Ticket contest is a devil of a time

Some UNC students will do just about anything for tickets to one of the season's biggest rivalry games.

At 3 p.m. Friday, 21 students placed one hand on an enlarged ticket in the middle of the Pit for a chance to win two riser tickets to Sunday's North Carolina-Duke men's basketball game.

One by one, students -- who had been given strict instructions not to remove a hand from the ticket, lean on the table, or sit down -- dropped out of the competition.

By 10 p.m. Sunday, two die-hard fans were still standing -- battling body aches, heavy eyelids and temperatures that dropped as low as 23 degrees.

"I had suspicions that it could last this long," said sophomore Cody Foster, one of the two remaining contestants Sunday night. "I thought I would be the winner easily, but there are definitely some tough defenders here."

If the two students are still standing at 7 a.m. today, the contestants will be forced to stand on one leg, and the winner will be the last one standing.

The students have consumed energy drinks, watched movies, played poker, stretched, jogged in place and talked on their cell phones in an attempt to stay awake during the competition sponsored by the student group Keeping Recreational Activities New and Creative.

"I've actually faded off to sleep a couple of times," said freshman David Grady one of the final four who resisted closing his eyelids as he spoke Sunday afternoon. "But I've done stretches, had hot chocolate and a lot of Mountain Dew."

The students, who were selected for the competition through a mock ticket distribution, took a 10-minute bathroom break every two hours and a 15-minute break every six hours.

The first student dropped out 30 minutes into the competition, and the numbers continued to dwindle throughout the weekend due to rule violations or decisions to withdraw.

One contestant who had stood strong in the competition until 3 p.m. Saturday was close to tears when he was forced out of the race. After falling asleep on the brick stairs of the Pit, he woke up a couple of seconds too late to return to the table.

KRANC Coordinator Parker Melvin said organizers had no idea the competition would last this long.

"You never know how badly somebody wants a Duke ticket," he said.

KRANC and the Carolina Athletic Association collaborated to produce two riser tickets to the game.

"We got the idea for the contest from the documentary, 'Hands on a Hardbody,'" Melvin said.

The film documents a car dealership's contest, in which people compete for a truck by keeping their hand on the prize the longest.

Senior Stephanie Wrenn, one of the final two, said she was determined to win the tickets because this is her last chance for riser seats to a UNC vs. Duke game.

"I was really struggling a couple of hours ago, but I feel like I've got a second wind," Wrenn said. "I'm feeling really good right now."

Despite the fact that this is his first year at UNC, and that the competition has taken a long time, Phillip Barbee, one of the final four candidates, said he thought the tickets were worth the wait.

"I figure looking back, what's a weekend for riser tickets?"

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.