There are some things in life people think are worth getting up early and standing in line for. That might be an article of clothing, a hot new toy, or, gasp, a limited-edition Stanley Cup. If you want to get your hands on something exclusively sold at a retailer and that means you’ve got to be up bright and early to do it, I support you. But I promise, many people don’t, and they will tell you all about it.
I was raised by the kind of mom who stood in lines and worked her butt off to get us the things we wanted. Did I need a Cabbage Patch Kid? No. Did she go to multiple stores and fight crowds while pregnant to get me one? You bet she did. My Sherry Amelda doll made my Christmas dreams come true. I still have her more than 40 years later.
So, when the new Wicked Stanley cups dropped at Target on October 13, my daughter really wanted one, so I did just what my mother did for me and, well … I ended up ticking off the entire internet.
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It was an early morning.
There is a slight difference between my mom getting me a Cabbage Patch Kid and the Wicked Stanley drop. My mother and grandmother braved the crowds alone. I took my daughter and niece with me to Target. This was not because they were forced to go; it was because they wanted to be there.
We got in line at our store just before 7 a.m. There was already a crowd forming, but it was nice and friendly. I posted a silly TikTok on my account, @colleenandmaurmi, about having the girls hold our space in line so we didn’t have to wait. It was a joke, and we joined them moments later.
The crowd got bigger as it was closer to store opening time.
There were four people in front of us in line. Each spoke about whether they were Team Glinda or Team Elphaba and if they had their eyes on pink, green, or both. My girls were extremely excited about getting in the door and grabbing the 20 oz. green cup. We spoke at length about proper etiquette and how to handle ourselves when the doors opened.
They were told about not running and not to cut in front of the people in front of us in line. I joked that they could speed walk like they do around the pool, but that was the extent. They agreed and we were ready to go. By this time, there were between 25 and 30 people in line, and things were under control.
The doors opened, and things went nuts.
At this point, I walked as best I could to the back and recorded what was happening. It’s important to note that I live with a physical handicap of sorts and have to wear a brace on my leg that goes from my knee down to almost my ankle. I am not immobile, but running isn’t an option for me. Ever.
As the crowd from the back began to run past my girls, the only two children in line, I told them to go. All is fair until adults start running past kids and then, as far as I was concerned, they’d been there the longest and should get what they wanted.
I posted a video on TikTok, and people got angry.
Like really, really angry. My video got 1.1 million views and thousands of nasty comments. People called me a horrible parent for having my children at the store early, and some threatened to contact the authorities. The girls were in their pajamas, which sent some over the edge. Many people commented that it’s only a cup, which is true. It is only a cup – a cup that these girls really wanted.
People don’t see that these kids can’t wait to see the movie, get the Wicked dresses and pajamas, and sing along to the original Broadway soundtrack. Is it silly? Maybe. But it’s special for them and I am OK with that.
At least one person wasn’t. “I can’t stand ppl like you ‘I got them I got them’ like ur the one in a rush for a CUP GROW THE F— UP,” the person commented on my video.
“And ITS A CUP. -as I run to wait in line for the beetlejuice popcorn buckets,” another TikToker wrote.
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Plenty of people wanted to hate me, but they weren't there.
My viral video attracted plenty of ire, but a random comment from a person I don’t even know who was also actually there at the same store with me tells a different story.
“I love this! I was behind you guys in line with the pink belt bag in the video. Your girls are the cutest and your the best mom taking them out to these things they’ll never forget it. I needed a green one and I believe it was your mom who handed me one!! Them people were crazyyy,” TikToker @leryn_rgh wrote.
Another person who was there told me he couldn’t believe how the whole thing went down.
“It was a crazy morning! I am a Stanley addict myself and have never experienced anything like this. Running, shoving, snatching, screaming!! You name it, it happened,” he said. “People were snatching others’ cups out of their hand for themselves. It was a fight for yourself.”
This comment passed the vibe check for me: “Gotta take everybody back to get in line and keep ur hands to urself until it’s ur turn these are grown adults smh.”
At the end of the day, my girls and the other people we were with got the cups that we wanted, and I am happy about that. What makes me sad it that adults, both in person and online, don’t know how to behave. If everyone could patiently wait in line like we were taught in school, things would have been much different.