A couple from Spruce Grove was ecstatic to find out last fall that they had won the right to buy tickets to the Superbowl. The good news came as Brittney Tancowny was battling cancer. But once they bought their tickets and arrived in Dallas, the trip they had been looking forward to, quickly turned sour.
"It's very, very hard to get into the Superbowl so getting the chance to purchase these tickets was like winning the lottery," said Brittney.
Brittney and her husband Daryl flew to Dallas last Friday. And a day after they arrived, a stranger offered then $4,500 for their two tickets.
And with some hesitation, the couple declined insisting it was an experience they wanted to share.
"We did think about it but I said, 'No Daryl I don't want you to regret this, you want this experience, it's the Superbowl'", said Brittney.
When the couple arrived at the game Sunday, they had no idea their tickets were for a temporary seating area. They were notified after they arrived to their section and found it cordoned off. Authorities had deemed the bleachers to be unsafe.
"We should have been able to enjoy the afternoon, check out all the cool attractions the Superbowl has to offer and here we missed all of that," said Daryl.
The couple says they were escorted around the stadium, and eventually ended up back outside and in front of a gate of angry fans also wondering why there weren't being allowed through the gates.
"The crowd started surging and you know chanting and started pushing towards the gate," said Daryl.
After some time, the couple was allowed back inside and found their original seats had been deemed safe. But after that mishap, Brittney, exhausted, fell asleep.
"It broke my heart that she couldn't enjoy it," said Daryl.
During the third quarter of the game, the couple was given a letter stating the NFL would reimburse them the face value of the tickets but others in the same situation received larger refunds, even a trip to the 2012 Superbowl.
"They have some explaining to do, I think," said Daryl.
With files from Susan Amerongen