Have you ever done something out of the ordinary for the chance to buy an item you really wanted?
If so, what did you do? What was the item? In the end, did you get it?
If you haven’t had this experience, is there anything that would make you do something like camp in the rain with thousands of other people for a shot at a prized object? Do you know anyone who would? And does the item in question involve Taylor Swift?
In “What Would You Do for a Taylor Swift Sweatshirt?,” Madison Malone Kircher writes about the lengths to which some fans have gone for a chance to buy limited edition merchandise from the singer’s Eras Tour:
Shirley Vogler, a nurse in Tampa, said she had made it to the Eras truck at 10 p.m. the night before. Like other early arrivals, she had been moved from spot to spot by security guards in the rainy predawn hours. At 5:45 a.m., she was among the hundreds of people camped out on a sidewalk next to the six-lane West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Ms. Vogler, 31, was seated on the ground toward the front, chatting with two other women whom she had befriended.
Fans were able to buy merchandise inside the stadium on each of the three nights that Ms. Swift would perform at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So why bother waiting all night in the rain? Ms. Vogler, who had tickets to a show, said it was because of what she had seen on social media — specifically, “the TikToks about how bad all of the arenas are with the merch lines and the traffic.”
Several other fans mentioned having seen posts by Bailey McKnight-Howard, one half of the twin influencer duo @brooklynandbailey, an Instagram account with nearly nine million followers. A few days earlier, Ms. McKnight-Howard had put up pictures of herself waiting outside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
She had also modeled a newly purchased blue crew neck sweatshirt, the most-sought after item among fans. Nearly every person outside the stadium on Wednesday morning was trying to buy one, or two, or as many as they were allowed to have.
There was nothing flashy about it. The sweatshirt had no sequins or embroidery or hidden pockets. It was just your average everyday sweatshirt, with Ms. Swift’s name and “Eras Tour” printed across the front and the tour dates and the titles of her albums on the back. If you closed your eyes and conjured a blue crew neck sweatshirt with some writing on it, your mental image would probably match up with this in-demand item.
One thing that made it special was the fact that, unlike some other tour souvenirs, it was not available in the “merch” section of taylorswift.com. It was also, notably, the rare garment for sale that day without Ms. Swift’s face printed on it. In the weeks since the start of the Eras Tour, fans had elevated this unexceptional article of clothing to cult status.
The apparently limited supply made it even more prized. “The resale on the sweatshirts is $300, Jake!” one fan was heard shouting into her phone. She was correct. The sweatshirt is available on eBay for more than four times its $65 list price.
“I’ve been having terrible nightmares about getting this crew neck,” said Emily Rottkamp, a 20-year-old employee at Disney World. “I haven’t been sleeping all night long and I've been staying here the whole night.”
Alyssa Misay, a personal injury specialist from Land O’ Lakes, Fla., joined the line before 5:30 a.m. She said her teenage niece had given her strict instructions: “‘The sweatshirt, the sweatshirt!’”
“Social media just makes things a bigger deal than what they are — like, almost unattainable,” Ms. Misay, 36, said. “Like, if you don’t have it, you’re not cool in school.”
Nearby, Venisha Jardin, a sophomore at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, Fla., wore a hooded plastic poncho to protect her from the rain. In the hours before sunrise, the glow from her phone illuminated the area around her. “I’m missing school for this,” she said.
My students, read the entire article to find out what happened when the merchandise truck finally opened. Then tell me:
What is your reaction to the article? Are you a devoted fan of Taylor Swift — or of any other musician, performer, actor, athlete, artist or influencer? Would you camp out in the rain for a chance to buy their merchandise? Have you ever done anything that was inconvenient or unpleasant as part of your fandom?
Is there anything else you could see yourself waiting hours in line to buy? What about the latest phone? Limited edition sneakers? Concert tickets for your favorite band? Why or why not? Alyssa Misay said, “Social media just makes things a bigger deal than what they are — like, almost unattainable. Like, if you don’t have it, you’re not cool in school.” Do you agree? Have you ever been persuaded by social media to buy something you might not have otherwise? If so, did it live up to the hype and to your expectations?
