2012 Autograph Tour: Kentucky Wildcat Fans are CRAZY!
By Danielle
If you were hanging out at Mall St. Matthews yesterday in Louisville for nearly 6 hours, if not longer, then you already know what I am talking about. Coach John Calipari does not lie when he says that Kentucky Wildcat fans are crazy, especially when it comes to the men’s basketball team.
I arrived at Mall St. Matthews yesterday morning shortly after 10. After making my way to the mall entrance by the food court, I docked myself right near Cardboard Heroes, where there were already maybe 20-30 people there at the time. An hour later, when the store finally opened and seperated the lines between those with autograph tickets and those that had yet to buy their tickets, I ended up being the 4th person at the front of the line. That’s not too shabby. I would wager that I ended up waiting 2:30 from the time I got there until I got the autographs of Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb. Immediately thereafter, it was off to the line for Darius Miller. Keep in mind that it was 12:50 PM and Miller would not start signing until 3:30 PM!
Thanks to a fellow Cats fan, I was able to have my spot in the Darius Miller autograph line saved while I went to eat some lunch in the food court. Why not? I would have done the same for the person in front of me if that had been the case.
It was about 3:40-3:45 PM when I did finally get the Miller autograph. All in all, I spent 5 hours, 30 minutes in a line on Sunday.
I was back at it again on Monday to see Terrence Jones and get his autograph. You can bet that I arrived around 2:15 PM for a 6 PM signing. Even though the official line at Cardboard Heroes did not start until 3 PM, I was already #4 in line.
How did these signings compare to that of Eloy Vargas? Well, last Thursday, when Eloy Vargas was signing at Cardboard Heroes at Mall St. Matthews in Louisville, you could walk right in and walk right out. I walked in at 5:55 PM, bought my autograph ticket and 8×10 photo to be signed. I was out of the store in another 5 minutes, give or take.
Now, I don’t know how it is at other sites on the autograph tour but the Vargas signing is the only one in Louisville where the store is allowing for posed photos. The rest of the signings, at this time, they are not allowing posed photos. My guess is because they know that the lines would move even slower. Foot traffic at the mall would be at a stand still.
According to store employees, 150 people bought Vargas autograph tickets in Louisville. On Sunday, there were 200 combo tickets purchased for Teague and Lamb while there were 400 tickets purchased for Miller. No word yet on how many purchased for Jones but my best bet would be somewhere between 400-500 people.
Photo with Eloy Vargas:
The following were photos that I took of the players while they signed or of the line while people were waiting on Sunday.