Our Vikings guys are all over this story, but it also struck us as well. From a press release from the Vikings:

Due to the hundreds of Minnesota Vikings fans who were defrauded with counterfeit tickets to the Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings game on October 5, the Vikings are reminding fans that large numbers of stolen and counterfeit tickets are sold to Vikings games and other high-profile events around the country annually.

These tickets are sold over the Internet and by ticket sellers near the stadium on game day. Several organized groups that work out of Atlanta, Detroit and New York travel to various sporting events/concerts to sell stolen/counterfeit items. The NFL has an on-going investigation in an attempt to break up these rings.

Because of the Vikings ticket-scanning process, if a fan purchases a counterfeit ticket, he/she may not be able to access the stadium and could be subject to investigation. If a person is already in the stadium and is caught in possession of a fraudulent ticket, he/she will be ejected and could be subject to arrest.

We found this out the hard way when we tried to use our bagel punch card to get into the game. We'd lash out at the guy who sold it to us and told us it was legal tender, but really it's probably our bad.

/Resumes helium balloon analysis.