What do you think the experience was like emotionally for the people who waited in line, for the stadium workers, the police officers and the people working inside the merchandise trucks? Would you trade places with any of them if you could?
The article stated that the hours of waiting in line gave fans “a chance to feel at home among hundreds of others who shared a love for Ms. Swift’s songs.” Have you ever connected with others or made friends through your love for something? Does being part of a fandom give you a sense of belonging?
Personally, I don't believe in waiting all night in the rain to get something. If it's meant to be it will, and I don't think it'll be that challenging. If a friend or family member asks me to wait with them it really would have to depend on the circumstances. If they were waiting on something I don't think is that worth it then I don't know if I would stay with them. I think the only thing I would ever wait in the rain overnight for is tickets to a Coldplay concert or jewelry from my favorite jewelry brand. I would definitely ask friends and family to stay with me but I wouldn't expect much. That wait would be long and boring and I would want some company and distractions.
I would wait all night in the rain for Washington Capitals tickets for a game or to meet the players. I love ice hockey and my all-time favorite team is the Washington Capitals. I have been a fan of the caps for my whole life. Most of the time people do not have to wait for hockey tickets, but sometimes for playoff tickets or season tickets. I would wait in the freezing cold rain anytime for Capitals tickets. I think that people waiting in the rain shows their commitment and dedication to their fan base. Fan bases range from small to large, but within all, there will always be a die-hard fan willing to wait in any conditions.
I am not surprised that fans would wait all night in the rain when it comes to Taylor Swift. She has really dedicated fans that would do a lot. Personally I would not want to wait all night for something unless I was with my friends. I would not wait for anything alone because I feel like it would be very boring and with friends it could make the experience much better. I doubt I would find anything that I really wanted bad enough to wait all night but I would so wait with someone if they asked me to come along. I think the experience would be worth more than what I was waiting for. I think that people who do wait in line for hours are obsessed fans but I do understand wanting something and willing to do anything for that. This story reminds me of things you would see on tv shows when the characters wait all night and day in line for something just to find out they missed the cut off. If I were to imagine myself in that position I bet I would get cranky real fast. I would need to have some sort of chair, blanket, and tent to sit on and to make me comfortable and not miserable in the cold for hours and staying frozen outside in the cold.
If you haven’t had this experience, is there anything that would make you do something like camp in the rain with thousands of other people for a shot at a prized object? Do you know anyone who would? And does the item in question involve Taylor Swift?
In “What Would You Do for a Taylor Swift Sweatshirt?,” Madison Malone Kircher writes about the lengths to which some fans have gone for a chance to buy limited edition merchandise from the singer’s Eras Tour:
Shirley Vogler, a nurse in Tampa, said she had made it to the Eras truck at 10 p.m. the night before. Like other early arrivals, she had been moved from spot to spot by security guards in the rainy predawn hours. At 5:45 a.m., she was among the hundreds of people camped out on a sidewalk next to the six-lane West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Ms. Vogler, 31, was seated on the ground toward the front, chatting with two other women whom she had befriended.
Fans were able to buy merchandise inside the stadium on each of the three nights that Ms. Swift would perform at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So why bother waiting all night in the rain? Ms. Vogler, who had tickets to a show, said it was because of what she had seen on social media — specifically, “the TikToks about how bad all of the arenas are with the merch lines and the traffic.”
Several other fans mentioned having seen posts by Bailey McKnight-Howard, one half of the twin influencer duo @brooklynandbailey, an Instagram account with nearly nine million followers. A few days earlier, Ms. McKnight-Howard had put up pictures of herself waiting outside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
She had also modeled a newly purchased blue crew neck sweatshirt, the most-sought after item among fans. Nearly every person outside the stadium on Wednesday morning was trying to buy one, or two, or as many as they were allowed to have.
There was nothing flashy about it. The sweatshirt had no sequins or embroidery or hidden pockets. It was just your average everyday sweatshirt, with Ms. Swift’s name and “Eras Tour” printed across the front and the tour dates and the titles of her albums on the back. If you closed your eyes and conjured a blue crew neck sweatshirt with some writing on it, your mental image would probably match up with this in-demand item.
