While expensive sporting event tickets are nothing new -- Super Bowl tickets last year reached over $4,000 in the resale market -- we now have this: For the first time ever Official Super Bowl tickets will reach $1,000... straight from the NFL.

The four-digit price tag is a jump from the now relatively affordable $900 charged for high end tickets at Super Bowl XLII last year. The NFL, never one to be aloof to the plight of the common man to watch the game is also offering a limited number of "cheap" tickets at only $500, a discount of $200 over last year's lowest prices.

The Full breakdown of seats and prices is below:

• 17,000 suites and club seats - $1,000 a seat
• 53,000 regular seats - $800 a seat
• 1,000 regular seats at $500!

It's pretty nifty that the NFL is offering these "cheap" seats in light of shrinking 401ks and a drooping DOW, but I can't help but feel like the discount on these seats will only add to the bulge in some reseller's pocket come game day. So far there is no word on how the 1,000 budget tickets will be sold, but let's hope that it is done via a lottery of some kind that precludes winners from reselling the ticket.

While I can totally get behind the notion of paying big bucks to see one of the biggest sporting events of the year, I can't help but feel like the money would be better spent elsewhere in viewing the game. If you and a friend go to the game in Tampa after you get tickets, hotel rooms and transportation you could have easily created your own mancave to enjoy Super Bowl XLIII...in a home theater that rivals the local cineplex.

What am I saying? If my beloved Dolphins ever make it to the Super Bowl I'll be there in a heartbeat, especially since it may be a once in a lifetime event.

Not that I'm looking, or anything, but experts say if you're in the market for a new HDTV, now is the time to buy it. Conventional wisdom has it that the best time to buy a new TV is in the weeks just after the Superbowl, when retailers are moving out the old to make room for the new.

Of course, actual HDTV sales weren't as spectacular as retailers had hoped...a taste of tapped-out consumers perhaps?

Hope springs eternal. According to some reports, analysts at Pacific Media Associates say we can expect a 15.6% drop on flat panel display prices this year. According to the research company, last year saw a 14.7% price drop on HDTVs, which increased sales by 41%. Sales will continue to skyrocket in the period leading up to the switch to Digital TV next year.

We all know that HDTV's are about the only thing going down in price these days. Will the recession we're in or about to enter (depending on who you're reading) have any affect on this symbol of American consumerism?

Bankrate reports that "According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 130 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in drunk driving related traffic accidents during Super Bowl weekend in 2006. Young men ages 21 to 34 are the core audience for major sporting events and are also the most likely to drive while impaired, according to the NHTSA."

Bankrate adds that the total costs associated with a drunk driving arrest can easily top a whopping $20 thousand. So even if you are selfish and don't care about endangering the lives of innocent people, drunk driving is a pretty bad deal.

So have fun at your Super Bowl party. But please drink responsibly and if you can't do that, then at least don't drive.

It's a bad deal for eveybody.

Yes, that's the going rate this year for a 30 second advertisement during the Super Bowl... $2.7 million. If that sounds too high, you should buy in bulk like Anheuser-Busch, and pay only about $2 million per spot.

And don't forget, that only gets you the airtime. You still have to pay to have a commercial created and filmed. And with that much money on the line, you can be sure that companies are spend a bundle to try to make their commercials memorable.

But how memorable is advertising these days? How many commercials can you remember from last year's Super Bowl? I'd be surprised if you remembered any more than one or two. So there's a lot of hype and prestige that goes along with advertising during the year's most popular sporting event on television, but who knows if it's really worth the money. With traditional media outlets losing importance in this online age, I'd rather bet a company's money on other advertising avenues.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

What? You don't have a private jet? Well maybe you should look into fractional ownership for all your jet and yacht needs. Those who have jets have already made arrangements to get to the Super Bow. All 400 of them.

Charter air companies and fractional ownership programs have booked a ton of flights into Pheonix for the Super Bowl. As of Friday there were more than 400 flights in scheduled, and experts say a traffic jam in the air is likely.

Those who do fly in on private jets are also picking up luxury packages for their stay, including hotel and game tickets. The cheap packages are going for about $6,000. And the sky is the limit for those with money to spend. The Super Bowl is traditionally a big-money event, but this year the tickets are priced higher by the brokers and the demand is still huge.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

People are paying record prices for Super Bowl tickets this year, and the Green Bay Packers aren't even in it! Apparently Giants and Patriots fans are just as fanatical though, driving ticket prices into the thousands.

Face value on the tickets is $700 or $900. StubHub, a part of eBay, is showing prices ranging from $2,450 to $19,446, and company officials say the average price for tickets is about $4,300.

Can the National Football League do something about the inflated prices? Not really... people in possession of the tickets are generally able to do what they want with them. While the resale of tickets at the site of the event is generally restricted, resale off-premises by a ticket broker or other resale service is generally allowed.

These prices are crazy. I can't imagine any event being worth that amount of money. Everyone knows that the best seats for a football game are in the living room in front of the television anyway. That's where you get all the instant replays and commentary. It beats paying thousands of dollars for a crummy seat in the nosebleed section any day.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

How dedicated are you to your favorite sports team? I bet Wayne Scullino is more dedicated than you are! He was willing to give up his job and sell his home to spend an entire football season with the Green Bay Packers.

A fan since the age of 15, Wayne and his family packed their belongings and traveled from their home in Sydney, Australia to Green Bay, Wisconsin for a football season that is going on longer than they expected.

With two small boys and a wife, Wayne quit his job to become a real "Packer Backer." He's living his dream of being a sports writer and photographer, and details his experience on his website, "The Once in a Lifetime Fan." The Scullino family has relied on their life's savings to fund this dream, and with the magic of the internet, they came to America with a place to live and a car to drive practically waiting for them.