It looked good on paper, the system for getting tickets to the upcoming U2 concert, and I suppose technically it was the fairest and most organized way possible to deal with the hordes of Ohio State buyers. However, the sterile color-coded get-in-line-according-to-number manner in which this sale was handled left much to be desired.Oh sure getting the bracelet took all of 30 seconds. That was nice considering I went in between classes. And the lottery was a great way to keep people from camping out at the union for the first number. When the numbers were actually posted, I thought, yeah, ok, this is good. I don’t have to get up at 6 a.m. and I won’t spend my entire afternoon standing in line bitterly obsessing on the hours of procrastinated homework I need to catch up on.When my friend showed up with a bracelet bearing the coveted first group number, I was even more excited. He needed only two tickets; I also required two tickets. Perfect! I would have someone to stand in line with.The plan was perfect: set alarm for 8:45 a.m., roll out of bed, pull on clothes in closest vicinity to where you land on floor, brush teeth, don hat, grab cash; 8:52 a.m. meet friend beg him to stop for soda to comfort hang-over; 8:59 a.m. car is parked go stand in line according to color and number of wrist band.Of course when we got there, all was in chaos (well OK that’s an exaggeration) but people were just standing in one long line, no order, no color-coding. Soon though, the cranky security people were filing us into some semblance of hierarchy. We found our color group (thanks to huge color flags attached to chairs) and we found our place in line by wandering around muttering ‘what’s your number?’ Finally we found our spot, and to my friend’s delight, it was in front of someone (he hates to be last in line).The next half hour was spent waiting while security people double and triple checked those stupid little hospital bands to make sure that we were indeed in the correct numerical order. Then, like misplaced army sergeants, they began bellowing through their bullhorns that we must be in single file and that people without bracelets would have to wait outside. I stood there with my friend in the cold gray drizzle and I realized that this was completely wrong.Sure camping out for tickets is inconvenient and time consuming, but it is part of the concert-going experience.Living on a lawn chair, drinking coffee from a thermos with only a blanket to keep you warm just to be one of the first 20 in line, is how you show your true devotion to the band. Those willing to put forth such a sacrifice are the ones who deserve the best seats: they earn them!Whatever happened to the days of lengthy line waiting? The days when you would make life long friends over endless fast food meals and games of euchre to kill the time. The days when you could proudly say I waited in line two whole weeks in six feet of snow for those tickets!I can remember wasting an entire day sitting in line for Bruce Springsteen tickets, I didn’t even like ‘the boss,’ but at 14, waiting in line with my friends was a hell of a lot more fun than staying at home.What will I tell my brother’s grandchildren when I recall this event? Will I be able to tell them I camped out for three days just to get 4th row tickets? Will I tell them tall tales of lighting bonfires and singing ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday?’ No, I’ll tell them my bracelet color was a hideous shade of neon green and that, even being in the first group, I didn’t get ground floor seats.
Heather Luce is a senior majoring in journalism who has had a crush on Larry Mullen Jr. since her sophomore year in high school.
