The Standard

Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Dan Snyder

On the sidewalk between Hammons Student Center and JQH Arena, basking under streetlights, sit three tents.

It's 2 a.m. Sunday morning, and some of the campers have been on the scene for more than seven hours. They've got 14 hours to go.

They may not be the Cameron Crazies, but these dozen or so students are dedicated to supporting their Missouri State Bears.

Tickets for the Bears' first game in JQH Arena, against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, go on sale to members of Maroon Madness at 4 p.m. Sunday.

After surviving the night's sub-freezing temperatures, Chuck Pinkert is huddled under a blanket in enough layers of clothing to make an Alaskan Inuit proud.

It's just before 10 a.m. Sunday now, and he's been here since 6:30 p.m. Saturday. He holds the distinction of being the first person in line.

"I was here at 6:30. He got here at 6:31," he said pointing to someone playing a board game. "Can you put that in bold and underline it?"

Pinkert, a senior computer information systems major, is proud of his distinction. He's a veteran of camping for tickets, having stayed overnight for last season's games against Creighton and Bradley.

It's not as much about getting the best seats in the house, he said, as it is about enjoying the experience and building expectations for this season's incarnation of Bears basketball.

Matt McMillin, a senior management major, is a first-timer, but he's also enjoying the experience - even though the cold weather has frozen him in place in his camping chair.

"It's definitely been worth it," he said.

McMillin and his friends have been here since 10 p.m. Saturday. They're not first in line, but they've beaten nearly all 1,400 of their fellow Maroon Madness members.

"I wanted the experience," he says. "This is my last year at school, and I want to get those front-row tickets. It's something I can look back on and remember I was there for the home opener in a new stadium."

As 4 p.m. approaches, more students arrive, mostly staying in their cars waiting for the doors to open. They've arrived early, but not nearly early enough to beat Pinkert, McMillin and the others.

They'll all get their tickets, because 2,500 were reserved, but Maroon Madness has only 1,400 members.

Continued...

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