Friday, February 21, 1997
M. HOOPS:
Overnighters swarm Pauley Pavilion in quest for priority
numbersBy Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
This weekend, hundreds of UCLA students will sleep outdoors.
They will lodge in a makeshift sleeping bag village instead of
Sunset Village. They will go hungry, and valuable studying time for
the Monday morning midterm will be sacrificed.
It has nothing do with poverty, drunkenness or membership in the
Boy Scouts. The madness that goes on underneath Gates 10 and 15 of
Pauley Pavilion every night before a UCLA men’s basketball home
game has everything to do with getting closer to the action.
As demand for student section seats have been going up over the
years, it’s common to see students sleeping outside Pauley Pavilion
for the coveted priority numbers. The numbers, which are passed out
at 7 a.m. the morning of the game, allow students to run to the
lower level seats according to the order of their numbers.
For the die-hard fans, setting up camps in the early evenings is
a show of loyalty to the team, the only way to sit close to the
court and be part of the action.
If one wishes to yell at the opposing players and coaches, as
students have been known to do, the priority numbers are the only
means to actually be heard.
According to second-year students Ryan Hagey and Chris
Lindshield, who were spotted in their sleeping bags the night
before the Feb. 8 Stanford game, the nocturnal atmosphere often
resembles a party  complete with televisions, Nintendo sets,
delivery pizza and loud music.
"During (Fall Quarter) finals week when we played Kansas, guys
brought out a TV and a VCR and played ‘Caddyshack,’ while we’re
sitting here studying for finals," Hagey said. "The studying didn’t
work, so we started watching the movie with them."
To the team itself, which is fully aware of these fanatical
campers, it is a source of support.
"I think that it’s a real positive any time you see support and
you see some interest from the fans," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin
said. "It lets your players know that the fans are behind you,
especially at UCLA because there are such high expectations."
This Sunday, No. 17 UCLA plays No. 6 Duke in a game that means
as much as any game the Bruins have played this year.
Because of the national significance of the game, there will
probably be more campers out on Saturday night than for any other
game this year.
Just for the love of basketball.
GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
(l. to r.) John Alford (third year), Margie Garrison (first
year, psychology), Amber Arseneau (first year, art) and Chum
Wongrassamee, (third year, design) are entertained by Randy Weis
(fifth year, applied math) while camping out for priority tickets
at Pauley Pavilion.