Editor’s note:Last night the UAO homecoming concert featuring Ludacris sold 3,437 tickets in two hours and 11 minutes. The fastest ticket sale in UAO history.
Few people have the endurance to out-wait hundreds to be first in line for UAO concert tickets. Even fewer do it twice. Betsy Lyon, Chelsea Hardin and Emily Shoaf have twice sat through cold nights outside Anderson Arena to be guaranteed great seats – last year for Everclear, now for Ludacris. But chattering teeth and drowsy eyelids are small fees to pay, according to Lyon, Shoaf and the rest of their seven-member group.
“It was so much fun last year that we had to do it again,” Lyons said.
Last year, Lyons and her friends sat close enough to be invited on stage at the end of Everclear’s set. The group hopes for similar luck this year with Ludacris.
“It’s a rush to try and get on stage,” said Sarah Dulton, also with the group.
Because they spent over 24 hours in line – once they started at 6:30 on Wednesday – they had plenty of time to meet other Ludacris fans.
Lyon said she still keeps in contact with concert-goers she met last year.
“There were a couple people who camped out behind us,” she said. “We still stay in touch.”
This year they met one camper named Rufus Biggins, who slept in the lawn’s only tent made from a plastic sheet and wood stakes.
The girls got a good chuckle from Biggins’ money-saving technique. “I’m not buying a tent for just one night,” he said with a laugh.
The concert has brought a broad spectrum of people to meet all in one place, according to Biggins.
“It’s opened me up to more people,” he said. “People I normally don’t get to talk to.”
Though the atmosphere is fun, he said he spent the last 20 hours in line first and foremost to see Ludacris.
Biggins owns all of the rapper’s albums – even before he was popular.
“When we hear a Ludacris song, we start gettin’ wild,” he said. Biggins said he appreciates the fact that UAO is trying to bring in rappers like Ludacris, Run DMC and The Roots, who performed in spring 2001.
“I’m glad there’s something for everybody,” he said.
But for a brief moment casual conversation died down as UAO director Matt LaRiccia addressed the crowd concerning numbers that had been handed to those in line to mark their positions.
The line has been a bit more out of control this year, according to sophomore Heather Leeper. A few fights nearly occurred over line spots, she said. Her friends added that one group tried to steal their spot in front earlier in the day.
LaRiccia encouraged the crowd to stay alert of there spots in line.
“Know who’s in front of you and know who’s behind you,” he said.
Rufus noticed a bit of tension, he said. “It’s getting real hectic – I’m scared to see what happens later on,” he said with a laugh. But a few mishaps in line organization wasn’t enough to extinguish his excitement.
“Ludacris is one of the hottest rappers out there,” he said. “And to think he’s here in BG.”
The girls at the front of the line didn’t seem phased either.
And you’ll probably see them again, according to Lyon. “I guess it’s our yearly tradition.”