One thing that made it special was the fact that, unlike some other tour souvenirs, it was not available in the “merch” section of taylorswift.com. It was also, notably, the rare garment for sale that day without Ms. Swift’s face printed on it. In the weeks since the start of the Eras Tour, fans had elevated this unexceptional article of clothing to cult status.
The apparently limited supply made it even more prized. “The resale on the sweatshirts is $300, Jake!” one fan was heard shouting into her phone. She was correct. The sweatshirt is available on eBay for more than four times its $65 list price.
“I’ve been having terrible nightmares about getting this crew neck,” said Emily Rottkamp, a 20-year-old employee at Disney World. “I haven’t been sleeping all night long and I've been staying here the whole night.”
Alyssa Misay, a personal injury specialist from Land O’ Lakes, Fla., joined the line before 5:30 a.m. She said her teenage niece had given her strict instructions: “‘The sweatshirt, the sweatshirt!’”
“Social media just makes things a bigger deal than what they are — like, almost unattainable,” Ms. Misay, 36, said. “Like, if you don’t have it, you’re not cool in school.”
Nearby, Venisha Jardin, a sophomore at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, Fla., wore a hooded plastic poncho to protect her from the rain. In the hours before sunrise, the glow from her phone illuminated the area around her. “I’m missing school for this,” she said.
My students, read the entire article to find out what happened when the merchandise truck finally opened. Then tell me:
What is your reaction to the article? Are you a devoted fan of Taylor Swift — or of any other musician, performer, actor, athlete, artist or influencer? Would you camp out in the rain for a chance to buy their merchandise? Have you ever done anything that was inconvenient or unpleasant as part of your fandom?
Is there anything else you could see yourself waiting hours in line to buy? What about the latest phone? Limited edition sneakers? Concert tickets for your favorite band? Why or why not? Alyssa Misay said, “Social media just makes things a bigger deal than what they are — like, almost unattainable. Like, if you don’t have it, you’re not cool in school.” Do you agree? Have you ever been persuaded by social media to buy something you might not have otherwise? If so, did it live up to the hype and to your expectations?
What do you think the experience was like emotionally for the people who waited in line, for the stadium workers, the police officers and the people working inside the merchandise trucks? Would you trade places with any of them if you could?
The article stated that the hours of waiting in line gave fans “a chance to feel at home among hundreds of others who shared a love for Ms. Swift’s songs.” Have you ever connected with others or made friends through your love for something? Does being part of a fandom give you a sense of belonging?
Personally, I don't believe in waiting all night in the rain to get something. If it's meant to be it will, and I don't think it'll be that challenging. If a friend or family member asks me to wait with them it really would have to depend on the circumstances. If they were waiting on something I don't think is that worth it then I don't know if I would stay with them. I think the only thing I would ever wait in the rain overnight for is tickets to a Coldplay concert or jewelry from my favorite jewelry brand. I would definitely ask friends and family to stay with me but I wouldn't expect much. That wait would be long and boring and I would want some company and distractions.
I would wait all night in the rain for Washington Capitals tickets for a game or to meet the players. I love ice hockey and my all-time favorite team is the Washington Capitals. I have been a fan of the caps for my whole life. Most of the time people do not have to wait for hockey tickets, but sometimes for playoff tickets or season tickets. I would wait in the freezing cold rain anytime for Capitals tickets. I think that people waiting in the rain shows their commitment and dedication to their fan base. Fan bases range from small to large, but within all, there will always be a die-hard fan willing to wait in any conditions.
I am not surprised that fans would wait all night in the rain when it comes to Taylor Swift. She has really dedicated fans that would do a lot. Personally I would not want to wait all night for something unless I was with my friends. I would not wait for anything alone because I feel like it would be very boring and with friends it could make the experience much better. I doubt I would find anything that I really wanted bad enough to wait all night but I would so wait with someone if they asked me to come along. I think the experience would be worth more than what I was waiting for. I think that people who do wait in line for hours are obsessed fans but I do understand wanting something and willing to do anything for that. This story reminds me of things you would see on tv shows when the characters wait all night and day in line for something just to find out they missed the cut off. If I were to imagine myself in that position I bet I would get cranky real fast. I would need to have some sort of chair, blanket, and tent to sit on and to make me comfortable and not miserable in the cold for hours and staying frozen outside in the cold.
