Madness fans jump the gun
October 1, 2015
By McKenna Horsley
“Go!” was the word that set it off.
The stampede of Big Blue Madness began two minutes early, adding confusion to an already chaotic scramble for camping spots.
“As soon as they say ‘Go,’ everything you went over in your mind for the past five hours is gone,” said Adam Helton, who has come to Lexington from his home in Salyersville for Big Blue Madness tickets since 1993.
Tents and lawn chairs strewn along the sidewalks of Avenue of Champions since Saturday night signalled that basketball in the Bluegrass is almost here.
Big Blue Madness is UK’s annual kick-off to basketball season. Located in Rupp Arena, the event showcases both basketball teams’ first practices of season and serves as a rally for the Big Blue Nation to celebrate the upcoming season.
Free tickets for Big Blue Madness ticket create the annual hype. UK officially allowed the campout to begin on Wednesday but fans having been waiting around the Bowman wildcat statue as early as Saturday night.
Facing cool and rainy weather, UK basketball fans waited in line for the chance to get a first look at the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Big Blue Madness.
Photo Gallery: Big Blue Madness Campout
At 4:58 a.m. Wednesday, fans raced across Avenue of Champions to set up their tents for a spot in line.
Jason Black, also from Salyersville, said he saw someone try to hurdle two trash cans in the rush for a camping spot, but the person jumped right into another fan scrambling for a tent spot.
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“That’s where the collision happened,” Black said. “Tents went everywhere, it was madness.”
The biggest take-away this year is the importance of pop-up tents, Black said. People who used tents that require time to set up were left in the dust, as other fans ripped up the tent poles and put down their own pop-up tents.
“This year, (pop-up tents) blew up like the stock market,” Helton said.
Kinesiology fresman Ally Merrill and some of her friends had lawn chairs on the sidewalk Sunday night. Although never attending Big Blue Madness before, Merrill said she knew to get in line quickly.
“I know my basketball,” Merrill said. “When I see a sign that reads, ‘BBN line starts here,’ I knew I needed to get in that line.”
Merrill’s friend, psychology major Brianna Berry, said she wanted to get the experience of Big Blue Nation first hand. The group set up a rotation shift to guard their spot and prevent from any one of them having to miss class.
Long time fans Mike and B.K. Brumfield of Lexington said have made an annual tradition of waiting a week early for Big Blue Madness tickets. “We have been coming out here since the Joe B. Hall Days,” Mike said.
The couple met through their shared love of UK sports and have been married for 44 years; they said they have also formed lasting friendships while waiting in line, and often seeing familiar faces as they set up their lawn chairs in anticipation. B.K. noted that the event is about the bond you form with other Big Blue Nation fans.
Similarly, Adam Helton, a Morehead State University student, is using his fall break to spend time with his friends in line for Big Blue Madness tickets. Helton and friends have camped out the week before for the past four years and said this was the most they saw of each other all year.
Helton has been attending the ticket line since 1993. “It is the longest week of my life,” Helton said regarding his past experiences but still goes for the thrill camping out for ticket provides.
In preparation for the Campout, the UK Police Department was prepared for the large crowd. UKPD Police Chief Joe Monroe described the crowd control operations for the week.
“We will have two to three officers on site starting on Wednesday,” said Monroe.
UK police also shut down Avenue of Champions at 4:30 a.m. to organize campers in the official campout line before classes started with student safety in mind.
The annual campout also brings in more local business. Many campers frequent restaurants on Limestone such as Tolly-Ho, Joe Bologna’s, Noodle’s and Company.
The Papa John’s Location on Avenue of Champions has noted a spike in sales due to the campout in the past. Employee Megan Cavanaugh said Papa John’s scheduled extra staff this week and hands out coupons to the campers.
Kentucky Kernel Editor-in-Chief Will Wright contributed to this story.
