After announcing an unprecedented FIFTH Croker gig this morning and subsequently selling it out in a matter of minutes, somewhere in the region of 400,000 of us now have a ticket to see Garth Brooks in Croke Park next July. Let's put that into some context; that is roughly the entire population of Malta.
But where are all these Garth Brooks fans? I've yet to meet one person who has snagged a ticket to this series of gigs, or one person who would admit to it anyway. But they're out there, these Garth Brooks fans. Some wear their cowboy hats with pride - and fair play to them - but there are definitely a whole slew of closeted Garth Brooks fans out there, just waiting for the right time to tell their parents about the stetson they've got hidden under the bed. Stay strong, folks.
Another elements of this series of gigs to consider if the sheer amount of cold, hard cash that has been generated by these five concerts. 400,000 times the admission price of €65 amounts to a total of €26 million generated before the various fees for Croke Park, TicketMaster, Aiken and the various others are subtracted and that's some pretty serious wedge.
Amateur concert promoters (read: scumbag touts) have taken to eBay to scalp tickets, with some seemingly going for four figures.
We are now, temporarily at least, a Garth Brooks based economy - whether we like it or not.
Meanwhile, we thought you could do with a brush-up lesson on your line dancing skills. Take it away, Col.