Ice Cold Water

Sachin Oswal ( sachinoswal@psu.edu )

"Congratulations! We had record sales during the Nebraska game", annnounced Kavitha during the fortnightly meeting and there were cheers & claps around. With those words ringing in my ears, I rejoiced with pride. Partly because it is only human to take pride in records and partly because of the satisfaction of having contributed to a 'cause'. $750 earned from sales during the match would go towards providing the basic necessities (roti, kapda aur makan) along with health and education facilities to the less privileged in our homeland.

"What pleasure can be greater than the one you get after helping someone in need." - Mother Teresa.

Prologue

It was a special Saturday (Sept 14, 2002) during the football season with the game scheduled for the evening. A 'Lions Vs Cornhuskers' game is nothing less than any India-Pakistan cricket match. An e-mail titled "Operation Visine" (the Penn State fans attempt "to get the red out") was circulated among Penn State fans encouraging spectators to wear blue and not sell tickets to Nebraska fans, and the success of the Operation was easily discernable.

We had planned to make the most out of this game against Nebraska by selling more programs in addition to water & soda. The game being scheduled for 8:00 pm 18 enthusiastic volunteers of our group reached the Beaver's Stadium around 6:00 pm. It was one of the largest turnouts, another record. Everyone put on their badges & aprons as Vamsi & Rushabh explained the details & gave out change. Some of us took care of the cash & stock (the 'Stall Managers') while others took on the role of 'Hawkers' setting out in every direction with catchwords like "Ice cold water in Penn State Colors", "Get your Cold water here".

The target was the incoming crowd at Gates A, B & E. In the true football spirit many fans bought the programs and the water bottles kept flowing. The cashier was kept busy from the start. Stall managers kept refilling the refrigerators to keep the supply of cold water bottles going. As the inflow of crowd grew our inventory level started going down. The crowd grew louder & thirstier, and we sold more and more water. By the time the game began most of our stock was sold out. As supplies were replenished, and the stadium prepared for the kickoff the hawkers took a small break and geared up to hit the stands.

Kickoff

With a record 110,000 fans packed into every nook and cranny of Beaver Stadium, the blue and white faithful created enough of a racket to fuel the Lions' defense and disrupt the Cornhuskers' offense. We made a good profit by selling programs before the game but now it would be water and soda. Hawking inside the stadium was a different experience. If you were to ask me to write about it, I will quote

"No one can tell you what the matrix is, you have to see it for yourself" - Morpheus in 'The Matrix'

Lions had made the first touchdown early in the game and the stadium was on a roar. The evening was humid, and the game was hot. Having an intermittent glass of pepsi, we flip-flopped between selling water & soda.

"Hey water boy, two bottles over here"
"Right there, Ma'am"

"I'll have 1 bottle buddy. Here's your cash"
"Here you go Sir. Here's your bottle, and here's your change"

The first half ended with a lead of 13-7 for the Penn State team and full marks for our team.

After the break

The boisterous spirit of the crowd continued into the second half. The stadium seemed to vibrate with the foot banging & cheering. 'Huskers did well to handle the crowd pressure in the first half but in the third quarter Lions took complete control of the game. The demand for water never subsided and we never stopped the supply. Lion's kept scoring and we kept selling. By the end of the third quarter we had sold out most of the supply. However in the spirit of doing our best, stall managers managed to get some more water crates for the final quarter. In the last half as Lions went for their knockout punch we had a final go. The 'Huskers were down and out 40-7 when they got the ball last with just 6:06 minutes to go. Shouts of "Its all over now" could be heard from the crowd. In retrospect I'm still amazed at the enthusiasm & zeal shown by the group till the end of the game. As per public demand we would have done better if we were allowed to sell 'Beer' ;-). However we could also have done better if we had some more people. In the end it was a great game & endearing experience.

Looking forward.

As we go into every game now on, the record will always be at the back of our mind. Not because we made it, but that we have to break it, better it.for a better cause.

For those who were there, keep coming.

"Enthusiasm is contagious, you could start an epidemic!"

For those who weren't, be there next time coz you can make a difference.

"We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse." - Anne Swetchine