Olympics fever

i just applied for £7,500 (US $12,378) in Olympic tickets.  Believe me, I'm feeling quite feverish.

i say 'applied' because it is a lottery -- everyone has had a month to apply, with the cut-off date tonight, and then they will allocate tickets randomly until they are sold out.  The difference between this and other lottery events, though, is that winning doesn't mean you can purchase tickets, it means you did purchase tickets. They charge your credit card immediately and irrevocably.  No changes, no refunds, non-transferable. You can't even move house -- they will send the tickets next summer, and if you no longer live there, too bad.

Considering the games are a year away, and the tickets are not cheap, it is quite a ridiculous system.  (Made even more ridiculous by Visa sponsorship, which means you have to use a Visa card that doesn't expire in the next three months.)  So I applied to all of the main events -- the men's 100m final, the 10 metre diving, the team and individual artistic gymnastic events, etc.  i also applied to a few 'fun' events -- archery, BMX, tennis -- and of course the opening and closing ceremonies.  I also applied for four or six tickets for each event, on the assumption that if I win, I won't have any trouble finding other people to go with.  The trouble will be getting them to pay a year in advance.

My track record isn't good -- this year I applied for Wimbledon tickets and Trooping the Colour tickets (the Queen's birthday) with no luck -- but given that I applied for 20 Olympic events (the maximum), I'm hopeful I'll get one or two, which will cost £400 maximum.  Nevertheless, it's quite nervewracking that I've theoretically just committed to spending a month's salary in tickets!