The Uhland family is made up of die-hard fans, willing to do just about anything to get tickets to see their beloved Colorado Rockies play in the World Series.
Thwarted on Monday, freelance writer Vicky Uhland, father Gerald, brother Jeff and sister-in-law Jennifer hunkered down behind five computers in three locations, hoping to score Tuesday. This is the story of their unsuccessful quest, as chronicled by Uhland:
9:33 a.m.: Jeff calls from his office at Lexmark. The plan is the same as yesterday. He will go for Game 3. Jennifer will try for Games 4 and 5 on her CH2M Hill laptop and the family’s Dell at home. I will try for Game 4 on my computer and Game 5 on Dad’s. But instead of spending two hours, like Monday, we’re quitting at 1 p.m.
11:42 a.m.: Dad arrives at my house, bearing Sonic hamburgers.
11:51 a.m.: I prop my lucky Clint Hurdle baseball card on my keyboard and put my autographed Todd Helton baseball nearby.
11:57 a.m.: Jeff calls. We’re on conference, via speakerphone.
11:58 a.m.: Log onto site. Countdown on the “Please, God, let us in” page is now 120 instead of 60, like yesterday. We view that as a good omen. We view anything as a good omen.
High noon: I’m on countdown 42; Jeff’s on 30. Jennifer logs in. “Please wait for server.” Jeff is philosophical. “You can’t think we’re the only people who got on early.”
12:01 p.m.: “It’s like watching paint dry, isn’t it,” Jeff says.
12:03 p.m.: Jennifer gets a phone call. “I can’t talk,” she shouts. Me: “Should we refresh?” Jeff: “No, it says not to refresh or you’ll be dropped to the end of the line. Moron.”
12:05 p.m.: Jennifer: “I can’t remember which game I went for on which computer.”
12:07 p.m.: Jennifer: “I have three bars below the countdown.” Me: “That’s good. We’ve never had that!”
12:10 p.m.: Jeff: “I’ve got five bars. Come on, baby, come on. I’ve got my credit card out.”
12:12 p.m.: Jeff: “Apple stock went up $11 today.” Jennifer: “I’m in! Oh, no. I got kicked out.”
12:14 p.m.: Me: “I want to refresh.” Jeff: “Don’t do it!” Me: “I did it.” Jeff: “You could have been the next one going to the ticket window.”
12:18 p.m.: I get an error. Jennifer got kicked off four times.
12:26 p.m.: Jeff gets “Page can’t be displayed” message. Dad: “I know what’s the problem, I don’t have my Clint Hurdle jersey on.”
12:27 p.m.: Jeff reads that most fans are stuck on countdown page.
12:39 p.m.: Jennifer gets network-access error message, same as yesterday. “This is stupid, but I don’t want to quit because what if they fix it?”
12:43 p.m.: Dad: “This is so boring.”
12:44 p.m.: News conference says ticket sales are going slower than expected but should be complete by the end of the day. Jeff: “It’s going to take all afternoon to sell 60,000 tickets? They can sell concert tickets in 12 minutes.”
12:50 p.m.: I want to refresh. Jeff, Jennifer and Dad, all at once: “NO!” Me: “What if we’re just sitting here like putzes?”
12:58 p.m.: Jeff has to go to a meeting. Jennifer must do work. Dad needs to go home. All agree to keep trying throughout the day.
