A thousand bucks seemed to be just the right amount to pay for a pair of tickets to see in person the woman who changed Pauline Malone’s life.
But Oprahmania nearly got the best of Malone’s pocketbook last week: She was the high eBay online auction bidder for too many tickets to the Denver stop of O, The Oprah Magazine’s 2005 Live Your Best Life Tour.
“I had never been on eBay and had no idea,” she said.
She reduced her $2,000 cost by half, reselling two of her four tickets to Saturday’s show.
“I just wanted tickets and took every option to make sure that I got tickets,” she said.
Like oh-so-many Oprah Winfrey fans, Malone was shut out when O magazine sold 5,000 tickets to the Denver stop on the three-city tour at $185 each. The seat scarcity set off a frenzy of the faithful that has not eased, even as online bidding for a ducat pushes toward $600.
Even at budget-busting levels, the price of admission is worth it, say fans willing to spend almost anything for a chance to soak up a little Oprah magic. The woman seems to ooze wisdom, and her grace, honesty and front-and-center enthusiasm for life appeal to women of all ages, races and economic classes in a way that borders on mind-boggling.
“I still feel it was worth it,” said Malone, 48. Something she saw on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” inspired her to launch a high-end party-planning business in Denver, RSVPauline. “I’m dying to see her. And I want the gift bag.”
She and a couple of hundred thousand others.
After a computer snafu stalled ticket sales, angry fans went knocking on The Denver Channel’s door. The tour is presented by O magazine, not “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which airs on Channel 7, but the station eventually came up with 110 pairs of tickets to give away in a drawing.
More than 100,000 people sent in postcards.
“We were flooded,” said Carrie Ripes, a Channel 7 spokeswoman. “The poor mailman would wheel in these huge baskets full of postcards.”
Nicole Stump had been planning to try buying a ticket Saturday morning at the entrance to the Colorado Convention Center. The 34-year-old Kansan and mother of three purchased a plane ticket to Denver from Wichita before actually landing tickets to the day-long event. The program includes self-improvement workshops, a boxed lunch and a goody-stuffed take-away bag.
“I think Oprah’s one of those people who has overcome tremendous amounts of difficulty in her life,” said Stump, who is finishing a master’s of social work degree at Wichita State University. “She just went out and did what she needed to do.”
After being outbid for tickets on eBay, Stump called paying much more than face value insanity.
“That’s nuts. I’d be interested to know who can pony up $500 for an Oprah ticket. Are they not paying their rent? Are they going into debt for it? She’s probably worth it, but it’s the principle.”
But when it comes to Oprah, principles be darned, she decided later.
“My girlfriend bought two tickets through RazorGator.com at $380 each,” Stump said. “They are in the nosebleed section, but I at least get to hear Oprah!”
Although selling tickets above face value is illegal, Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said he expects some people may be tempted. “We will be strictly enforcing the law,” he said. “As I understand it, Oprah Winfrey is a high-demand ticket. She draws a diverse crowd and some are affluent and can afford to pay those high prices.”
Jacque Sherwood, a 44-year- old from Montrose, wanted so badly to see Oprah that she took out a $200 classified ad in The Denver Post asking for admission at face value. A Denver woman came through.
Sherwood is a Teva-wearing trout farmer with two kids. She attends nursing school full time.
“I’m not black, I’m not rich. I’m not from the South or from Chicago, but does she feel like she’s a sister to me? Yeah. She and I could not be more disconnected, but she does speak to me.”
Were it not for the largesse of Oprah’s Angel Network, Shawna Osborne wouldn’t even be thinking about attending the tour – too expensive for the 28-year-old Denver mom. Osborne got her ticket from Center for Work Education and Employment, which received a $25,000 grant from the Angel Network and 10 comp tickets for program alumni.
“I’m excited,” said Osborn, a financial manager at a dental office. “I think she lets you know you’re better than what you think you are.”
There is something empowering about Oprah, says Mary Ann Litzau. She estimates she and her husband spent a total of seven hours working the phones and websites to purchase three tickets to the show.
Litzau became a fan 13 years ago, while recuperating from knee-replacement surgery. In March 1998, after she learned Oprah had completed a marathon, Litzau decided, rheumatoid arthritis or not, she could do it, too. That fall, she went to Portland, Ore., for a race.
“She inspired me to do my one and only marathon on those knees. I walked 26 miles on bilateral knee replacements.
“You know how she talks about living your best life? I want to do that,” the Fort Collins grandmother said, admitting she’ll have her nails done and purchase a new bra – Wacoal, the brand advocated by Oprah – before the show. “Just because I’m 56 and have arthritis doesn’t mean I can’t keep moving.”
Live Your Best Life Tour rules require participants to be 18, so for now, Rikki Hyde, 16, will have to shelve her dream of shaking hands with Oprah and thanking her for being an excellent role model. The Grand Junction Central High School sophomore has watched Oprah since she was 5.
“I’m living in a town where there are not many black people, so when I see someone black and successful, it catches my attention,” said Hyde, one of about 15 African-American students in a student body of 1,700. “She reaches out to those that need help. I really look up to that.”
