Pro Line Squatters

So that line at Best Buy was really something. I'll upload some pictures to my Flickr site shortly, but this was a seriously crazy stuff. Whether the shortage was real or perceived, it certainly had the effect of people willing to wait at the back of a line even knowing that it was overwhelmingly likely that they'd be leaving empty handed.

The guy at the front of the line (name, Dan Friedman) ... it turns out that I was wrong. He wasn't crazy enough to have been waiting since Saturday. That's bush league. He was there since FRIDAY. He didn't even know that Bill Gates was handing out the first 360 at the time. I wonder if he was nervous at all ... I mean, this guy is a Microsoft employee.

When I got there at 9:30AM Monday morning, there were already nearly 100 people in line. By the time I left at 5PM ... over 400. There were only 260 units (200 Premium, 60 Core) available, and while rumors swirled of Best Buy and Microsoft working hard to shift more units to this location, it seemed doubtful, but people were still willing to wait.

Several times over the course of the day, I had people offer me $100 for my ticket. I'm sure that number escalated as the midnight hour drew nigh. Various news crews arrived to get interviews and video of the proceedings, and I commiserated with my fellow journalists. I didn't really understand it. I get being passionate about things, and I'm one of those people that's willing to get in line early for a movie. But overnight? In the cold? I just don't get that. Dropping everything in your life for several DAYS? That's part of why I went to Best Buy yesterday. I wanted to understand. Part of being a journalist is dropping yourself into the middle of a culture and getting into that mindset.

I'm sure everyone that managed to get an Xbox will feel it was worth it. Climbing to the top of the leaderboard early. Judging by the prices for Xbox 360's on eBay, there's a lot of people that think having one a month or two sooner is worth it. I don't know that I'd go that far myself, but God bless these Professional Line Squatters. The Media just loves these guys (and gals).