who says he began supporting Inter Miami from its inception under David Beckham, enjoyed attending games using his season ticket.
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WATCH HERE“I moved around a lot and I'm from the Midwest, and played for a bunch of different teams,” he said. “Even a travel team when I was in college because I wasn't good enough to make the the university team. And I've been a big fan of soccer my entire life.”
However, the outbreak of COVID-19 led to the suspension of games in the inaugural season.
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When games resumed, he says he put his season tickets to good use.
“When they announced that the Beckham was getting the team, I immediately got on the list for season ticket interest. As soon as I got that email shot an email back, put down a deposit with a group of friends, and we got our season tickets. The first year was kind of interesting because the first home game was scheduled on a Saturday. They had a fan appreciation thing on Tuesday, Thursday, COVID hit,” he said.
But he says his fandom took yet another turn when he was diagnosed with stage four throat cancer just over a year ago.
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“I went and saw an ENT and was not expecting the news. I got it right off the bat. It's not like in the movies where they, you know, sit you down. He's like, ‘Oh, this looks like cancer. You need a biopsy.’ He was nice about it, but it was just not what I was expecting. That shock hit and, you know, then you kind of cry for an hour and then say, alright, we've got to figure out a plan,” he said.
After rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, Blackburn made a miraculous full recovery.
While he says his health condition prevented him from attending games last season, he says he was surprised by how difficult it was to offload his season tickets.
This year, he intended to buy individual game-day tickets outside of the stadium.
But Messi's recent arrival with the team has led to a significant spike in ticket prices.
According to TickPick, the average ticket price for Messi's anticipated debut stands at roughly $900, with the highest ticket listed for an astonishing $35,500.
With such high prices, Blackburn worries about being priced out of attending games.
"The signing of Messi and the revamp of the team with the new coach... it doesn't look like we're able to afford tickets anymore," he stated.
Despite the high costs, Blackburn remains determined to support his team, even if that means watching games from home.
