Yankees and Red Sox fans looking for prime seats to Penn basketball games this season were forced to make a choice late Tuesday night.
The surprise announcement for The Line came in the middle of a Red Sox comeback in Game One of the American League Championship Series.
At around 11 p.m., fans were forced to abandon their television sets and head to Franklin Field to receive wristbands that will guarantee them a spot in The Line.
The lucky first foursome in The Line were College juniors Jeff Bilsky, Zack Rosenblum, Justin Raphael and Paul Townsend.
"We were just hanging out, watching the game at Pottruck figuring that it would be somewhere central on campus," Rosenblum said. "We just got lucky and heard about it."
The quartet will have the first choice of season tickets this weekend after they sleep out tomorrow night at the Palestra.
The group plans to sit in the front row of the chairback section.
Despite the conflict with the baseball game, an impressive 255 people showed up to claim wristbands last night between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.
According to Dan Flynn, director of marketing, promotions and community affairs for the Penn Athletic Department, this was at least 150 more people than last year, when the surprise location was announced at 6:45 a.m.
Students interested in participating in The Line who did not claim a wristband last night can pick one up at the Franklin Field ticket office during its hours of dasfsoperation until at 5 p.m. today. Fans can also simply show up at the Palestra tomorrow at 6 p.m. to receive their wristbands.
Flynn is encouraging all Penn students to purchase season tickets even if they do not wish to participate in this weekend's overnight.
"Conceivably, we have room for thousands of student season tickets in the Palestra, so students shouldn't be discouraged about getting season tickets if they can not participate in The Line," Flynn said in an e-mail.
This marks the second consecutive year that the surprise location was Franklin Field.
In 2002, fans rushed to the Pottruck Fitness Center for wristbands and in 2001 they made a mad dash for tickets at the Superblock.
Among the events lined up for participants in The Line this weekend are the Penn-Columbia football game, two Quakers volleyball games and a traditional Midnight Madness celebration. Both the men's and women's basketball teams will have their first official practice of the season at the stroke of midnight tomorrow.
