It is seven o’clock Monday morning and sophomore Will Peltier wakes up to a nasty phone call from his neighbor. She wants to know where the girls who are supposed to relieve her from her duties are. Peltier immediately starts making phone calls trying to find where the morning shift’s workers are.
Peltier is not a manager of a grocery store; he is merely the head of a complex ticket operation with aims to obtain the first rows in section O for Saturday night’s football game versus Ohio State.
Peltier and his crew of about 120 people have been in line since Sept. 23 and have been rotating five-hour shifts outside the Kohl Center ever since.
This particular morning, the girls scheduled from seven until 12 forgot about their turn and left Will’s neighbor with an unwanted double shift.
“There have been some bumps along the way,” Peltier said. “But for the most part things have gone smoothly.”
As anyone who passes the Kohl Center knows that Peltier and his group are not the only ones who have been waiting in line for two weeks. In fact, they are third in line — of the football line, that is.
“We’ll be out here until November 2,” said junior Dave Richards, whose group is first in line for basketball tickets. Richards, who bundled up in his winter coat, a hat, mittens and a sleeping bag last Sunday night, is waiting for someone to come sit out in the cold for him. Richards said he will take three shifts in the course of the next few weeks, claiming it is a small price to pay for front-row seats all season long.
However, when asked whether it gets cold at night, Peltier said, “When the shifts are only five hours long, people don’t really care too much. Everyone just brings their friends, warm clothes and stuff to do.”
Both lines are filled with staples such as tarps, air mattresses and sleeping bags. Some groups even have couches and space heaters, and anyone with a laptop for watching movies is immediately popular.
“I think we’ve all made friends with the people who are in line with us,” Peltier added.
Not everyone in his group knew each other at first, but after many rotations over the past two weeks, they are all coming to know one another and are anticipating a good time Saturday night.
The wait for those in line for football tickets will soon be over, as the voucher exchange starts Wednesday at one in the afternoon.
“Do you know how many people who were making fun of us have come up to me wanting to get in on it now?” Peltier said. “You have got to be kidding me,” is the only answer he can muster.
The wait continues for those exchanging basketball vouchers, and the temperature continues to drop. All Dave Richards wants to know is “Who’s going to be out here for Halloween?”
